I Too By Langston Hughes Analysis

"I, Too" really exhibits the black man and his will to do well even under pressuring conditions to be some one that he is not. This pressure leads to a whole new line of confidence and pride shown in the third stanza.

The poem I, Too by Langston’s Hughes was written in a prosperous time for black Americans who had obtain their cultural identity through expression of literature, art, music, and poetry. This time period is often referred as the Harlem Renaissance because it was “cultural rebirth” of the black community that took place in Harlem, New York. Many great poets and writers such as Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Zora Neale Hurston and Countee Cullen were blossomed during this time, they often expressed themselves through literature inspiring and enlightening their audience. Also with hopes of civil rights for black Americans who sought for a brighter future for generations to come. The literary work by Langston’s Hughes, I, Too expresses the yearning of the black community wanting to express themselves as Americans. Langston Hughes is able to captivate racial issues through his poetry in the context of his choice while applying historical viewpoints. Allowing his audience then and now to understand the struggle and empowerment of black Americans during this time.

Langston Hughes poem “I, Too” was written during a time when segregation was in affect, blacks was not allowed to have a voice. “I, Too” spoke volumes to the people of the Harlem Renaissance, it showed that blacks would rise and would become part of the American dream instead of facing ongoing segregation. African Americans would

Hughes’ famous poem, I, Too, was written in the mid 1920’s. Similar to most African Americans pioneers in this era, he felt strongly about “racial segregation,” (Ilieva and Lennox 1) or racial inequality and used his writings to voice his opinion on the issue. In I, Too, Hughes states that he is the “darker brother” (713) of America, meaning that he is a member of the African American community. At this particular time, racial inequality was a common issue for African Americans. Jim Crow laws were in effect to keep African Americans from receiving equal treatment as White Americans. Further evaluating stanza two from I, Too, Hughes says “They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes” (713) showing a time of racial inequality. Along

He reminds them during a time of despair, that they are “men” not prey. The oppressors are not stronger or superior, they are a “murderous, cowardly pack”, so that when one African American dies from lynching, it is not because they are inferior, but rather they are humans who have not given up their true identity. Through this resistance, it leaves a larger legacy to prove to the oppressors that they were not afraid and that they have never been less than a human. Furthermore, in “I, Too”, Langston Hughes writes against how the white Americans attempt to make African Americans feel inferior through isolation, but instead he shows them that they are equal. Hughes states, “Tomorrow,/ I’ll be at the table/ When company comes./ Nobody’ll dare/ Say to me,/ ‘Eat in the kitchen’/ Then.” (Hughes). After being isolated, he does not lose hope. Instead, he grows stronger until he is ready to join the others “at the table” Instead of being ashamed of his skin color as the oppressors would expect, he uses his time to accept himself and be proud of his

The poem I, Too by Langston Hughes is one of many poems written during the Harlem Renascence that depicts a struggle of this double consciousness. The poem starts off by saying “ I, Too, sing America” symbolizing that black Americans too are here and have an important voice needing to be heard for unity in a white dominating society. The speaker continues to let us know that he is a black servant stating “ I am the darker brother/ they send in the kitchen when companies comes” (2-3).

The poems, “I, Too” by Langston Hughes and “Incident” by Countee Cullen employ visual imagery, tone, literary devices such as hyperboles, symbolism, and foreshadowing in different ways to illustrate the public life interaction between two different races, and the private life of an African American’s internal struggle of not being able to fight against the prejudice towards them. Both poets share racism as their piece of life, and although dealing with racism is the central tension engaged in the poems, Cullen suggests that experiences can affect your view on life and change your attitude. Hughes on the other hand, proposes that with an optimistic attitude you can change the outcome of your future, and that your attitude is independent

When is a risk worth taking? That is the question we ask to figure out the central idea of progress. In the three stories, “Thank You, M’am,” by Langston Hughes, “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” by Doreen Rappaport, and “NFL is cracking down hard on illegal celebrations” by Mark Maske all show answers to, when is a risk worth taking. They all have different answers but they use the same question to show the progress.

Hughes does a phenomenal job by including imagery in his poems, it gives the reader something to visualize while reading his works. In Hughes’s poem “I, Too”, Hughes talks about social inequality between him and white people. Hughes writes, “I am the darker brother.” (Hughes 1). Meaning that he is the darkest skin tone in the room. Hughes goes on into telling the reader(s) how white people are treating him; Hughes writes, “They send me to eat in the kitchen / When company comes / But I laugh / And eat well, / And grow strong” (Hughes 2-6). Hughes is saying that when the white people that he is around make him go eat alone in the kitchen, so the white people that have come to eat dinner will not see him. While Hughes is eating in the kitchen,

Langston Hughes has a habit of writing poems where the speaker is neglected. “I, Too” seems to be no different because the speaker in this poem is a black men who is being excluded due to his appearance. To elucidate, in the poem it states, “ I, too, sing America./ I am the darker brother./ They send me to eat in the kitchen/ When company comes,”(Hughes, lines 1-4) These lines demonstrates how the speaker is being omitted due to his skin color. He is not allowed to seat at the dining room table, he must “eat in the kitchen” because he is black and not white. These people who send him into the kitchen are not seeing his true worth, but only the color of his skin. Another poem that echoes “I, Too” is “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou because the

Langston Hughes’ poem “I, Too” is a great representation of Generation Z and what they think it is like to be an American. This poem talks about the struggles of equality, and segregation, which is something Generation Z commonly struggles with. Generation Z struggles with equality towards minority groups, especially towards, Black-Americans, and Mexicans. Many protests have taken place over inequality, and police brutality. One of the Generation’s greatest struggles, have been over innocent minority groups, being killed and arrested.

In Langston Hughes' poem "I, too" he is trying to explain to Walt Whitman that a lot of people he describes in his poem sometimes a racist or discriminate other hardworking Americans during their free time, based on how other people's appearance and skin color. When the speaker says, "I am the darker brother, they send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes," (Hughes 449), he is just describing the fact that he is a hardworking American man just like them, but isn't allowed to eat with the other white workers. And this all because he is forced to eat somewhere by the restaurant or the workers themselves just because of he doesn't look like them. This is an unjust act and Hughes wanted to point that out. After that the speaker immediately

Langston Hughes is a clever poet who uses different symbols to foster the value of his message. He uses of "I" to show that he has also been an American and will not be separated from the society. He represents the previous view of African Americans and their power to make a great change to finally move forward. Hughes through this passage shows African American as second-class citizens and they as colored people were treated and get discriminated in the society back in the days. The words in the poem seem simple, yet very philosophical that make someone thinks about the significance of the equality concept, which everyone need to be equal regardless of age, race, and gender.

The writing of Langston Hughes in “I too” is considerably dependent on his point of view. The activities that arise in the poem are as accurate as they can get because Langston Hughes is writing from the heart. Hughes went through the Harlem Renaissance and faced constant skirmishes with racism. Because of that, his writing seems to show a greater meaning. He is part of the African-American race that is used in his writing. He writes about how he is presently troubled, but this does not reduce his faith and motivation to become an equal man. Because he speaks from the point of view of an oppressed African-American the poem’s free-for-alls and forthcoming changes seem to be of greater

This quote is from Langston Hughes poem “I, Too,” and this quote is discussing slavery and how during those times, the slaves had to stay out of the way when company would come over. This poem deals with racial segregation because slaves and African Americans were to be separated from white people. This poem also deals with oppression because African Americans were often treated unfairly. I believe that the overall theme of this poem is freedom because as we continue to read the poem the narrator states,This shows the reader that the narrator is going to refuse to be sent to another room when company comes because he says, (Hughes 872) which shows the audience that he would like to be treated like an American and would like to be treated