Woody Guthrie's Song 'This Land Is Your Land'

It is often inferred by many people that have read both Walt Whitman's poem “I Hear America Singing”, and Langston Hughes poem “I, Too, Sing America”, that one is a response to the other. Walt Whitman was an extremely famous poet and still is presently. His poem was very patriotic and inspired a lot of people. Langston Hughes did not see the poem in a positive way. In what many think is a retaliation to the poem, Langston Hughes wrote “I, Too, Sing America”. Langston Hughes’s poem “I, Too, Sing America” builds on and compares with Walt Whitman’s poem in many ways, it says we all Americans, they sound very much alike, we need to be together as one.

In contrasting or comparing literary works it is crucial that the reader analyze the author's voice to gain a better understanding of the theme they are implying. In the contrast between the poems “I, too, sing America” by Langston Hughes, and “I hear America singing” by Walt Whitman it is clear that the two poets have very different point of views regarding American patriotism. Walt Whitman’s views on America’s joy and peace in his poems are very straightforward, while Langston Hughes poem--a response to Whitman’s--wants the reader to acknowledge what America should be like for everyone, including people of color such as himself. The authors of these poems prove to have conflicting judgements on matters in America including a theme of

Langston Hughes wrote a poem that some believe is in response to a poem Walt Whitman made. Walt Whitman’s poem “I hear America Singing” is basically a description of the people who made up America at the time. The mothers, the carpenters, the masons, the shoemakers, the wood cutters, etc, were all the different types of people that made up what America, said of the poem. With Langston Hughes's poem “I, Too, Sing America”, the poem is making a sort of claim that Hughes’s and blacks alike also have a right to feel patriotic towards and be a part of America. Both poems are pretty similar to what they’re subject is (America), but they are quite different when it comes to what exactly the two poems are mainly focusing on.

The context of the poems and the authors create many different poems that can't be rewritten. The poems of Harriet Monroe will be drastically different than the poems of Tony Holland. Harriet Monroe’s “America” is a great piece of literature about the land and it's beauty and it's grace, the poem was written after WWI and so it takes of a theme of getting up after falling down and coming back stronger.

In the 1860's, Walt Whitman came out with the collection of leaves of grass, and in this assemblage of poems, was "I Hear America Singing". This poem talks about all of these different people with their diversity of jobs. While the people are working, they sing. America can only be a great place, if every single one of the people sing their own song., but learns to time together when needed. Also, in all of these different songs, they join together to make one masterpiece known today as America. In addition to this, another poet, by the name of Langston Hughes, wrote a poem titled, "I, Too, Sing America". This is a literary piece than conveys the life of a black man, and how he would get through the struggles, and become strong and independent because of them. He writes about how his owner makes him eat in the kitchen when visitors come, as a result, they will not tell him to leave, but rather see how beautiful he is. In these two texts, it is clear that Hughes saw Whitman as a great influence and wrote, "I, Too, Sing America" in response to "I Hear America Singing".

The lyrics express Guthrie's belief that the working class should have the same rights as the rich. He very proudly carried the torch of singing songs about the American worker. Woody Guthrie’s music was not written down, but instead sung, performed, and taught completely by memory. The structure of this song is easy and memorable, using an "ACAB" format, which repeats the beginning of the melody (A section) for the third line. There was a certain Americana aspect to his folk music. He was a migrant farmer traveling as a country singer, using only his guitar and voice (occasionally using a harmonica) in his performances. He created songs from the sights he saw as he traveled all over the USA as a country singer, and spoke out against the lack of fairness and justice of capitalism and poor treatment of blue collar workers. He preached that his folk music was not just something that was made just to “sell” and “make money”, it was intensively focused on political and worldly events.

The song that I choose is called “My Country” by Nahko and medicine for the people. This song makes me laugh and makes me think if I listen carefully to the lyrics. It is a very similar to the song “My country tis of thee”, although in this version, instead of it being about the great thing in America, it is about the not so great things in America. It is not being rude or disrespectful at all, but funny as if he were joking around.

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

In the poems “Let American be America Again” and “I hear America Singing” they are both dreams, but for different reasons. In “I hear America singing” Walt Whitman portrays America in an amazing light making people want to go this dream like utopian country. In “Let America be America Again” it portrays America as a land of false dreams and wants it to be the dream it hoped it be. It also tells of the corrupt, dark, crooked side of America. It also mentions how it should never have been like this.

The song and quotes are very similar. First of all, they say that Woody Guthrie will never give up. Also, both the song and the quotes make people feel proud and motivated. In addition, both of them are very inspiring because they make poor people want to stand up for themselves and not let the rich people put them down.

No matter where one comes from, always remember one's roots. Mo Pitney implies that “country can be in the middle of the city, country can be on a farm, country aint even a place on the map, it’s a place in your heart (Pitney 2014.)” I believe Mo Pitney is 100% correct, because no matter where any individual live’s, they can be country. Some may be thinking “what is country” or “is there even a definition of country?” Well I believe one can have their own personal definition of country because everyone has their own opinion. After listening to “Country” by Mo Pitney, I began realizing that I am proud to be country and live on a farm because it makes me who I am. I live my life everyday not regretting what has been done in the past because I cannot change what happened, just like I cannot change where I come from. Anywhere life may take me, it will never bring the country out of me. The future holds a variety of opportunities, but I insist on never letting go of my roots. Country will always be in my heart, but I also need to fulfill my dream my dreams and make my life a living roller

One of the greatest questions in the American society is, “was America a dream for everyone?” It really depends on perspective. In Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing”, he claims that America was a dream for everyone. In Langston Hughes’s “Let America be America again”, he claims that America was not a dream for everyone. By reading these poems, people really start to think in depth about this question.

2017Compare and Contrast Essay“Home of the brave and proud... U.S.A.” In the poem, I hear America Singing by Walt Whitman and the poem I too Sing America byLangston Hughes they both agree that america, is the land of opportunity, but they differ in rightthat they don't equally have. Walt Whitman wrote” I hear America singing” before the civil warwar had happened and broken out and Langston Hughes wrote “I too sing America” ten yearsbefore the president had decided to make the civil right movement and changed America. Patriotism is a complicated concept.

Once Frost states, "we were England's, still colonials," the reader understands why "the land was ours before we were the lands." This is because the English colonists were not Americans when they first lived on the land. The colonists were still under English law, art, culture, tradition, and beliefs.

If one listens closely, they can hear America’s song. The words, like thunder, comprise the groans of the slave, the cheers of the free, and the unmistakable sounds of the brave. The music rings out as clear as day; it is composed by the growing children and the dying men. Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes captured the essence of these songs in their respective works, “I Hear America Singing” and “I, Too, Sing America.” The first describes the melodies of a working nation, the “the wood-cutter’s song” and the “delicious singing of the mother” (Whitman 7-8). The quiet musings of a young African American make up the latter; it is a hymn of hushed hope for tomorrow. Although the two poems stand alone, both Whitman’s and Hughes's works powerfully capture the song of America through the sense of pride found in each piece, the uses of different literary elements, and their individual views of the nation.