Langston Hughes's Symbolism In I Too, Sing America?

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The 20th century was an important time for poets, especially Langston Hughes. The outlook of writings were being looked at more closely. While others were writing, for their own pleasure, Hughes composed his writings based off of his audience (poets.org). James Mercer Langston Hughes, this famous poet was born in Joplin, Missouri, on February 1st, 1902, as a child Hughes did not have a stable home. The poetry of Langston Hughes began once he settled in Lincoln with his mother and stepfather. Hughes traveled to Mexico and Columbia after graduating. He visited both Mexico and Columbia for one year. Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman were poets that Hughes felt greatly influenced his works. In 1926, Langston Hughes published …show more content…

This poem displayed the Harlem Renaissance, while also explaining how the narrator was treated because of his race. Symbolism is shown starting with the second line, “I am the darker brother” (2). Hughes uses the word “brother” to symbolize his race, which is African American. From the perspective, “They send me to eat in the kitchen,” (3) “When company comes,” (4) one could assume that the character in the poem was a slave. This is theory because if the character was not a slave, and they thought he was their equal, why would the slave owner send him to eat in the kitchen when company comes? In the time of Langston Hughes, when slaves were around, you were not equal to your owners. Therefore the slave would be sent out of the room wherever everyone is gathering. From my own interpretation, “Tomorrow,” (8) “I’ll be at the table,” (9) “When company comes,” (10) “Nobody’ll dare,” (11) “Say to me,” (12) “Eat in the kitchen,” (13) he is saying that he will eat at the table with everyone else and they will accept him for who he is, and for his race. There is an example of repetition in the first and last line of this poem. “I, Too, sing America” is probably repeated to emphasize that the narrator too, should be noticed as a …show more content…

In this poem I don’t think the speaker is Langston Hughes, the speaker could be anybody. This poem is asking what happens to dream. The speaker has many ideas in their mind, of what could happen to the deferred dreams as shown throughout the entire poem. Most poems are statements, although this particular poem is asking multiple questions. “What happens to a dream deferred?” (1), “Does it dry up,” (2) “like a raisin in the sun,” (3) “Or fester like a sore -,” (4) “And then run?” (5) Does it stink like rotten meat?” (6) “Or crust and sugar over –,” (7) “like a syrupy sweet?” (8), “Or does it explode?” (11)While lines 9 and 10 make an assumption of what the speaker thinks would happen to a deferred dream. The ending of the poem keeps you guessing. What would you say happens to dreams

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