America Never Was America Again By Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes says in the poem “Let America Be America Again”, “O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath”. This sentence in itself describes that changes have already happened to America, changes that now limit the opportunities that America once had to things like our Dreams, our Satisfaction, our Faith and our Hope. All these things we once had suddenly falling at our feet because of aid and assistance that we are so helplessly being deprived

America is known to be the country of liberty. The definition of Liberty is simply the reason America was created; it is a place where everyone is treated equal with hopes of achieving their American dream. As a result, many people dream of coming to live in the wonderful country known for its freedom. However, America does not seem to hold that value as it used to. In the poem “Let America Be America Again”, the poet Langston Hughes expresses his disappointment with the country. The poem was written in 1935 where discrimination and inequality still exist. In the poem “Let America Be America Again”, the poet Langston Hughes uses repetition and alliteration in order to show desirement for a better country and disappointment of the country America came to be, and also imagery in order to exemplify the struggles of those who came to live in country they thought was dream.

In Langston Hughes poem “Let America be America Again” he talks about how America should return to the way that it was perceived to be in the dreams before America was truly America. Throughout the poem he uses various methods to evoke the patriotic images and dreams that he feels America should and will eventually be. Hughes states that America is supposed to be a place of equality for everyone including both white and colored people. During this period in time though there was not equality for everyone. Hughes talks about an America where both whites and colored people will have equality in all aspects socially, politically, and economically. What Hughes is saying is that both whites and colored

James Baldwin and Langston Hughes wrote two pieces of literature, Baldwin's letter to his nephew at the beginning of The Fire Next Time and Hughes’ “Let America be America Again”, to show how minorities, specifically African-American, struggled in America. Both authors write how about minorities are oppressed and how they have to fight oppression in order to realize “The American Dream” and overcome obstacles the white American man did not have. The two pieces give an insight on how, not only the African-Americans but also “the red man” and “the refugee”, are oppressed in America. Leonard Pitts work is about how Americans tip-toe around the problems is their country. Pitts statement in his article is that Americans need to realize what is wrong with America and how they need to work together to fix it.

Life, liberty, freedom, equality, opportunity, and so many other words have been used to describe the United States of America. Every American child grows up with the words “the land of the free” pounded into their heads, and every morning schools declare America as a place of “liberty and justice for all.” Such inflated rhetoric presents America with large shoes to fill. Thus, America’s shortcomings should not be surprising. Langston Hughes and Upton Sinclair were two 20th Century writers, who saw past this idealistic talk and saw the jungle that the United States really was. Langston Hughes wrote in his poem “Let America be America Again”, “Let America be America again. –Let it be the dream it used to be. –Let it be the pioneer on the plain –Seeking a home where himself is free. –(America was never America to me) (1).” He highlights not only the experience of African Americans during the 1930s, but identifies with other oppressed groups including immigrants writing, “I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—And finding only the same old stupid plan –Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.” Likewise, Upton Sinclair conveyed his repulsion to immigrant oppression during the Industrial Revolution in his book The Jungle, emphasizing the gullibility behind trusting the grandiloquence of the American dream.

The poem “Let America Be America Again,” by Langston Hughes, brings up two sides to the discussion about what America means to people. It discusses the fact that to some people, America is an amazing land, where people are free from oppression and have rights. The poem, however, does not neglect the fact that there are people who have never experienced those freedoms and rights, nor does it neglect the fact that the people who have not experienced those rights also live in America. The issue about people living in America but never experiencing rights that are thought to be American was very prominent at the time that Hughes wrote the poem. Now the discussion is not “what it means to live in America” but “what it means to love America.” The issue contemplates whether someone can love America and still notice its flaws; or, if in order to love America one must neglect its ugly truths and only focus on the great accomplishments. One of the main causes for this discussion derive from the fact that right-winged people claim that Obama does not love America. However, they fail to see that in order to love something you must also notice its flaws and fix them.

It is now a competition of millions of selfish, greedy, and covetious people, searching for riches in America. Equally important, is a clear discrimination of people based on race, religion, class, and gender that is prominent in American society. These inequalities undermine the idea of an impartial ambition permitted to all. Renowned poet, Langston Hughes, discusses this in his poem "Let America Be America Again" when he says, "For all the dreams we’ve dreamed And all the songs we’ve sung And all the hopes we’ve held And all the flags we’ve hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay— Except the dream that’s almost dead (pg 44, line 55) He is arguing that no matter how hard they seem to try, people who are different, cannot get ahead. This poem was written in 1935, if the dream was gone then, it is most certainly not attainable today. Hughes writes "America never was America to me" throughout the poem; it really emphasizes the fact that equality (an essential part of the American Dream) is no longer something made available to various groups of people. In "the land of the free" white males have the upper-hand, cutting off of the dream from everyone else. In a different light, many argue that the American Dream is not dead, and is in fact thriving more now than ever. For example, many take this argument straight from the Declaration of Independence, which laid the foundation of the

     In the poem "Let America Be America Again," Langston Hughes paints a vivid word picture of a depressed America in the 1930's. To many living in America, the idealism presented as the American Dream had escaped their grasp. In this poetic expression, a speaker is allowed to voice the unsung Americans' concern of how America was intended to be, had become to them, and could aspire to be again.

The two poems “White Lies” by Natasha Trethewey and “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes were written to express racial dilemmas that the authors went through. Thematically, they represent the American Dream. In “White Lies” we see that Trethewey went through some racial identity issues. She felt as if she had to lie to blend in with the rest of the whites, which was easy for her because she was mixed. To understand the full meaning of this poem, one assumes that Trethewey was the product of an interracial marriage. This type of thing was frowned upon during the time she grew up. In the poem “Theme for English B” Hughes seems to accept the fact that he is different. Hughes does not seem to have a problem with expressing his difference. He looks at as his individuality and strives to let everyone know that he is proud of who he is. The two poems have many similarities and differences.

Throughout Langston Hughes' novel, Not Without Laughter, the author introduces multiple characters that reveal their notions of prejudice. The novel explores that prejudice in one form or another is in every aspect of one's life. Prejudice can be defined as an opinion for or against a person's look, race, class, or religion, which is usually formed by a hasty generalization. Most of the main characters, Aunt Hager, Sister Johnson, Jimboy, Harriet, and Tempy contain different accounts of prejudice in the world, which stimulate many of Sandy's thoughts of life as he comes of age. Aunt Hager, Annjee, Harriet, and Sandy, are a multi-generation poor African American family that live in a small home together but are eventually divided by multiple circumstances. The story takes place during the 1910s in the small town of Stanton, Kansas.

They send me to eat in the kitchen, When company comes” (Hughes, 2,3,4). He shows the discrimination African Americans encounter while living in America, and they are not treated equally. Hughes expresses his feelings that America was never America to him. In his poem, “Let America be America again,” Hughes writes, “(It never was America to me.), O, let my land be a land where Liberty, Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. (There’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)”(Hughes 10-16). In this poem, Hughes points out that he never feels like he is living in America because he never experiences the equality, freedom, and opportunities what he always hears about America.

Written in the first half of the 20th century, “Let America Be America” is a poem that documents and responds to the oppressed state of the United States, in both the past and present. The poem is a plea for a return to the original principles of freedom that our country has seemingly forgotten. Additionally, the speaker sees America as the broken home to oppressed people who have lost sight of the ultimate goal of freedom and happiness. Although America is often perceived as the “land of the free,” Langston Hughes’s poem contradicts this ideology by not only painting a vivid picture of oppression in America but also by providing a desperate hope for the future.

In the fight for equality, people of color often feel isolated and separated from those whose privilege reinforces their oppression. However, there are and always have been white people who see the inequalities that are practiced in society and speak out against them in hopes of reaching equality for all. Langston Hughes used his voice in poetry to express his experience as a black man in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement, and his is a household name. There is no doubt that his words have power. The reader expects to feel his experience and gain empathy and understanding through his poetry. In his poem, “Let America Be America Again,” Hughes presents his experience of American life in a powerful contrast to the experience

Langston Hughes’s “Let America Be America Again” is a poem that could be endlessly applied to where America stands today. This poem illustrates the morals, ideas, and visions set forth by those who found this country and how America has begun straying from those principles. The poem expresses that America is made up of all walks of people and that no man should be crushed by those above him, but rather be given the same opportunity as those above him. Hughes desire to make America great again can be shared in some way or another by most Americans making this poem everlasting. “Let America Be America Again” has the personalization, the language, the connection shared by every American, and the rhyme to allow readers of every race, gender, or religious belief to be brought together as not only people but as Americans.

In “Let America be America Again,” Hughes reflects on the current discrepancy between the promises of justice and equality in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and the current situation that Hughes faces. Anaphorically using the phrase “I am,” Hughes mentions the different types of people, including poor whites, Native Americans, and immigrants, that share the same struggle that African Americans face regarding the pursuit of equality and the American Dream. Emphasizing his ideal America with a caesura pause, Hughes writes, “and yet must be--the land where every man is free.” This line encapsulates Hughe’s desire for a America that includes African Americans and other minorities and finally upholding the nation’s promise that all Americans were created equal. Hughes also realizes that his ideal America will still require