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Recommended: Symbolism in langston hughes

Langston Hughes uses poetic elements to express the reader his feelings towards America. Langston Hughes is very upset that America is not what it promised to be. Living in America, he never saw America to be the land of the free, what it promised to be. Instead, he saw America to be cruel to him and now wants to change America to be the country of the free he thought it was. He expresses all his emotion about America, in his poem, Let America Be America Again, by using connotative diction, repetition, narrative tone and organization; poetic elements. Langston Hughes uses connotative diction in, Let America be America, to represents the dream of America, freedom, which he does not have. In stanza 2 Langston Hughes uses, “Let America be the dream the dreamer dreamed ….where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above.”, representing that America should be free but it is not because of the people that make the rules. Instead, they always put the African American below them not letting them have a voice. Then Hughes used “O, let my land be a land where liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is In the air we breathe.” in paragraph 3 to provide the reader the information that he thinks that this country was meant to be the land of the free, but instead it’s the suffering land for the immigrants. In stanza 10 Langston Hughes finishes using, “Whose sweat blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again,” to signify that African Americans have done so much for this country and that they should not be treated how they are being treated in America. Langston Hughes al... ... middle of paper ... ...and organization provided the reader with a good quality work. The diction and repetition Langston Hughes used gave the reader the importance of the poem. The tone and organization gave the reader how to understand the poem to get the full knowledge out of it. However, what was interesting in the poem, Let America Be America, is how Langston Hughes used the information he provided because if you read carefully he talked about immigrants from Poland, Ireland, and England. Langston Hughes implied that he was the immigrants, in paragraph 8, but in a way that they are his friends. From this, the reader can judge Langston Hughes as a person who was thinking about others not just himself and wanted the dream, he wanted so bad, shared with everyone. Making the reader realize that with unity one will accomplish anything and never be greedy with what you want, always share.

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    Langston Hughes was a large influence on the African-American population of America. Some of the ways he did this was how his poetry influenced Martin Luther King Jr. and the Harlem Renaissance. These caused the civil rights movement that resulted in African-Americans getting the rights that they deserved in the United States. Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was young and his grandmother raised him. She got him into literature and education; she was one of the most important influences on him. He moved around a lot when he was young, due to his parents divorce, but remained a good student and graduated high school. After this he traveled the world and worked in different places, all the things he saw in his travels influenced him. In 1924 he settled down in Harlem where he became one of the important figures in the Harlem Renaissance. He enjoyed listening to blues and jazz in clubs while he wrote his poetry. The music that he enjoyed greatly influenced the style and rhythm of his poetry. The poem “Dream Variations” by Hughes is about an average African-American who dreams of a world where African-Americans are not looked at or treated differently and they can rest peacefully. Yet in real life this was not so, black people and white people were not equal. And the world was not as forgiving and nice as in their dream. This poem is a good example of Hughes writing because it is typical of three things. The first is the common theme of the average life of an African-American and their struggles. Secondly, the style of his writing which is based on the rhythm of jazz and blues- he uses a lot of imagery and similes. Lastly, his influences which are his lonely childhood and growing up as an Afric...

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    This poem is often compared to Walt Whitman’s I Hear America Singing because of the similarities of the two poems. In this poem, Hughes argues that the African American race is equal to whites. Hughes even declares that one day the African American race will be equal to whites. Hughes proclaims, “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed-I, too, am America.” Hughes was very bold and daring when he wrote these lines in this poem. He is implying that the white people will regret what they have done to blacks. That they will be ashamed of how they treated them. Undoubtedly, this poem expresses Hughes cultural identity.

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    He opens the poem with the line, “I, too, sing America” (Hughes 1). He claims that he is an American and thus should have a voice too. Although prior to the Civil Rights Movement when African Americans were not yet recognized as more than slaves, Hughes envisions a day where they will sit down at the table with the whites. This idea is shown when he states, “Tomorrow, /I’ll be at the table/ When company comes. / Nobody’ll dare/ Say to me, / ‘Eat in the kitchen’” (Hughes 8-13). He is dreaming of a more all-encompassing and all-around greater America. The poem closes with the line, “I, too, am America” (Hughes 18). Hughes illustrates what it means to be a true American by asserting himself and claiming his citizenship, regardless of what others may

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    “Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” –Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry is one of the world’s greatest wonders. It is a way to tell a story, raise awareness of a social or political issue, an expression of emotions, an outlet, and last but not least it is an art. Famous poet Langston Hughes uses his poetry as a musical art form to raise awareness of social injustices towards African-Americans during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Although many poets share similarities with one another, Hughes creatively crafted his poetry in a way that was only unique to him during the 1920’s. He implemented different techniques and styles in his poetry that not only helped him excel during the 1920’s, but has also kept him relative in modern times. Famous poems of his such as a “Dream Deferred,” and “I, Too, Sing America” are still being studied and discussed today. Due to the cultural and historical events occurring during the 1920’s Langston Hughes was able to implement unique writing characteristics such as such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues that is demonstrative of his writing style. Langston Hughes use of distinct characteristics such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues helped highlight the plights of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance Era.

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    Alexis de Tocqueville and Langston Hughes both have their own ideas about what America is, was, and should be. Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America praises American democracy in which everyone is included. This inclusion allows for democracy that everyone can be a part of and feel like they are contributing. On the contrary, Langston Hughes’s “Let America Be America Again” depicts an excluding America that does not treat everyone equivalently. Hughes portrays America as a misrepresentation that does not uphold the ideals that it is so famous for. The two works contrast in many ways but do have some similarities. Although their ideas are different, politics is still a choice. Tocqueville describes politics as a choice that everyone should make as it benefits them all while Hughes describes politics as a choice that some do not have the power to take part in. The differing sentiments between Democracy in America and “Let America Be America Again” stem

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    The civil rights movement may have technically ended in the nineteen sixties, but America is still feeling the adverse effects of this dark time in history today. African Americans were the group of people most affected by the Civil Rights Act and continue to be today. Great pain and suffering, though, usually amounts to great literature. This period in American history was no exception. Langston Hughes was a prolific writer before, during, and after the Civil Rights Act and produced many classic poems for African American literature. Hughes uses theme, point of view, and historical context in his poems “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” to expand the views on African American culture to his audience members.

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