The Songs of America

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Recommended: History of American freedom

America was established on basis of freedom. Europeans traveled to this nation to escape the troubles of their own homeland. These settlers searched for independence and labored to create a foundation for the present day America. Centuries later, America experienced a boom in social and economic growth bringing in a sense of patriotism for America. In the poems “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman and “I Too Sing, America” by Langston Hughes, America is viewed as a successful nation. Both writers praise their nation greatly and show pride towards the status of America.
In “I Hear America Singing”, the author, Walt Whitman claims he can hear many songs. In the poem he names the jobs of many American people of that time. Without the help of its hard working citizens, America would not be the great nation that it is today. This poem presents an optimistic view on America. Furthermore, the writer sees America as a steadily growing nation that in the future would be a great place to live. Whitman goes on to point out women as a helping factor towards the growth of America. During the late 1800’s, women were not viewed in a fair and equal manner as they are today. As a matter of fact, women were mostly housewives and often viewed as property. In this poem, Walt Whitman makes the point that women have been just as involved as men in helping America to rise. Women help by performing jobs such as “sewing or washing” (7-8). While at the same time America was becoming stronger as a nation, the Civil War was edging near. The nation was dividing into two separate nations. Whitman’s writing of this poem created a lot of optimism for Americans. The American people begin to hope that one day America would be brought back together. The hope...

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...use of the hard work, the writers have pride for their country. Both of the writers are optimistic and display their hopefulness by describing how everyone “sings” America. The messages of both of the poems are understood to be that everyone contributes to the future of America.

Works Cited

Hughes, Langston. “I, Too Sing America.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. 1019.
Pericles, Hamlet. "Poetry Analysis I Too by Langston Hughes." Humanities 360 . N.p., 28 Jan. 2008. Web. 28 Jan. 2008. .
Whitman, Walt. “I Hear America Singing.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. 1138. Print.

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