Comparing The Lottery And Let America Be America Again
American values and traditions, such as democracy and individualism are the cornerstone of our culture, and are passed down from generation to generation. However not all values and traditions in American culture and history are positive, systematic racism and oppression of minorities is still prevalent in society, both The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, and “Let America be America Again” by Langston Hughes speak to this message. Jackson’s and Hughes’ works attempt to demonstrate how American culture has remained stagnant, and not attempted to change and adapt for the betterment of our society to be more inclusive of minorities. Both authors however, use different means to display this message, Jackson uses dialogue and metaphor, and Hughes used …show more content…
It speaks to how the wealthy white class receive a priority and many advantages over their peers, and thus view America to be a good, safe, and fair place, because they’re not being harmed by the culture. Whereas those who don’t fit into the first class are brushed away as outsiders and treated unfairly, Hughes cites slavery, the American treatment of Native Americans, immigrants, and poor lower to middle class Americans, who are able to view the flaws in our culture and society, and realize the irony in viewing America in such a high standard. The juxtaposition of those two cultures can be seen in the poem immediately when the first group, the wealthy white class, begins to say how America isn’t offering the same opportunities it used to, and the second class, everyone else, saying how America has never offered them opportunities, which stems into an entire monologue by the second group. This monologue of sorts truly displays the harshness of American culture against those who don’t fit perfectly into the mold of rich and white, saying how the poor worker works away for years has never gotten ahead, who moved to the New World to escape the confines of the rigid social hierarchy, only to land in a new one, but invisible one. The vivid language is present all throughout this story to demonstrate the hardships that many Americans go through. Take for example, the second stanza on the second
Summary Of Let America Be America Again By Langston Hughes
1227 Words | 5 Pages“I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek.” In the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes, the reader here’s from two different speakers, and how they both seperately want America to change. One of the speakers wants America to go back to what it was before, while the other responds in small comments, building up to say the quote you read at the beginning. In the poem “Let America Be America Again” the author has two separate speakers with contradicting thoughts, the author relates to problems that were happening in the real world, and how the author’s rhyme scheme is a vital component to how this poem reads.
Let Usa Be America Again Literary Devices
671 Words | 3 PagesThis structure and tone change can give the reader a better picture of how Hughes felt about the inequality in America. He started out the poem with a more positive and hopeful tone from the speaker, but later changes it to a more resentful tone. The speaker is resentful and angry because of the unnoticed need for change in
What Are The Similarities Between The Lottery And Good Country People
1064 Words | 5 PagesVictoria Lorick Professor Mantz ENGL – 1302 – 72Z February 19, 2023 The Lottery and Good Country People(16) "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor are two different short stories that share some similarities, but also have distinct differences. Both stories deal with themes of deception, morality, and the dangers of blindly following traditions or beliefs. In "The Lottery," the villagers blindly follow the tradition of the lottery without questioning its morality or purpose. In "Good Country People," the protagonist, Hulga, blindly believes that she is intellectually superior to everyone else and is ultimately deceived by a seemingly "good country" Bible salesman. The characters in both stories also
Their Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston
547 Words | 3 PagesLangston Hughes wrote Let America be America Again explaining that he was never an equal or free in America. He also didn’t just focus on blacks, he also wrote “I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek.” (Hughes 8). Hughes explained that nobody in America is treated right unless a wealthy white man.
Figurative Language In Langston Hughes I, Too
394 Words | 2 PagesLangston Hughes’ “I, Too”, written in the Harlem Renaissance time period, focuses mainly on the “New Negro” concept. By concentrating on the rise of the African American people, Hughes demonstrates that African Americans are, indeed, Americans and that they are not in their own substandard category. He displays this position through the use of literary devices such as figurative language, imagery and tone. Hughes utilizes figurative language when he states “I, too, sing America”, showing that he deserves to be part of an equal society and deserves to be treated as such. Through his connection with America when he “sing[s] America”, he declares his right to feel devoted to his county, that he does not wish to just sit on the sidelines with
Let America Be America By Langston Hughes: Poem Analysis
697 Words | 3 PagesThe Expectations Of A Free America 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.”
Human Cruelty In The Lynching By Mckay And Langston Hughes
609 Words | 3 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance was a beneficial time in history for African Americans. Bringing blacks together in a new movement that had not been present in America yet. This was a movement in which blacks emphasized themselves by taking on their racial identity. It was a time period in which the black community helped each other to be able to express themselves as who they truly are, creating a true African American visual creativity, in this example it is that of poetry. This time period in history inspired many writers such as these two that will be touched upon in this paper, which are Claude McKay and Langston Hughes.
Comparing The Lottery And Imagine There's No Heaven
341 Words | 2 PagesThe tradition of following particular notions and dogmas in our culture shape our role as individuals in society. In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” we are introduced to the destructive influence that unchallenged or unquestioned dogma has on an entity's life and death in a community. In this paper I will engage in textual analysis with the purpose of demonstrating and comparing how Salman Rushdie’s outlooks of organized religion and its effect on society in his essay, “Imagine there’s No Heaven” compares to those implied in Jackson’s short story. “The Lottery,” conveys the argument of the endangerment in thoughtlessly following rituals in cultural society.
Essay On Justice In The Crucible
944 Words | 4 PagesSpeaking out for freedom and against injustice is also present in Shirley Jackson's short story The Lottery, Arthur Miller's tragic play The Crucible, and Elia Kazan's fictional movie On the Waterfront. Ultimately, these texts illustrate that injustice,
Essay On The American Dream Bureaucracy
915 Words | 4 PagesWeb. 18 Dec. 2015. Hochschild, Jennifer. "Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation". United States: Princeton University Press, 1995.
I Hear America Singing I Too Analysis
855 Words | 4 PagesThe speaker, who works in the household, is sent out of the kitchen, which demonstrates how oppression in American society that excludes Black Americans. (LD) Black Americans do the same labor as the workers Whitman suggests. However, Hughes critiques that the building up step of the American Dream is not available to everyone, especially Black Americans. (AI) Whitman argues that to achieve American success, one just has to take action and work hard, but Hughes emphasizes that Black Americans are limited to the access of this dream.
Let America Be America Again Analysis
1070 Words | 5 PagesLet America Be What Could Be America has never had a definite shape or form in regards to its identity, if ever it had one it was merely a construct. The American values that are constantly contradicts the realities of today. The overly patriotic America is too arrogant to willingly specify its imperfections and remedy them. In Langston Hughes’ “Let America be America Again”, Hughes exposes America’s flaws; he sheds light on the dark America that is of today regarding inequality, racism, and other injustices.
Belonging In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
921 Words | 4 PagesThe quintessential image of the American dream is that of a house with a white picket fence and Mama thinks the house she buys in Clybourne Park will allow the Younger family fulfill that dream. It’s a symbol for belonging in America; it can also represent an acceptance of American cultural values, such as capitalism. In addition, it’s an emphasis on the Youngers’ value on family and the home because the Youngers rely on each other during hard times, and they are not afraid of what may happen in the new neighborhood they know they are not welcomed in because they know they have each other. Moreover, Lindner and the other residents of Clybourne Park who offer to buy the house the Youngers bought represent the discrimination against African Americans at this time, and possibly a reason black Americans, like the Younger family, need to fight for a sense of belonging. “And we have decided to move into our house because my father- my father- earned it for us brick by brick” (Hansberry 148).
The Lottery Poem Analysis
1045 Words | 5 PagesWould you rather die for a sacrifice, or fight to the death to instill fear? “The Lottery” is a poem about a town who annually gives sacrifice to make sure that their crops grow. “The Hunger Games” is a movie about a girl named Katniss who has to join her “friend” and 22 other kids to fight to the death to please the ruler of Panem, President Snow, and to help him instill fear in the citizens. Tradition and violence as entertainment are two themes “The Lottery” and “The Hunger Games” have in common while also having contrasting ideas and events of their own. Both stories are based off of their own traditions.
Three Major Themes In Langston Hughes's Poetry
1089 Words | 5 PagesThe 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.
More about Comparing The Lottery And Let America Be America Again
Summary Of Let America Be America Again By Langston Hughes
1227 Words | 5 PagesLet Usa Be America Again Literary Devices
671 Words | 3 PagesWhat Are The Similarities Between The Lottery And Good Country People
1064 Words | 5 PagesTheir Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston
547 Words | 3 PagesFigurative Language In Langston Hughes I, Too
394 Words | 2 PagesLet America Be America By Langston Hughes: Poem Analysis
697 Words | 3 PagesHuman Cruelty In The Lynching By Mckay And Langston Hughes
609 Words | 3 PagesComparing The Lottery And Imagine There's No Heaven
341 Words | 2 PagesEssay On Justice In The Crucible
944 Words | 4 PagesEssay On The American Dream Bureaucracy
915 Words | 4 PagesI Hear America Singing I Too Analysis
855 Words | 4 PagesLet America Be America Again Analysis
1070 Words | 5 PagesBelonging In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
921 Words | 4 PagesThe Lottery Poem Analysis
1045 Words | 5 PagesThree Major Themes In Langston Hughes's Poetry
1089 Words | 5 Pages