Just Another Unattainable Dream
America proudly known as the nation of the free, holds a dark history of enslavement, greed, and unattainable dreams. Personal freedom of speech in America during the early 1900’s was more of an extravagant disguise than a blissful reality. Despite the self assured claims of America, being the supposed land of freedom, histories pages express the discrimination and hatred that took place towards different races that was omnipresent. African American citizens who were once marginalised began to express their lament through poems and songs such as ‘Let America be America’ again by Langston Hughes written 1936 and ‘America’ written by Claude McKay in 1921. In both poems they state that despite the failed good intentions, the …show more content…
This final metaphor elicits a hopelessness that confirms McKay’s opinion of the American Dream once and for all. Although he battled with both positives and negatives throughout the sonnet, it becomes clear, he believes the American Dream is dead.
Sharing this pessimistic view of a hypocritical society, Langston Hughes portrays his person experience in the poem, Let America be America again as a black man living in the great depression. More than fifteen million Americans were unemployed and racism was worse than ever, but neither the government nor the people did much to alleviate the crisis. This changed in 1932 when Franklin Roosevelt came to presidency, bringing hope for the country. This hope is reflected in the final lines of the poem.
At first glance, this poem appears to be a plea for the establishment of the American Dream, but it is actually a cynical account of the cruel realities faced by those who occupy the lower rungs of American society. Through the poem Hughes emphasises the message that despite the sacrifices made by all kinds of people in order to build a homeland of the free there is nothing to show for it except a dream that’s almost
America proudly known as the nation of the free, holds a dark history of enslavement, greed, and unattainable dreams. Personal freedom of speech in America during the early 1900’s was more of an extravagant disguise than a blissful reality. Despite the self assured claims of America, being the supposed land of freedom, histories pages express the discrimination and hatred that took place towards different races that was omnipresent. African American citizens who were once marginalised began to express their lament through poems and songs such as ‘Let America be America’ again by Langston Hughes written 1936 and ‘America’ written by Claude McKay in 1921. In both poems they state that despite the failed good intentions, the …show more content…
This final metaphor elicits a hopelessness that confirms McKay’s opinion of the American Dream once and for all. Although he battled with both positives and negatives throughout the sonnet, it becomes clear, he believes the American Dream is dead.
Sharing this pessimistic view of a hypocritical society, Langston Hughes portrays his person experience in the poem, Let America be America again as a black man living in the great depression. More than fifteen million Americans were unemployed and racism was worse than ever, but neither the government nor the people did much to alleviate the crisis. This changed in 1932 when Franklin Roosevelt came to presidency, bringing hope for the country. This hope is reflected in the final lines of the poem.
At first glance, this poem appears to be a plea for the establishment of the American Dream, but it is actually a cynical account of the cruel realities faced by those who occupy the lower rungs of American society. Through the poem Hughes emphasises the message that despite the sacrifices made by all kinds of people in order to build a homeland of the free there is nothing to show for it except a dream that’s almost