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Analysis of the Langston Hughes poem
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“Let America be the dream it used to be”, this means let America go back to the old America; the one everyone loved, for say. This was just one of the fantastic lines Langston Hughes once said. “I hear America singing the varied carols”, Walt Whitman once stated. Quotes from two very great writers out of two very great poems. Walt Whitman wrote “I Hear America Singing” about the time periods 1891-1802 and Langston Hughes wrote “Let America be America Again” about the time periods 1902-1967. “I Hear America Singing” and “Let America be America Again” are similar in topic and technique. Langston Hughes actually read Walt Whitman's poem. Thats y the time periods are far apart; Walt Whitman died soon before Langston Hughes was born. Langston …show more content…
However Langston Hughes wrote about people not getting what they were promised, not getting the “American dream”, because they are a different color or a person who traveled to america for a better new and a place to be free and happy. The all American dream was something for people who had nothing something to look forward to and have hope so they could see a better day and make their lives and their children's lives nothing but great. Walt Whitman pointed out the people who did little everyday day things like the mechanics, mason, boatman, shoe maker, and the basic mother that stays home, cleans the house, and takes care of the children. Walt Whitman has a more positive outlook and Langston Hughes has a move negative straightforward attitude. He was more disappointed than anything. He says “Let it be the dream it used to be.” In this particular line one can tell he does have hop, but very little. He's saying it needs to go back to the way it was when everyone had a purpose in life and people didn't feel the need to look at themselves as lower class people, but was there ever a time where all people felt equal? “Let America be the dream dreamers dreamed”, he stated. He's saying it's not at all what people thought it would be. In other words they were given false promises. One very importances about this poem is that he is not just speaking for himself, he is speaking
The American Dream is what everybody dreams when they come to the United States. The dream of working hard and their determination help them to become successful. In the poems "America" by Claude McKay, " Let America be America Again" by Langston Hughes, "A Message to America" by Alan Seeger, " I Hear America Singing" and "Long, Too Long America" by Walt Whitman can relate to the American Dream. In these poems, the speaker can show a connect to the American Dream by showing how they felt either being proud or upset with what is happening during that time.
Dream Variations, also by Langston Hughes, is a strong poem that conveys his cultural identity. In this poem, Hughes uses the light and dark hours of the day to represent the cultures of white and black people. Hughes says, “To fling my arms wide in some place of the sun. To whirl and to dance till the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening beneath a tall tree while night comes on gently, Dark like me-That is my dream!” Hughes compares the daytime to the white man 's work day and correlates the night to himself and his race. This poem clearly conveys Hughes cultural
This is because the poor or hard working American is trapped believing in and working towards a dream that benefits only the rich. One main piece of evidence is “I am the man who never got ahead, the poorest worker bartered through the years.” This means that he works hard, but still fails at achieving the Dream. The author also states that, “There’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this ‘homeland of the free.’” This is showing the author breaking down the American Dream and how it doesn’t apply to “everyone.” Langston Hughes showed that the American Dream only applies to rich people and that it needs to
The American Dream is a set of your ideals in which your freedom involves the prosperity and success of your life. In “Lucinda Matlock” that was written by Edgar Masters, the point of the story is that a woman who enjoys life has to face a tragedy and she accepts it. This poem defends The American Dream because the poem is about a woman who lives a happy a fulfilling life before she has to face death. After the woman lives her lives as she pleases she meets a man by the name of Davis. “Driving home in the moonlight of middle June, And then I found Davis.” The woman is glad
The American Dream was just that for that for some of the Blacks who were struggling or living in New York during the Harlem Renaissance. Living the “American Dream” was something most thought they would never see or have the pleasure to enjoy. Working a good job, being treating fairly and being able to own a nice house and buy nice things was all a dream that they believed would never become a reality. One could say those were the thoughts of the Blacks who didn't have faith or hope or the drive to make the “American Dream” their reality. And this is because Black was thought so little of. They were thought to be ugly and worthless and inferior to the “Americans”. With this constant negative reminder, it was easy for Blacks to self-hate or to hate someone of the same race but a darker shade or of a different social class. However all Blacks did not feel that way. For instance, writers like Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston and Elise Johnson McDougald knew that better days were coming and they too would be able to do the things the Whites thought they were not worthy of. They loved the skin that there were in and was not going to allow anyone to tell them otherwise. These three writers along with others believed that change was coming and their prayers and cries would soon be answered. Their struggling and fighting would soon all be worth it and the Blacks who came before them and fought to get them where they currently were would have not died in vain. Langston Hughes expresses this in his poem Let America Be America Again.
This statement is an excellent attention-getter. It tells about a dream that everyone would like without singling out any group of people to blame for the dream not coming true. Then as the poem goes on, he gets more and more specific. Hughes then goes on to dream that everyone “ll know sweet freedoms,/Where greed no longer saps the soul. Here Hughes is wishing to abolish greed.
“What happens to a dream deferred?” Is the question posed by the infamous Poet, activists, novelist, and playwright Langston Hughes in his 1951 poem by the name of Harlem or Dream deferred. In the poem, Hughes straightforwardly flings us a question, in which at first seem pretty simple in meaning but as you continue to read the concept becomes more and more complex and profound. The telling reader to pursue after their dream or the dream will soon disappear, an inspirational theme in which Hughes display in several of his works. Harlem uses clear-cut use of literary elements such as Metaphor, Speakers, Imagery, and Rhythm to describe just how 1950’s
The concept of the American Dream has always been that everyone wants something in life, no matter if it is wealth, education, financial stability, safety, or a decent standard of living. In addition, everyone will try to strive to get what they want. The American Dream, is said to be that everyone should try and get what they hope they can get in life. In the play A Raisin in the Sun the author Hansberry tells us about a family where each has an American Dream, and Hughes in the poem “ Let America be America Again “is telling us to let America be the America that was free for us to obtain The American Dream. Hansberry and Langston see America like as a place to find the dream desired, although they also see limitation to obtain the American Dream, such as poverty, freedom, inequality, racism and discrimination.
Poems are expression of the human soul, and even though, is not everyone’s cup of tea when the individual finds that special poem it moves their soul one with the poet. There are many poets in the world, but the one that grab my attention the most was no other than Langston Hughes. It would be impossible for me to cover all the poems he wrote, but the one that grab my attention the most is called “Let America Be America Again.” It first appeared in “1938 pamphlet by Hughes entitled A New Song. Which was published by a socialist organization named the International Worker Order” (MLM) and later change back to its original name. I have never felt such an energy coming out of a poem like this one which is the reason that I instantly felt in love with it.
“My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.” (Abraham Lincoln) This quote is relevant to a dream from four directions: our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, solo singers Neil Diamond and Dierks Bentley, and a duo named Brooks and Dunn. They represent how great America is and how what they say relates to the time period, their backstory, purpose, style, and how they represent to us how we.
With great dreams comes great sacrifices and the ultimate sacrifice is putting that dream on hold. There are many situations that get in the way that force individuals to step away from their dreams and take care of their personal issues. Everyone has the aspiration to fulfill their dreams, but sometimes dreams are set aside for various reason, and some people never return to continue fulfillment. In the poem Harlem, Hughes writes, “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” (Hughes). One of the many sacrifices when in search of the American Dream or any dream in general is the potential of it being put off. Like Langston Hughes says, the dream may dry up like a raisin in the sun, but in actuality the dream is never lost, the remnants are still there. It is simply set aside so when the time is right to continue on with the dream the individual can pick up where they left off. As the dream sits on hold it loses its importance, or it dries up. Putting off a dream is one of the biggest sacrifices someone could make no matter the circumstance. People are sacrificing what their lives could have potentially been. Hughes talks about all of the feelings that come with putting off a dream and describes what could potentially happen to a differed dream. Ultimately, the poem is about the sacrifice of giving up this American Dream and choosing a different
Let America Be America Again, written by Langston Hughes, was written to make a satirical statement about the American Dream. He uses personification, alliteration, and imagery to bring home his point that the “dream the dreamers dreamed” (Hughes ???) not only has never existed but will never truly exist for the common man. According to the speaker, assumed to be Hughes but in reality could be anyone who is hopeless and unhappy in this land where “equality is in the air we breathe” (???), that as long as there are “kings” and “tyrants” (???), the American Dream is only an unobtainable goal but is something that must be kept alive.
In, “ I Hear America Singing”, Walt Whitman uses alliteration, literal imagery, and tone to express the idea that there are many individual, hardworking workers in this country, but as a whole these people carry out the American pride. America does not only consist of one person, but it is the whole population that makes what America is today. This country is filled with fun and laughter for everyone to enjoy!
The poem “ I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman has many poetic devices within the poem but three poetic devices Whitman uses are free verse, repetition, and parallel structure. Walt Whitman uses these poetic devices to support the meaning that America is a great hardworking country.
As a black man in a time period where African-Americans were considered an inferior group of people,dreams and goals would have been difficult to realize. Langston Hughes aptly expresses his frustrations in his poem, "Dream Deferred." As people read this poem, in any time period, they can relate to the simple universal message that the poet expressed. Hughes is very expressive in how he feels about dreams he has had and the fact and his frustration at not being able to pursue and/or fulfill those dreams that he is unable to pursue or fulfill those dreams.