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Compare and contrast langston hughes poems essay
Walt whitman and langston hughes comparison
Hughes & Whitmans poems
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Hughes and Whitman use the symbol of acceptance to illustrate the inclusion of an individual's dreams in the American community, however, in DuBois’ prose, he contrasts that an individual's dream is not to be a part of the community, but to change the American community to promote equality. Hughes and Whitman’s poems show how a person’s dream is to be an American. In Whitman’s poem, “I sing America”, the meaning behind being an American citizen comes from the work that that citizen does. Throughout the poem, Whitman embeds stylitic elements including gerundive of the verb to sing to reinforce the American dream. This song, causes men to view work as the key to their dreams. Whitman uses the action of singing the “song” while working, to prove that the only way for acceptance this community is to work hard. Anything opposite will be a disgrace. Hughes’s wrote the poem, “I, Too”, as a response to Whitman’s poem “I sing America”. The poem explains how a black man wants to join the American community as well. Hughes utilizes the word “beautiful” to illustrate that …show more content…
Their dreams are not for acceptance, but for change in the community. During this time, a baby has died, and the father says: By invoking the symbol of the Veil, DuBois illustrates how it represents the gap between those who the accepted and those who are still in “bonds”. If the Veil does not exist anymore, then there will be no need for belonging in the community. Acceptance will be easy to access. To end the prose, DuBois writes: Dubois uses the symbol of the Veil to emphasize that dying is the only way to escape the hardships of living in this type of world. In the quote before, the Veil was lifted in the dream of the person, but here DuBoise is writing that as long as the Veil is still here, acceptance will always exist before equality. So the person’s dream has to end in order to gain this
The poem, "We Wear the Mask”, by Paul Laurence Dunbar is about separating Blacks people from the masks they wear. When Blacks wear their masks they are not simply hiding from their oppressor they are also hiding from themselves. This type of deceit cannot be repaid with material things. This debt can only be repaid through repentance and self-realization. The second stanza of “We Wear the Mask” tells Blacks whites should not know about their troubles. It would only give them leverage over Blacks. Black peoples’ pain and insecurities ought to be kept amongst themselves. There is no need for anyone outside the black race to know what lies beneath their masks. The third stanza turns to a divine being. Blacks look to god because he made them and is the only one that can understand them. They must wear their mask proudly. The world should stay in the dark about who they are. This poem is about Blacks knowing their place and staying in it. This is the only way they could be safe.
...one existing trapped within the view of hegemonic society; angry, but powerless so long as he remains in this state. Yet Sanchez provides a succinct plan for Black Americans in their quest to ascend the Veil: to exist as both African and American while feeding white America a pacifying view of a half truth-destruction fueled by deadly ignorance. The speakers of the poems are merely victims of the same system, seeking the same freedom. While the works of these authors differ greatly, one characteristic is common in both works: The desire for power to ascend the Veil that hangs heavily upon them like a cloak that prevents their ascension. The desire to live beyond the Veil.
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.
The veil metaphor in Souls of Black Folk is symbolic of the invisibility of blacks in America. Du Bois says that Blacks in America are a
The Concept of the veil has been a significant symbol of clearly differentiating from the whites, in aspects of political, economical and social prospects. Durkheim explained symbol as “something that stands for something else”(pg. 135). It is a symbol that calls up shared notions and values. In the example of the Blacks in the south, the veil symbolized an “iron curtain” separating the two races, separation and invisibility, of the black and white. The veil had previously been worn because of previous traditions demanding a clear separation of the sexes. The veil is seen as a social barrier to prevent the “others”, black African Americans, from surpassing into the clean and pure white world. Nonetheless Du bois also states, that its possible for one to, lift up the veil when one wishes, and he can also exist in a region on neither side, white nor black, which shows Du bois’ many different meaning and function with the symbol of the veil.
Written in iambic tetrameter and in the plain English verse, the writer continually bombards the reader, through continuous repetition, the idea that the Negro hid his emotions behind "The Mask. " This is done to emphasize a sense of deception and belief that the average negro is a happy soul, rather than a "tortured [one]" (p 918,11) as Dunbar implies. The first stanza in itself is a lament of the "Negro's" conditions as perceived by the world. It is a representation of the past, in that the past is the speaker's past lament of the mask, not a past event in history/time. The first two lines of the poem, "We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,-" (p 918,2) are incorporated to introduce the image White Americans see when visualizing the slave.
“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” –Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry is one of the world’s greatest wonders. It is a way to tell a story, raise awareness of a social or political issue, an expression of emotions, an outlet, and last but not least it is an art. Famous poet Langston Hughes uses his poetry as a musical art form to raise awareness of social injustices towards African-Americans during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Although many poets share similarities with one another, Hughes creatively crafted his poetry in a way that was only unique to him during the 1920’s. He implemented different techniques and styles in his poetry that not only helped him excel during the 1920’s, but has also kept him relative in modern times. Famous poems of his such as a “Dream Deferred,” and “I, Too, Sing America” are still being studied and discussed today. Due to the cultural and historical events occurring during the 1920’s Langston Hughes was able to implement unique writing characteristics such as such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues that is demonstrative of his writing style. Langston Hughes use of distinct characteristics such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues helped highlight the plights of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance Era.
" The Souls of Black Folk", is a collection of autobiographical and historical essays contains many vast themes. There is the theme of souls and their attainment of consciousness, the theme of double consciousness and the duality and bifurcation of black life and culture. One of Dubious the most outstanding themes is the idea of "the veil." The veil provides a connection between the fourteen seemingly independent essays that make up "The Souls of Black Folk". Mentioned at least once in most of the essays, it means that, "the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second sight in this American world, -a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others”. The veil seems to be a metaphor for the separation and invisibility of black life and existence in America. It is also a major reoccurring theme in many books written about black life in America.
Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is a vision of the American spirit, a vision of Whitman himself. It is his cry for democracy, giving each of us a voice through his poetry. Each of us has a voice and desires, and this is Whitman's representation of our voices, the voice of America. America, the great melting pot, was founded for freedom and democracy, and this poem is his way of re-instilling these lost American ideals. In this passage from "Song of Myself" Whitman speaks through his fellow man and speaks for his fellow man when his voice is not socially acceptable to be heard.
Dubois writes " but shut out from their world by a vast veil" (2). A curtain was cast in-between blacks and whites, one side had the whites whom were living the American dream and on the other side there were the Minorities predominantly blacks. The "Veil" separates the two worlds and differentiates each side from the other. African Americans always lived with the knowledge that they were "different" from the rest, and that others would see them that way. Regardless of how hard they tried, they would never be able to rid themselves of this metaphor or of this distinct difference.
DuBois has used the metaphor ‘veil’ to term the social difference between people. The ‘veil’ is the main theme in the book. The veil divided the black and the white people and made the African Americans exist in the veil. While the Negro see life from the veil and too out of it but it was impossible for those white people to completely understand the subjugation experienced by black race. DuBois as a kid was ignorant of the presence of this veil until he was subjected to a discernment based on race which he was capable to fully study life within it.
Working hand in hand with the theme of “double consciousness” was “the veil.” ‘The Veil is one of the central tenets to The Souls of Black Folk. It essentially puts forward the idea that a symbolic veil separates African-Americans from White-Americans, and that this veil “covered” only African-Americans. Under this veil, African-Americans experienced oppression, racial violence, and segregation. As to the functioning of a veil, African-Americans could see out from under the veil and understand life outside.
W.E.B DuBois’s The Souls of Black Folk mentioned the concept of “the Veil”, a type of mental clouding that blocks one’s ability to recognize certain social environments. Dubois used the veil to explain the two social realities that African Americans faced in American society. African Americans, from Dubois’s time in the modern era were able to recognize two social environments: one that is American, and one that is African American. This dual social experience was caused from the rampant mistreatment of African Americans in many regions across the United States. Through drastic differences between social environments based on race, many African Americans began to develop a consciousness for these two distinctly different atmospheres.
The poem “We Wear the Mask” is about oppressed African Americans. They are ones that are forced to wear masks of happiness to hide their pain, anger, and frustration. Their pain was caused by the discrimination they still faced. For example, “separate but equal” which allowed African Americans to be segregated at schools, restaurants, libraries, etc. Additionally, hate groups were lynching innocent African Americans just because of their skin color.
The leading female protagonist, Blanche Dubois, serves as an allegory for the loss of the Old South, representing the genteel society of Southern plantation owners through the nineteenth century. The DuBois sisters serve as remnants of Southern aristocracy. After the loss of Belle Reve, all that remains are idealistic pretensions. It is these pretensions that Blanche uses as a foundation to construct a new reality for herself. In contrast the character of Stanley suggests that the reality of a changing society is not a kind or merciful one.