Summary Of Let America Be America Again By Langston Hughes

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

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.

Langston Hughes used his poems to describe his philosophies of American social, political, and economic conditions. In, “Let America Be America Again” he attacks his point regarding economic and political statuses, explaining contradictory statements of America in context to real and diverse audiences. Most often his work incorporates an aspect of his development earlier on in life, ranging from the ideas his grandmother instilled in him to the lessons he learned as he grew up. In this specific piece, he expresses each race and class of this heritage and attacks the un fulfilled promises made by America. However the question that many have about this diplomatic poem still remains: Is Hughes viewpoint messages to the audience more personal or public?

During the time when these poems were written america was not america. It was not the land of the free. It was filled with segregation and hate. Hardly anyone could do anything. If you were african american you were a slave and were anything but free.

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.

Despite equality existing in a number of forms, perhaps, Hughes’ vision refers to racial equality, it can be suggested that Hughes’ outlook onto the future is of an egalitarian manner - to the extent in which ‘Equality’ will be ‘in the air we breathe’. Considering the collection of poems does the trope of equality seem to recur, more so the on-going motifs that run throughout all the poems does it help to formulate a general incentive that the removal of discrimination or alienating a race is what ‘Let America Be America Again’ amongst the other poems attempts to convey. In this essay, I’ll comment on how the tropes in ‘Let America Be America Again’ alongside the collection of poems does it posit as a synecdoche of equality, of which Hughes wants not just racial equality but as well as fulfilling the true American dream. Although it can be implied

" Let America be America Again" In “Let America be America”, by Langston Hughes, the author expresses his feeling about racism in the 1920s. His intentions are to show the reader that racism and inequality are still prevalent and that even though word “free” does not apply to him now, he believes that America will be free to him in the future. For example, when Hughes states, “America was never America to me”, he is implying that freedom does not apply to him because he is African American. While it is true that slavery was outlawed, Hughes is still being treated as inferior to whites simply because of his skin color.

Langston Hughes’ poem “Let America Be America Again” portrays a man describing the inequality within America and that he longs for the country to be as it used to be in the past. The speaker, Hughes, tells his story in first point person of view as he continues to use “I” throughout the poem. The audience appears to be America itself because Hughes desires for “equality” between everybody (14). The poet writes his work in stanza form, however, he includes three quatrains in the beginning of the poem. The quatrains contain a rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEF.

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

The poem “Let America be America again” by Langston Hughes was written in 1935 and was published in the July 1936 issue of Esquire Magazine. Later it appeared again in 1937 in a Magazine called Kansas. This poem was about Hughes desiring a feeling of freedom that he as well as other races where denied from. The poem talks about how specific races are considered more privileged than his very own. Throughout the poem the poet translates this in many forms of alliteration and symbolisms.

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