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How Does Langston Hughes Use Foreshadowing In I Too

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In “I, Too,” Langston Hughes uses foreshadowing to show determination through future tense and predicting how he believes the future will go. In the 1920’s, when “I, Too” was written, African Americans had little to no rights and were segregated from whites in every way possible. They were not allowed to go to the same schools or churches and they were not allowed to use the same water fountains or bathrooms. Hughes states “Tomorrow/ I’ll be at the table” (8-9). His belief in what the positive days will hold never wavers as he proclaims that "tomorrow" he will join the others at the table, conveying not only assertiveness, but hope. The narrator shows perseverance through “But I laugh/ And eat well/ And grow strong” (5-7). He is reminding others that the black nation in America is not defeated, but growing, and that segregation will end soon (“I, Too” 100). …show more content…

The narrator shows a higher sense of pride and shows his ambition to express his legitimacy as a an American citizen and as a fellow man in the United States, in a way threatening his slave owners to cross the line of the respect that belongs to him. Hughes, through the narrator, discloses, “They’ll see how beautiful I am/ and be ashamed” (16-17). This statement is a declaration claiming equality, stature and independence (“I, Too” 100). In Langston Hughes’ “I, Too,” he uses metaphors to symbolize the feelings of African Americans who seeks to raise their status to acceptability in America. One example of a metaphor in “I, Too” is in the excerpt, “They send me to eat in the kitchen/ When the company comes” (3-4). The kitchen represents the obvious lack of rights and free will of African Americans in America (“I, Too” 103). The table in the pericope, “I’ll be at the table/ When the company comes” (9-10) represents true equality, strength, potential and aptitude (“I, Too” 103). “I, Too” also contains an extended

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