Langston Hughes Let America Be America Again

Throughout the poem, the author chooses simple diction. This makes the tone straightforward and blunt, like a black America who simply expresses himself instead of sermonizing about discrimination. Thereby, readers can accept the poem’s argument more easily. Furthermore, the author writes the poem mostly in long sentences to emphasize on short yet important sentences such as “That’s America.”, “Be we are. That’s true!”

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

America is arguably the most robust country and yet it also one of many countries where we are not all free. In the poem "Let America Be America Again" Langston Hughes shows his opinion of America and declared that America has never been great and never will be if there is varied equality among the ethnics and their social classes. Learned Hand announced “That spirit of an American which has never been, and may never be; nay, which never will be except as the conscience and courage of Americas create it”, her he feels that America is only as good as the common people in it, therefore, Americas future lies in our hands and the way we use it. Both Langston Hughes and Learned Hand presumed that America has never been great yet, Hand is unsure on whether America has the potential to change their ways but, Langston Hughes let out his emotions exclaiming” America never was America to me, and yet I swear this oath America will be! These two Americans have shown how they feel and believe that we can only be a magnificent country if we believe

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.

     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.

Langston Hughes’ style of poetry renounced the classical style of poetry and sought out a more jazz and folk rhythm style. Most of Hughes’ poems were written during the Harlem Renaissance, named after the cultural activity African Americans participated in, such as: literature, music, art, theatre, and political thinking. William Blake, on the other hand, was a nonconformist who was associated with the leading radical thinkers of his day. Although, considered a lyric poet and a visionary, Blake’s poetry was not read by many, yet he still believed that his poetry could be understood by common people and was determined not to sacrifice his vision to become popular.

I think that Hughes’ mantra of “Let America be America again” is an accurate wish for today’s America. The United States of today does have roots in patriotism and liberty, but as no country is perfect, America still has work to do.

Langston Hughes declares that America should be America again. He starts to say in the beginning, "America was never America to me." He says America should go back to being the dream that the dreamers had, and be a "great strong land of love." There should not be kings or tyrants or people being crushed by someone above them. The speaker repeats, "It never was America to me." Hughes wants his land to embody liberty - not just by wearing a false patriotic wreath on its head, but through pervasive opportunity and equality. The speaker claims that he has never experienced freedom or equality in

Mr. Hughes has become quite the legend from multiple works of art that he has created. This particular poem, he shares a very descriptive version of America and the greatness of it. Looking at this poem in detail, he writes:

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 poem “Let America Be America”, Langston Hughes focus is on America. He believes that America isn’t the same for everyone, not when it comes to the ‘American Dream’ that everybody is sorting after. In America people aren’t treated the same, with that said everyone in America doesn’t qualify or aren’t privileged for that dream.

– Let America be America again). The poems display images of hardship and frustration. They both speak of a difference within races and also what the life in America is different from the eyes of someone who isn’t white.

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