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"Let America Be American Again" by Langston Hughes is an essential addition to the syllabus. Hughes captures many themes in his poem, all of which reflect cultural characteristics of America and features of Modernist literature. The overall theme is unification against unjust treatment; Hughes concludes his poem with an emphatic call to action invoking the neglected farmers, Negroes, workers, and Indians to break the chains of oppression and to reestablish the American Dream. Hughes reveals the widespread racial and social segregation that existed during a time of economic turmoil, the have-nots were abandoned to provide for themselves, receiving minimal government aid. As a result, there was a prevalent sense of impotence in regards to their ability to continue on despite isolation. Written in 1936, …show more content…
Therefore, although the government was successful in re-stimulating demand, the predominate holder of assets was the white middle-upper class, which meant it took longer for the lower class to feel the positive effects. During this period of alienation Hughes observes the part of America that is hidden in the woodwork, lost and forgotten, on the verge of capitulation; he feels compelled to uplift their spirits, to reignite the spark that once made America an astounding world power. In contrast to other works on the syllabus, this work is in its own genre, it offers a glimpse of inequality, corruption, and abandonment during the Great Depression. Hughes had a versatile style, he wrote in several different literary genres, including plays, poetry, short stories, and novels. He ignored classical literary forms and favored improvisation, popular in African American culture; his ability to write without preparation reveals the concerns compelling him to write. Influenced by Carl Sandburg, Sandburg guided Hughes toward free verse and a radically democratic modernist
Hughes, Langston. "Let America Be America Again." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
This week reading were really interesting, all of them had a strong message behind their words. However, the one that really caught my attention was “Open Letter to the South” by Langston Hughes. In this poem, the author emphasizes in the idea of unity between all races, He also suggests that working in unity will lead to achieving great things, as he said, “We did not know that we were strong. Now we see in union lies our strength.” (Hughes 663)
Langston Hughes's stories deal with and serve as a commentary of conditions befalling African Americans during the Depression Era. As Ostrom explains, "To a great degree, his stories speak for those who are disenfranchised, cheated, abused, or ignored because of race or class." (51) Hughes's stories speak of the downtrodden African-Americans neglected and overlooked by a prejudiced society. The recurring theme of powerlessness leads to violence is exemplified by the actions of Sargeant in "On the Road", old man Oyster in "Gumption", and the robber in "Why, You Reckon?"
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).
The poems of Langston Hughes have been alluded to as the voice of African American troubles since the beginning of 20th century America. Poems filled with aspirations, beliefs, desires and perseverance of black America to be acknowledged for their parts in helping form this nation and be considered equivalent among their white counterparts. The poem, “I, Too” is one of the numerous works in Hughes’ archives that follows this trademark style which has brought him worldwide fame. Here, Hughes uses having supper at the dinner table as a symbol for being seen as equal in America.
In Let America be America Again, Langston Hughes employs literary devices such as repetition and metaphors to convey the emotions of his hope, that one day America will return to the country of freedom it once was. Hughes starts the poem revealing that “equality is in the air we breathe”. He contradicts this within the first few stanzas of the poem, repeating phrases similar to “America never was America to me”. By constantly demonstrating his feelings of disappointment about the country, he calls home, he is able to express his longing for it to be the place he once remembers. Hughes is also able to convey his dissatisfaction with America’s ability to handle issues regarding equality within social statuses. Hughes states, “I am the young man,
Similar, to the previous poem discussed, the poem Let America Be America Again, written by Langston Hughes in 1935, is an account of the American Dream, that, according to Hughes, never occurred. It also delves into issues of equality and freedom. The poem not only focuses on minorities and their struggles, but also the economically disadvantaged and immigrants who suffer from social bias and unfair treatment. As well, touches upon various issues and events that were prominent at the time, and American society
The theme that is apparent throughout “Let American Be America Again,” is that even though America is supposed to be the land of the free, it has never really provided this golden opportunity to everyone. In fact, Langston Hughes seems to imply that America oppressed many groups of people and has never really represented those ideals in the first place, except for a certain group of people, the wealthy. Through the use of the literary elements of poems, we’ll explore the true meaning the author seems to portray.
In Langston Hughes’ Let America Be America Again, the author writes a poem about America not living up to the potential that it was made for. His tone is resentful of the idea that America is supposed to be where many people come to fulfill their hopes, but they are let down because there is so much economic disparity and unequal opportunities. Money and greed has strongly shaped America into what it is, and has placed the priorities “of owning everything for one’s own greed” above all else to gain power (Hughes 986). Hughes speaks for the majority of people who wants America to be “the dream it used to be” because “America was never America,” where the ideals of liberty, freedom, and equality are not as justified as it states in the Declaration of Independence (Hughes 985). The author wants liberty, a
The explicit thesis of Hughes’ essay appears in the first paragraph. He asserts that “this is the mountain standing in the way of any true Negro art in America--this urge within the race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible.”
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
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.
The civil rights movement may have technically ended in the nineteen sixties, but America is still feeling the adverse effects of this dark time in history today. African Americans were the group of people most affected by the Civil Rights Act and continue to be today. Great pain and suffering, though, usually amounts to great literature. This period in American history was no exception. Langston Hughes was a prolific writer before, during, and after the Civil Rights Act and produced many classic poems for African American literature. Hughes uses theme, point of view, and historical context in his poems “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” to expand the views on African American culture to his audience members.
Some research showed the reason why he became the important figure of this time period is because Hughes cant live with the social inequality for African Americans. “the beatings, lychings, and daily humiliation of segregation that African Americans suffered in the South and elsewhere outraged Hughes, and he accepted the responsibility to speak out against these injustices in his writing and to fight them in his daily life” (Santis 5). “dreams” is one of the poems that Hughes wrote after that time. This is the time after the Harlem Renaissance movement.
The Negro Speaks of River. That was one of the poems that stood out to me as the best out of all of them, which was written by Langston Hughes. He wrote this piece while his was a senior in high school, he went on to write many other poems which I will discuss such as: The Negro, My People, and Mother to Son, Song for a Dark Girl, Prayer, Luck, Theme for English B, Harlem [Dream Deferred], Homecoming and Compare. What I find all these poems so fascinating was that they all relate to one person: the author Langston Hughes. When reading Mother to Son, it was interesting to see that it felt more of a story about a conversation the author might have had with his mother when he was young. The beginning starts off with the mother, I presume