America has always been perceived as a land of opportunity and freedom for the many immigrants who traveled to this wide unknown land. America seemed to be consistent in becoming a country where everyone was accepted however, this was contrary for African Americans. After America gained independence and slavery was abolished, the divide between Whites and African Americans still stood. Many African Americans were not given favor for jobs, schooling, and many other opportunities. This journey of pain and perseverance is portrayed through the Langston Hughes poem, “ Let America Be America.” Hughes uses the inequality that still stands in the “free” America to voice that everyone should be equal. Hughes uses various allusions to portray the didactic meaning of the poem that the statements of a free America for everyone, is far from the truth.
Is the American Dream really available for everyone? In the poem “Let America be American Again”, Langston Hughes tries to get the point across that the American Dream isn’t open for everyone. He describes the hopeful immigrants who seek America for a new start but arrive to find only that America “The Land of the Free” is full of mighty people who dominate the weak. Hughes depicts the downtrodden Negroes who bear who bear many scars, physically and mentally, of the seeming to have no end slavery. Even in present day America, black people still do not have all the equality rights they deserve and long for. Hughes also invigorates people to get back Americans’ freedom. He promises that all of the blood, sweat, and tears the hard-workers of America
Historically countries, such as America, have muted and failed to addressed the social injustices against minority groups. Although America is considered to be the “melting pot,” it continues to face issues regarding freedom and justice for all of its citizens. Langston Hughes, who was a writer and social activist, wrote poetry during the Harlem Renaissance which addressed the social issues facing African Americans and minority groups. Allusion, anaphora, and rhyme scheme are employed by Hughes in his poem, “Let America Be America Again” in order to show how false America’s claims of equality and “Justice for all” are.
Langston Hughes’s theme is a bit more complicated though. “I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek, but only finding the same old stupid plan of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak” Langston Hughes, “Let America Be America
Langston Hughes' Poem, Let America be America Again, contributed to the Harlem Renaissance by promoting an equal America. This poem emphasized that the people who help build up America was not given fair enough treatment for what their people did. It shines light on how America was never the land of the free, but it will be when people take action. In the light of the Harlem Renaissance, people of all races were appreciating the same music and literature and this poem is one of many that were
“There’s never been equality for me, nor freedom in this homeland of the free.” America never was America to me! Both poems were written about the American Dream and how it benefited some people, while not so much for other people and the two poets wrote about how America seemed at the time they were living.
A paraphrase from the text is when Langston Hughes writes, “Besides,They’ll see how beautiful I am” (paragraph 4). Hughes is explaining how people should judge people by their characteristics not by their color of their skin. Consequently, this poem shows how America is progressing to freedom and equality because now people focus based on your attitude in order to judge you. In Langston Hughes’ poem, “ I Too Sing, America” it demonstrates how people have the same rights as others and not be judge by their skin
Instead of saying “We are all humans” as Hughes did in the story, in this poem, he has a more modest but no less veritable pronouncement: we are all Americans. The poem smacks with pride – and rightfully so – as much as it flowers with confidence and firmness. With the bold statements captured in this poem, Hughes was able to assert the face of the Black American and hoped, if not foretold a future when they, the “darker brother,” and their “whiter” brothers we can presume they have, will be under a single name: all as
Langston Hughes uses images of oppression to reveal a deeper truth about the way minorities have been treated in America. He uses his poems to bring into question some of Walt Whitman’s poems that indirectly state that all things are great, that all persons are one people in America, which Hughes claims is false because of all the racist views and oppression that people face from the people America. This oppression is then used to keep the minorities from
America is well known as the land of the free and the home opportunity. Although it is said everyone is equal in every way, that has not always been the case. Langston Hughes is a poet who tried to emphasize the idea of equality among all human beings. Hughes underlined the basis of the American Dream with what is and what should be in the societal era he lived in. In hindsight he believed his poems helped others realize the injustices that all minorities had to face during this era.
The poem I, Too, Sing America written by Langston Hughes shortly after World War II in 1945, is a lyrical poem about the neglected voices in America as a response to the Poem “I hear America singing.” During this time, African Americans were oppressed in society and they did not have equal rights to Caucasians. This poem expresses Langston Hughes hope for the future where black people are not oppressed when equality is achieved between races. This poem helps assert Langston Hughes’ ideas of racial pride, hope, and equality.
The second speaker also reshapes the first two lines of the entire poem into a plea to the majority. Beforehand, the first speaker uses those lines as a call for the old American spirit to be revived: “Let America be America again / Let it be the dream it used to be” (1-2). Both speakers change the meaning of the lines to express their thoughts on America. As a result, the poem expresses the desire for everyone to be treated equally in the land of freedom. The readers can relate to the speaker because they wish that everyone has equal rights in the country that proclaims itself to be the symbol of freedom. And they can also relate to the fighting spirit that the second speaker has to make the majority recognize the hard work and determination of the minority especially
Langston Hughes lived during a time of social inequality, prejudice, racism, and discrimination. As an African-American, he faced these unjust acts. Unlike today where those things are condemned, those things were condoned during Hughes' lifetime. Hughes' career spanned the Harlem Renaissance, when many African-Americans greatly contributed to literature, music, and art. Hughes wrote many poems about American society during his career. In 1936, he wrote the poem "Let America Be America Again" to "express his concerns over racism and inequality for all people" (Hendricks). Hughes exposes America for its hypocrisy and social injustice.
In “Let America be America again,” Hughes argues that “America was never America to him.” This quote means that America was supposed to be a great and amazing place but it never lived up to what it was supposed to be. He also exclaims how America was supposed to be a great dream but it was not a dream at all to him. He also argues about how it is not just the immigrants that are being discriminated against, but also anyone that is not rich. He talks about how it was supposed to have complete equality but, there was no freedom or equality, it was not the dream it was dreamt to be. That is how Hughes explains that America is not free and