Throughout Langston Hughes poems, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and “I, Too,” he discuss issues of equality and racism. When Hughes wrote these poems, African Americans were not accepted by White Americans. Blacks were discriminated against and killed violently; they had to sit in the back of the buses, and were denied the right to vote, just to name a few issues. With this kind of separation so prevalent, both blacks and whites feared for their lives. The symbolism in this poem represents the relationships between rivers and the history of the African American life. The poem is also structured to provide the unity of the African American history. Hughes also uses imagery for the readers to understand the history and background of African Americans’.
Hughes refers to the deep roots like trees have as well as “roots” in the symbolic sense. Here the author wants the readers to know that everyone is created equally. The “roots” he is talking about represents the blood that each and everyone have running in their veins. Hughes writes, “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins” (Line 2-3). Here the “I” represents African Americans on a whole. The author talks about the ancient rivers which are represented by the blood that is flowing through the human body. The ancient rivers also represent the history of the African Americans to show where they have been and how far they have come. Hughes continues to say, “I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its m...
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... stanza Hughes went on to say, “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am, and be ashamed” (Lines 15-17). Hughes is saying that even though you sent me to eat in the kitchen when visitors come over, it doesn’t break me but only make him stronger and beautiful. He also continues to say that he sings the National Anthem/Star Spangle Banner the same as everyone else. This means that even though he is black, he is an American also.
In conclusion, these two poems by Langston Hughes, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and “I, Too Sing,” is a cry for equality and freedom in America. Although he was sent to the kitchen to eat when visitors came over, Hughes says that he eats well; he finds it amusing that while he was isolated he eats well. As in the last stanza of the poem, “I, too, am American,” this means that multiple races are involved in making up the faces of America.
The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, explained the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. Hughes made a very clear and concise statement in focusing on women and the power they hold, light and darkness, and strength. Did his poems properly display the feelings of African-American’s in that time period? It is apparent that Hughes felt a sense of pride in his culture and what they had to endure. After all “Life ain’t been no crystal stair!”(Norton, Line 2, 2028)
This poem is often compared to Walt Whitman’s I Hear America Singing because of the similarities of the two poems. In this poem, Hughes argues that the African American race is equal to whites. Hughes even declares that one day the African American race will be equal to whites. Hughes proclaims, “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed-I, too, am America.” Hughes was very bold and daring when he wrote these lines in this poem. He is implying that the white people will regret what they have done to blacks. That they will be ashamed of how they treated them. Undoubtedly, this poem expresses Hughes cultural identity.
To begin, these two poems discuss racism in the United States of America towards African Americans. Both poems were written during two completely different eras. One being from 1926 while the other dates from 2014. These two poems have been written almost 100 years apart, yet this subject is still as relevant today as it was in 1926. When Langston Hughes wrote “I, Too,” in 1926, I don’t think that he would’ve ever expected that a century
In the line “I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen” (Hughes 2-3) is denial of a particular person due to the pigmentation of their skin. The African American race had to suffer and be treated differently because of one small detail that was out of their control. Many individuals struggled with how they were treated during this time and others let such treatment make them stronger. As seen in the following lines “Nobody’ll dare say to me, “Eat in the kitchen, then.” Hughes illustrates that the narrator is in touch with being the same as everyone else. These lines show that he knows what he deserves and he will stand up for himself. Guilt of being a certain race is not hanging over the narrator’s head unlike many others who feel defeated. This poem stands for those who see themselves equally with the ones that look down upon them. “I, too, am America” is a testament of faith in his countrymen and women to recognize and appreciate the contribution of African-American citizens.” (Lewis) shows that America should be proud of the strong ethnic mix. Hughes possessed optimism for all human beings and took a lot of pride in showing that through his
In this poem Hughes writes “I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars / I am the Negro, servant to you all” (20-31), these lines state that he understands that his ancestors too had to fight for chang...
...atre. He highlights the roles of Blacks as well as the different types of “Negros” such as the “Nordic Negro” and the “Old Negro.” Locke stated that, “The American mind must reckon with a fundamentally changed Negro” (115). Intelligent and socially conscious, the New Negro identity is constantly under pressure and watched closely by society. New Negro culture should stretch further than Harlem, New York. It should reach the mountains and the valleys and touch all people, for America was built on the backs of slaves and American History is African American History as well. The racial mountain that stands before any person who considers themselves black is history. Instead of assimilating into white culture, Hughes supports the claim to build black culture from what remains. The racial mountain must be climbed and conquered to advance as a people in society.
Because of that, his writing seems to manifest a greater meaning. He is part of the African-American race that is expressed in his writing. He writes about how he is currently oppressed, but this does not diminish his hope and will to become the equal man. Because he speaks from the point of view of an oppressed African-American, the poem’s struggles and future changes seem to be of greater importance than they ordinarily would. The point of view of being the oppressed African American is clearly evident in Langston Hughes’s writing.
During the 1900s, many African Americans experienced the effects of racial segregation but they still had hope, their oppression did not stop their belief for future change. In “I, Too, Sing, America”, Langston Hughes has makes it clear that he envisions change. In the beginning of the poem, he speaks of being treated differently than others in his home, making it hard to live equally. Hughes writes, “I am the darker brother, they send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes” (Line). He chooses to discuss this issue because his darker shade of skin in comparison to the other residents in his home, makes it possible for him to eat separately so that he will not be seen by the guests; this depicts segregation in his home due to race. Because of the racial conflicts that Hughes experiences, he hopes that there is some form of change in the future, where he can sit equally with others. He goes on to write, “Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table when company comes, nobody’ll dare say to me, eat in the kitchen “(Line). Hughes...
... They focus more on the cultural aspects of identity that Hughes is very proud of, while poems “Democracy” and “Theme for English B” touch on some of the social concerns that created a struggle for dignity as a black person in the early/mid twentieth century. The “Democracy” is a slightly stern and direct request to take action and fight for civil rights. The “Theme for English B” is a compassionate and low-key personal anecdote that reiterates the unpracticed concept that “all men are created equal”. Despite the difference in tone and subject, all four poems relate to the central theme that dignity is something that white men may take for granted, but Langston Hughes, as a black man and a writer, sees and feels dignity as a fight and a struggle that he faces and that the black community as a whole faces every day.
To analyze Hughes’s poem thoroughly, by using Eliot’s argumentative essay, we must first identify the poem’s speaker and what is symbolic about the speaker? The title (“The Negro Speaks Of Rivers”) of the poem would hint off the speaker’s racial identity, as the word Negro represents the African-American race not only in a universal manner, but in it’s own individual sphere. T.S. Eliot’s essay, mentions that “every nation, every race, has not its own creative, but its own critical turn of mind”(549). In another sense, different societies have their own characteristics, however, with a racial mixture, shadowed elements can be formed. If one were to analyze in between the lines of Eliot’s essay and Hughes’s poem, he...
When looking at the poem, Hughes expresses the pride that he has in his heritage and in who h...
The poem “Negro” was written by Langston Hughes in 1958 where it was a time of African American development and the birth of the Civil Rights Movement. Langston Hughes, as a first person narrator tells a story of what he has been through as a Negro, and the life he is proud to have had. He expresses his emotional experiences and makes the reader think about what exactly it was like to live his life during this time. By using specific words, this allows the reader to envision the different situations he has been put through. Starting off the poem with the statement “I am a Negro:” lets people know who he is, Hughes continues by saying, “ Black as the night is black, /Black like the depths of my Africa.” He identifies Africa as being his and is proud to be as dark as night, and as black as the depths of the heart of his country. Being proud of him self, heritage and culture is clearly shown in this first stanza.
The founding fathers constructed the Constitution with the notion that “all men were created equal.” However, many minorities still struggle for the same rights and opportunities as others. “Mother to Son” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” are poems written by Langston Hughes that use symbolism to exemplify the struggles of African Americans as they attempt to persevere through adversity. Hughes utilizes the stairs in “Mother to Son” and the rivers in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” as his main modes of symbolism.
Hughes emphasizes his message consistently throughout this poem, weaving in the most important line in the middle and end of the poem. He is representing his people. African Americans have waited and been abused by society, and this deepened and weathered their souls over time, just as a river would become deepened and weathered. Hughes’ soul, the collective soul of African Americans, has become “deep like the rivers” (5). This simile speaks that the rivers are part of the body, and contribute to this immortality that Hughes is so desperate to achieve for his people. Rivers are the earthly symbols of eternity: deep, constant, mystifying.
In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, the river stands as a symbol of endlessness, geographical awareness, and the epitome of the human soul. Hughes uses the literary elements of repetition and simile to paint the river as a symbol of timelessness. This is evident in the first two lines of the poem. Hughes introduces this timeless symbol, stating, “I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins” (Hughes 1-2). These opening lines of the poem identifies that the rivers Hughes is speaking about are older than the existence of human life. This indicates the rivers’ qualities of knowledge, permanence, and the ability to endure all. Humans associate “age” with these traits and the longevity of a river makes it a force to be reckoned with. The use of a simile in the line of the poem is to prompt the audience that this is truly a contrast between that ancient wisdom, strength, and determination of the river and the same qualities that characterize a human being. The imagery portrayed in the poem of blood flowing through human veins like a river flows ...