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Langston hughes portrayal of american dream
Langston hughes portrayal of american dream
Langston hughes portrayal of american dream
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Even though Hughes wanted to paint the perfect picture for how America should be, how others should live, what should be allowed, what should be accepted, etc., it happened to be a presently false representation of how the American people are living. The words of, “Let America Be Great Again”, come from a young man who didn’t have too much due to being driven off his land. The young man is aware what life really is, and how hard life can really be for some. Also, a servant, he represented those who may have been too weak from working in fields and struggling to survive in this “land of dreams”; Hughes stated (1936), “Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed -- Let it be that great strong land of love”. Nevertheless, Donald Trump presents
Dinesh D’Souza constructs an argument in his essay “What’s so great about America” that is convincing to the average reader. His essay was published 15 years ago and American culture has seen some changes since then. However, nothing that he mentions specifically in the essay has changed drastically. His extrinsic ethos is strong because he is from India and the audience may perceive that he can compare his knowledge of living elsewhere to an immigrant’s knowledge. This view of looking at America from an outsider’s point of view and how others view living in America is essential in D’Souza’s fundamental argument. He compares living in America to living in other less developed countries and appeals to the common citizen in his style, logic, and development of his essay. His arguments are sound and he convinces the average citizen that America is the best place to live, although his lack of facts and statistics to back up his statements could be seen as a weakness.
America has always been a land of opportunity ever since the pilgrims first arrived. During the infancy of America’s history, the country was under developed and would be considered a third world country today. Even though America was under developed compared to the previous motherland of Great Britain it always had the potential to exceed the many limits set upon by others. For example, Andrew Jackson, also known as the man of the people, was raised by a single mother who struggled to raise two other children and struggled with economic hardships. Regardless of his upbringings, Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States in which he invited the public to his inaugural ball. Some people who migrated from other countries to America, such as Frances Trollope, failed to recognize the potential that America had. Instead of Mrs. Trollope acknowledging the promises the newly found country had, she decided to critically compare it to her homeland.
Ronald Takaki quotes Langston Hughes in his book A Different Mirror “ Let American be America again, let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed, … I am the red man driven from the land, I am the Immigrant clutching the hope I seek, O let my land be a land where, equality is the air we breathe.” (Takaki, 19-20). “‘We the’diverse ‘people of the United States’ transformed America into a mighty economy and an amazing unique society of varied races, ethnicities, and religion.” (Takaki, 20). Takaki wrote in his book, “ Day of spacious dreams! I sailed for America, Overblown with hope.” ( Takaki, 14). Would not all immigrants come here for a better life? Yes, Ken Vinson, who works at a local power station in Marshalltown, Iowa said, “Some people came here because they were desperate. I don’t care how they got here, and they have a family. Now all of the sudden you want to rip these people out and send them back? I wouldn’t want my family torn apart like that.’” (Barabak, 2016) . An opponent may say, their desire and dreams take away our hope. Desires, dreams, and hopes, however, are contagious and
In the poem “Let America be America Again” by Langston Hughes, he states “The millions who have nothing for our pay--Except the dream that’s almost dead”. This means that people have been working hard all their lives to be successful and to live the “American Dream”, but it's all fake. This also shows that the American Dream really doesn’t exist. The documentary “Inequality For All” by Robert Reich has showed us that America really isn’t equal. Robert Reich states “The middle class is struggling”. This means that the middle is having to work ten times harder than the upper class to make a living and it's just not fair. This shows that everyone is just “indifferent”. This also shows that no one seems to care about making America the real “Dream”. I’m starting to question, who is actually looking out for the American workers? And to be honest, it’s NOBODY!! Mr. Reich also states “400 people have the most money in the U.S”. This is just showing Americans that the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. Economic Indifference is just making things harder and harder for Americans to make this dream into a
My topic is God Bless America of Faith Ringgold. She is an African-American artist. She is not only a painter but also a writer, speaker and mixed media sculptor. Faith Ringgold was born on October 8th 1930 in Harlem, New York City and she is still alive. God Bless America is one of the most famous arts of Faith Ringgold that was produce in 1964. In that art, she used the oil on canvas and the dimension is 31x19 in. The subject of Faith Ringgold’s God Bless America is the woman on the background of American flag. There is another reason that make God Bless America became popular at that time. At that time, there was a Civil Right movement because the white prejudice against African American was enforced by the legal system. Therefore the theme
Written in response to Walt Whitman's “I Hear America Singing,” a poem that suggests that the United States offers freedom and equality to all citizens, Hughes implies that freedom and equality are not extended towards all citizens. As a result, the the African American speaker “sing[s] America” (1), a patriotic voice declaring for change. The optimistic tone is further shown through the final line, “I, too, am America” (18). By exchanging “sing” for “am,” the assertion that African Americans are—and will be accepted and treated as—Americans and equals is
One can instantly feel the emotion coming out in the first sentence; “Let America be America again.”(MLM) This clearly show that Hughes was very passionate about his country and wanted the reader to be just as well. He quickly lets the reader now that he is not talking about going back to the old traditions, but to the old ideology. Hughes explain it this way, “Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed” and “…where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme that any man be crushed by on above.” (MLM) This shows his true heart because he wanted America to go back to dreaming big for a better tomorrow, but what he doesn’t want is the injustice that was so prevalent in the past. He wanted the nation to go back to that old ideology “that we are all created equal”() and should be treated as such.
He states that although the stock market has been good to him, it is "so bloated" and he hates to see how it negatively affects others. Trump then goes on to say that his wealth and success in business alone qualify him to be president and read his net worth to the thousandth dollar. "That's the kind of thinking our country needs." Trump hopes that his wealth will appeal to voters and set himself apart from career politicians. "I'm really rich," Trump said, adding that his confident attitude is what the country really needs after having "losers" run the country. Trump ended his speech saying,"But if I get elected president, I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and we will make America great again." This is an example of repetition, because he repeated the phrase "make America great again" all throughout his speech. Trump uses repetition in his speech to also help emphasize his point and help the audience remember his
God bless America. It’s a song, it’s an anthem, and it bears the hopes of many Christian Americans today. Like the man who built his house in the sand, we (Americans) have built our hope for salvation on a “in God we trust” government; and like the house in the sand, are learning that our foundation is not solid. Our faith in the sand is crumbling before us. So we sing “God bless America” a little louder. We raise our hands as we pray for God to bless our nation. We take His name in vain as we charge to take the freedom of others in the name of the freedom we have been “blessed” with. I must have missed the passage in the Bible that talks about America being God’s chosen nation.
“I'm living in America, and in America, you're on your own. America's not a country. It's just a business. Now f**king pay me” (Killing Them Softly 2012). The song and video for This is America has a lot to analyze so the visuals and lyrics are going to be split into two different parts. Donald Glover's video opens in an empty warehouse. A black man walks up, sits down, and begins to play the guitar. The camera slowly pans to Glover who begins dancing. The man who was playing the guitar is now wearing a bag over his head. Glover pulls a gun out and shoots the black man. All of the facial expressions and poses Glover makes are very similar to old Jim Crow photos and portrayals, but Glover is also playing the role of america in this video. This
America was founded with the belief that variation was a beneficial resource, and the belief that every man deserves his own opportunity to make a difference. While America does need to be “made great again”, the path that our new President is choosing to go down is not the way to do it. It seems as though
Anne Tyler’s “With All Flags Flying” is a short story about an old man’s experience growing old and having someone take care of him. All of his daughters want to take care of him and have him stay at their house, but he is determined to live at a nursing home. This short story explores the theme that humans are innately selfish.
"Sadly, the American dream is dead. But if I get elected president, I will bring it back bigger and better than ever.” This was said by American businessman and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who I believe is best fit to be elected because of his views on immigration, education, and budget and spending.
“I, Too, Sing America,” ends with the striking line, “I, too, am America” (Hughes 18). At the beginning of the poem, Hughes asserts his right to love his country. Through the middle, he looks at the past, present, and future state of the conditions he and his people face in their homeland; that is, where they have been, where they are, and where they are determined to go. Here, in the closing line of the poem, the poet takes his point one step further to declare that he is America. What is he trying to convey here? Primarily, Hughes is taking the abstract concept of the American “melting pot” and rooting it in concrete, real-life terms. After all, what is a country, if not the people who inhabit and shape it? The poet proclaims, in one beautifully simple sentence, that the lives and experiences of black Americans make up just as vital a component of the country as any other life and any other experience. At the time he wrote the poem, Hughes lived in a society in which white Americans claimed ownership of the country as well as the culture while pushing everyone else to the fringes. By saying, “I, too, am America,” Hughes sets the record straight and insists that African-Americans deserve – and claim – their rightful place at the large and diverse table of American
Donald Trump’s published Facebook video, “Donald Trump: Make America Great Again” provides a clear depiction of his purposive message and intentions, when considering its visual aspects and the verbal communication established. With regards to semiotics, the encoding and decoding of messages, and the approach to audiences, the brief video divulges these aspects through the prevalence of minorities, his frequent use of hand gestures, and the clip’s cinematographic elements.