Comparing 'I Too And Volar'

During this semester I’ve had the privilege to read some great literature by some great authors. In I Too, by Langston Hughes and Volar by Judith Cofer they both shared the same theme of being free and finding your identity. In I too, the speaker used a very simple form. It was written in free verse and features short lines and very simple language. Hughes wrote this from the perspective of an African American man who was a slave in South. “Volar” is a short story about a family of immigrants. In Volar the daughter was in search of her identity as an American, in I Too, the African American man was very sure of his identity of a black man and in the South and believed that he should have the same rights and voice as the white people.
Hughes

began the poem by saying that, “I, too, sing America, I am the darker brother”(Hughes). By this statement it shows that he and many other African Americans like him also sing the national anthem and should have every right to the freedom it symbolizes. Singing also symbolizes their voice in this nation and their hopes of freedom in the future. Hughes is dismissed to the kitchen when their company shows up. Others may have been embarrassed or felt humiliated by an act such as that from their slave masters, but Hughes abides by it. He says, "But I laugh, And eat well, and grow strong"(Hughes). This line is saying that no one can take his pride and joy away and that there is better days in store for him. He also demonstrates growth and maturity and that the future for African Americans is looking better and better each and every day. He has taking all the bad from the situation and found a way to make that better himself.
In the next stanza Hughes utilizes metaphors and imagery to get his argument across saying, "Tomorrow,I'll be at the table, When company comes". Being able to sit at the table refers to the white Americans and how one day he will be free just like them. The speaker believes that one day in the near future African Americans will be respected and "Nobody'll dare, Say to me, eat in the kitchen"(Hughes). Hughes concludes the poem by saying, "Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am"(Hughes). In this line he is expressing how people will not only see the color of his skin, but the beauty of his heart. Hughes finishes up the poem by again stating, "I, too, am America" showing his true American pride which had never really showed much love to him.
“In Volar” the little hispanic girl has the typical American dream that she will never be able to achieve because of her circumstances. Her family didn’t make a lot of money, and struggled to make ends meet at times. The little girl dreamed of having the ability to fly. In fact, “Volar” is the title which means “to fly” in Spanish. As the mother found out that they weren’t going to be able to visit her family in Puerto Rico, she says, “Ay, si yo pudiera volar”(Cofer), by this she is saying “Oh, if only I could fly”. The mother really wants to fly Puerto Rico to visit her family but she knows that their financial state won’t allow them to do so. She believes that will make her happy again. However, it seems that the little girl and the mother both are trying to find happiness by getting away from the world that they are now living in. Flying could be a symbol of them looking for the fastest way to leave the situation that they are in now and enter a better one. I found it kind of ironic that they wanted to escape and be free because they likely immigrated to America in search of more freedom. The little girl is tired of trying to fit in with her peers.