let america be america again

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Many may agree with the message Langston Hughes was conveying in his poem entitled Let America Be America Again, wishing things didn't happen the way it did that caused America to look corruptive. I felt as though throughout his poem based on the title he states the hardships that Americans had to face in the past and even how America is glorified as "land of the free" but with many struggles as well the terrible things that have occured in America it will never be America again and Hughes knows that because there is no such thing as "America being America again" he only wishes it was that way.
For instance, in the third stanza: " 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. (There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")". We see in this line that Hughes refers to how glorfied the word "liberty" is but no one is never free, there were times in which discrimination took place, no equality and slavery took place so "crowned with false patriotic wreath" meaning freedom doesn't come with lack of support in the country, as well as doing harm to each other just to be superior. Hughes just wants a land in which he actually sees opportunity to be authentic, meaning everyone actually get the chance to live up to their dreams without discrminiation intefering or illtreatment.
Another analysis of Hughes wishing America to be America again is when he refered to himself in the fifth stanza , line one, two and three; "Negro bearing slavery scars, red man driven from the land, and the immigrant clutching hope I seek--". Tracing back to history on how everything began, Hughes refrenced slavery...

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...scribe the immigrants who left heir country in search for land of opportunity, but as for Africa he used the word "torn" which means break away, meaning that people from Africa never "left " their country voluntary, they were taken and sold into slavery, so where is the freedom in this that's what Hughes wants to know.
Moreover, we see that Langston teaches the audience the concept of contradiction, how America would represent freedom but the people would deceit the word, and completely do the opposite of it. Things maybe a little different from back then, but it took a lot of hard work and courageousness to pave a way for the people to actually see equality as freedom. Langston doesn't only want America to be America again, he wishes that America could be reborn without all the disasters that've taken place in history.

Works Cited

Hughes Langston. Poets.org

Hughes, Lucille Clifton, And I, Too, By Langston Hughes
862 Words | 2 Pages
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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Zora Neale Hurston vs Langston Hughes on the African American Dream
1919 Words | 4 Pages
In this poem Hughes writes “I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars / I am the Negro, servant to you all” (20-31), these lines state that he understands that his ancestors too had to fight for chang...
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Langston Hughes
619 Words | 2 Pages
Here Hughes is stating very generally and unspecific how he wishes for peace and love. Something that everyone would like but will probably never come true. 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 “Will know sweet freedoms way,/Where greed no longer sa...
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Analysis Of Let America Be America Again By Langston Hughes
539 Words | 2 Pages
Langston Hughes was dedicated to writing about the hardships and problems of African Americans. He wrote for and connected with the average, everyday African American. While he connected majorly with the African Americans, Langston also managed to attract attention from many white people, too. In one of Langston’s poems titled, “Let America Be America Again”, he writes “And yet must be- the land where every man is free / The land that is mine- the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, Me.” (Lines 63-64).
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America By Langston Hughes
727 Words | 2 Pages
Hughes’s poem, “Let America be America Again” conveys a forward-looking, emboldened tone. The speaker acknowledges the suffering of all of the different people, from the “poor white” (Hughes 19) to the “red man” (Hughes 20) to the “Negro” (Hughes 32). The speaker attempts to name all who have suffered in America, but continues to dream that
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Let America Be America Again
680 Words | 2 Pages
One can instantly feel the emotion coming out in the first sentence; “Let America be America again.”(MLM) This clearly show that Hughes was very passionate about his country and wanted the reader to be just as well. He quickly lets the reader now that he is not talking about going back to the old traditions, but to the old ideology. Hughes explain it this way, “Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed” and “…where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme that any man be crushed by on above.” (MLM) This shows his true heart because he wanted America to go back to dreaming big for a better tomorrow, but what he doesn’t want is the injustice that was so prevalent in the past. He wanted the nation to go back to that old ideology “that we are all created equal”() and should be treated as such.
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Biography of Langston Hughes
1369 Words | 3 Pages
... They focus more on the cultural aspects of identity that Hughes is very proud of, while poems “Democracy” and “Theme for English B” touch on some of the social concerns that created a struggle for dignity as a black person in the early/mid twentieth century. The “Democracy” is a slightly stern and direct request to take action and fight for civil rights. The “Theme for English B” is a compassionate and low-key personal anecdote that reiterates the unpracticed concept that “all men are created equal”. Despite the difference in tone and subject, all four poems relate to the central theme that dignity is something that white men may take for granted, but Langston Hughes, as a black man and a writer, sees and feels dignity as a fight and a struggle that he faces and that the black community as a whole faces every day.
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I, Too by Langston Hughes
694 Words | 2 Pages
When looking at the poem, Hughes expresses the pride that he has in his heritage and in who h...
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Similarities Between Walt Whitman And Langston Hughes
532 Words | 2 Pages
Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes were two great of America’s poets who believed in the American Dream. The American Dream was the ideal that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The American Dream meant everything to Whitman and Hughes during that time. Whitman’s poem was titled “I Hear America Singing’’ and Hughes poem was titled “Let America Be America Again.’’ Although Whitman and Hughes agreed that America was the land of opportunity, they had very different perspectives on who had achieved liberty and success.
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Let America Be America Again: Compare And Contrast Essay
1642 Words | 4 Pages
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 Attainability of the American Dream
1368 Words | 3 Pages
Things will get hard and you just gotta hope and pray for the better as you live you life daily. In “I Too Sing America” by Langston Hughes, He says, “I’ll be at the table , when company comes,” He is very hopeful and is determined that he will be at the table when company comes. Hughes has a strong and determined mind that he is going to be at that table no matter what. With him having hope that he will be at that table shows how strong Americans are. Most Americans will do whatever it takes to make sure they get what they need; want. I say at least eighty five percent of people in America would see you struggling with your hope and they will do whatever they can to help a fellow citizen. In the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes, he says “I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—” Hughes is saying that he is an immigrant that is coming to America that has hope at the tip of his fingers. Hoping that the “land of opportunity” lives up to the expectations. Does the “land of opportunity” really live up to the expectations? In addition to the statement stated before, in the poems it says, “Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe” Hughes is saying that the hope he had about the United States of America being the “land of opportunity” was everything that he was hoping
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Compare And Contrast America And The New Colossus
890 Words | 2 Pages
Often depicted as a melting pot, America is always being put on a pedestal by the rest of the world due to the large amounts of successful immigrants in the United States. Millions of people have packed their bags and moved to America in hopes of achieving their dreams. While some succeed, others fail and are let down by the dim reality that not everyone can achieve their goals. This essay will compare the poems, “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes and “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus to exhibit my perspective on both works. Both poems portray people’s hopes that America will be great, however, due to the different eras and the authors’ backgrounds, the poems have different meanings. Lazarus’ poem was written in the early stages of America, as it describes her cheerful
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How Is The American Dream Reflected In Langston Hughes's Poetry
457 Words | 1 Pages
Hughes has continued to look forward with hope for his community, he sees freedom in future, but not now, for all people, both black and white. It has been noticed by the researcher that the start of the twentieth century marked the idea of restless life among several works of poets.” Modern literature reflects the American people during a time when their way of life seemed to be collapsing” (Edward F. Hall, 2004: p:2) . Many of the expressions in Langston Hughes's poems begin in situations of anxiety, despair and hopelessness.
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An Analysis Of Langston Hughes's 'Dream Deferred'
1082 Words | 3 Pages
The poem begins by introducing the limitations of the African Americans’ hopes and dreams in the form of a question. Hughes asks, “What happens to a dream deferred” (1). Here, the dream refers to the African Americans’ yearning for equality and freedom, and Hughes wants to examine what happens when that dream is persistently pushed aside. The spacing directly after this line conjures a sense of silence as if allowing a moment to contemplate the question. The lines following this question explore several possible outcomes, and each answer represents the ruin of a forgotten dream.
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I Too Sing America Literary Devices
858 Words | 2 Pages
By this Langston means people will not only see the color of his skin, but the beauty and capability he has on the inside. People will see that he is really beautiful—nothing and no one to be embarrassed by—and they will be ashamed by their earlier behavior. Hughes ends the poem by again stating, "I, too, am America" (line 18) showing his true pride and ownership of a country that was never very hospitable to him. Hughes is a talented poet who uses metaphors and his own style of writing to create the effectiveness of his overall message. He uses metaphor throughout the poem for the readers to dig deeper and see underneath the surfaces. He starts out by stating that he, too was an American, but that he is treated like someone the “family” would be ashamed of. Separated from the rest of the society, eating in another room, being given a different treatment than the others. The speaker never let these actions get the best of him. He decided to bide his time where he has been sent and grow stronger and work hard to obtain and enjoy all the rights that all people in the U.S. shall enjoy regardless of their race or
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let america be america again

Hughes, Lucille Clifton, And I, Too, By Langston Hughes

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Analysis Of Let America Be America Again By Langston Hughes

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