I Too Sing America Analysis

Improved Essays
“I, Too, Sing America” is a unique piece of poetry where the author, Langston Hughes, addresses the social inequality that is present on race in America. Knowing that the Author wrote in a time frame, known as the Harlem Renaissance, it is easy to understand the motive behind the poem. The Harlem Renaissance was a movement that helped create the new black culture identity and in some ways pushed for the civil rights movement in the late 40s and early 50s (). I chose this poem because it displays a dark time for the speaker and despite the predisposition prejudice, he was able to grow strong and image a better tomorrow. It inspires me knowing that our nation grew to fight the adversity that was present during Hughes time. Hughes signifies that …show more content…
The first line states “I too, sing America” (). This line breaks out the tone of the poem, the tone of the poem is a patriotic one. The phrase also symbolizes unity and signifies that although the speaker may be different, he also sings America and that he has a voice like everyone else. The fact that Hughes states that the speaker sings instead of speaks proves there is an underlying emotion and proves it is an expression of …show more content…
In stanza four he states “Besides”/ They’ll see how beautiful I am”/ “And be ashamed”. The speaker wants the reader to understand that once people grasp the belief that every person was created equal and get past their prejudice, they will realize the “beauty” he has to offer. He also emphasis not only does he believe that people will regret the way they treated him along with many others, but they will feel guilty and shameful. In this stanza it resembles the pride of the speaker and although it has happened yet, he feels as if he has won the fight on racism. The last line of the poem, “I, too, am America’ perfectly ends the poem. It leaves the reader with a sense of closure and reminds us again, despite your skin color if you were raised in this country, you belong to this country and in defiance to what people say you are also American. It also proves the device of parallelism in the poem. Lines like “I, too, sing America” / “I am the darker brother” / “I, too, am America” all point out the fact, through similar structure, that Hughes’ is creating the overall theme of equality in the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    What America means to someone is a greatly personal matter. With “I Hear America Singing” and “I, Too”, two artists give their views, and the poems, written years apart, pair well together. Whitman celebrates those who can sing, while Hughes speaks for those who are silenced. Whitman sails over flowing description, showing the tales of Americans in lush colors.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The last four stanzas are Hughes calling for the people to redeem America and make it a land for everyone (Hughes). He wants the American Dream to come alive again and for it to be a dream for not only for whites, but for every kind of race. Hughes writes that even though America is not America to him right now, it soon will be (Hughes). While most of the poem has an almost bitter, hostile tone to it, the last four stanzas have a hopeful tone.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This poem is told by the poor, the pushed away or shunned, and the workers. These people are the people who suffer from rough conditions and depression. At the very beginning Hughes shows the true feelings that will strike those dreams of being high in status or not having to look up to someone right out of the sky, “America was never America to me” (Hughes, line 5). This line tells so much in so little time, it shows how he and how everyone at that time feels like they have been cheated and tricked, it will tell that everything anyone’s ever said was wrong and its nothing but a dream. Hughes also writes, “and who are you that draws your veil across the stars” (line 18).…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He begins the poem with writing about what America should be, a place of freedom and equality. He then states that the “great” America he envisioned never was the place that he was living in, writing: “America never was America to me” (line 10), creating a disappointing mood for the reader. Later in the text, Hughes depicts the country as a place filled with inequality and false “patriotic wreath.” Throughout the text, Hughes writes that people are not free in America, and states that: “There’s never been equality for me, nor freedom in this “homeland of the free”, creating a mocking and sarcastic tone towards the false promises in America. Also, in contrast, while Whitman writes that the people of America were singing strongly, Hughes writes that the people of America were weakly “mumbling in the dark” instead of speaking against the inequality they were facing.…

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Archetype Of America

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages

    All cultures, decades, countries, and people have different views on what it really means to be an American. Slavery was beyond prominent in the 18th century, so the African Americans were treated poorly. Views have changed since slavery has abolished, but there are other countries like China who believe that Americans are not as smart or helpful as the Chinese think they are. The views of what it means to be an American varies, but the main archetype is a hero. In Langston Hughes poem, “I, Too”, during the time of slavery and segregation, African Americans were considered outcasts, but proved themselves to be heroes.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Langston Hughes “I, Too” delivers a strong message about equality. It delivers a sense of hope, that one day I will be treated the same, we are all the same, and we are all Americans. The powerful message and great details and visual in Hughes poem makes you feel what the young man is going through, his struggles that he had to overcome. This poem is very satisfying and in a sense open up your eyes about how things once…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It’s a short poem but brings to light how African Americans felt when being a “darker brother”(1778), and being forced to eat in the kitchen when company comes. He takes it in stride because he knows that it is only a matter of time until people realize how misguided they are and know how wrong they were. This is another “mask”, to be able to swallow pride and just to do what your told, knowing that one day you will get the freedom that you desire. The author beautifully describes that “I, too, sing America”(1778), in the first and last stanza of the poem. This comment sets up the whole theme of the poem, to be able to express that everyone, no matter race, religion, and background, are Americans and that just because someone puts you down, doesn’t mean that it’s the right thing to do.…

    • 1283 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    America is one country whose citizens have a great sense of pride and nationalism. Two of America's greatest poets are Walt Whitman, and Langston Hughes, and each one has a poem about America and the pride they feel for America. Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing" is about the nation as a whole, and the individuals that make up that whole. Langston Hughes' "I, Too" is about hope for the equality of African Americans. Both poems have similar aspects about them, but also many details are different.…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The stanza reads "Besides, they’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed – I, too, am America". Here Hughes says that once African American's are recognized as equal, everyone will see they are not bad and that they are beautiful as well as part of America. Langston Hughes is a talented poet who uses metaphors and his own style of writing to increase the effectiveness of his overall message. His usage of "I" helps reiterate that he too is an American and will not be let down by society nor will other African…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After WW1, blacks were still racially oppressed in America. Many African Americans relocated toward the northern urban areas to look for employment. Blacks still confronted segregation in business, in schools, and public accommodations. Despite everything, they confronted less issues towards voting rights than those in the southern states. The Harlem Renaissance was a literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that occurred in Harlem, New York.…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    From the beginning of the poem, Hughes firmly claims his citizenship when he says, “I, too, sing America” (901). This poem was written in 1926, which is after slavery ended, but still a time when black people were not treated or thought of with any form of dignity or respect. Despite the disrespect that they endured, African Americans still took pride in being an American. In the very last line Hughes repeats, “I, too, am American”, which is a repeat of the first sentence in the poem (902). The reiteration guarantees that the reader does not miss those important words in the poem.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When facing adversity people either have positive or negative feeling about the outcome. They are either optimistic or pessimistic. In the past, African Americans were under oppression and often expressed their feelings about the future through literature. In his poem, “The White House”, Claude McKay talks about adversity that he has faced trying to fit in the society while Langston Hughes, in his poem “I Too Sing America”, states that he feels that he is an American. While both poems talk about hardships that African Americans face, they contrast in authors’ views of African Americans in the society.…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People wrote a lot of songs, poetry, and novels to either praise or denounce this country. The poems “I, Too, Sing America” and “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes share the similar theme of patriotism and have a melancholy but hopeful tone. Racial problems are the main topic shown in both poems. Patriotic people may have…

    • 1042 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Though the meaning of “America” has changed over the years, “America” once meant the pursuit of a simplistic yet unique dream. Walt Whitman demonstrates this in section 10 of his “Song of Myself” poem. In this section, he takes on the identity of multiple American people. Among these are a rugged mountain man, the captain of a Yankee clipper ship, the viewer of a marriage between a trapper and a Native American, and one who shelters a runaway slave. These people are all different, which serves to showcase the differences of the American dream among different types of people.…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance, which lasted through the 1920’s and part of the 1930’s was a time when many black artists, through various artistic mediums brought to light the culture and struggles of black people during their time and in past history. One of the best known of these artists is Langston Hughes. His name even appears in pop culture references such as in the song “La Vie Bohéme” from the musical Rent. One of Hughes most famous poems is titled “I, too, sing America”. It refers to not just the time in which it was written but the history of people of African descent in America.…

    • 1699 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays