Langston Hughes Metaphors

Langston Hughes’ uses metaphor in “I, Too” to convey a sense of rejection in society, leading to the speaker’s isolation in the poem. The speaker explains how his skin color darker than the rest of the population, he is sent into the kitchen to eat. The speaker says, “I am the darker brother./ They send me to eat in the kitchen/ When company comes,/ But I laugh,/ And eat well,/ and grow strong” (page 14). The speaker refers to darker brother in the poem as the African American population. He also refers “they” in the poem as the white population. By comparing “darker brother” and “they” to African American and the white population, the speaker shows how during this time many African Americans faced oppression by the other party. The poem reveals how many African Americans were discriminated and how they were undermined by the whites, from the speaker’s explanation of how he was forced to eat in the kitchen instead of being able to dine at the dining table. This also reveals the heavy unwelcome attitude African Americans faced in society, because their skin tones were a shade darker than the rest. This proves how an individual, like the speaker is isolated because the way he was forced to eat in the kitchen is a representation of the white society rejecting an African American to be at the same social standing as them. This further exemplifies the speaker’s

Langston Hughes was a poet with many artistic abilities. His writing and drawings established the lifestyles of many African Americans during this time. In a poem called “I, Too” Hughes express his feelings as an African American, a brother, and someone who deserves to fit in society. He states “I, too sing America” (1039). Hughes saw himself as an individual who has a voice in America even though his skin is a little darker. In a poem called “Democracy” Hughes states: “I have as much right as the other fellow has to stand on my own two feet and own the land” (1043). Hughes was speaking for every African American whom were still dealing with segregation, racism, and freedom.

Hughes’s poem is more of an argument against that of the people (whites) back then who were prejudice against blacks. With the first couple of lines of “I, Too, Sing America”, the lines mean that even if he is sent to the “kitchen” when “company” comes, he’ll still laugh and eat well and grow stronger from the experience, not really seeing it as if it were bad but more of a motivation to stop it from happening again. When coming to the lines of “Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody’ll dare Say to me, “Eat in the Kitchen,” Then”, the lines that are given here are just saying that this time around he’ll be at the “table” when the “company” and no one

The metaphor in line 3, “They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes,” expresses the oppression that African Americans still face (Hughes). However, as the poem progresses, a sense of hope appears. Found in line 15, “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed---” the true value of African Americans will soon enough prevail (Hughes). In “I Too”, the narrator’s use of personal pronouns symbolizes the entirety of African Americans and how the oppression denotes isolation.

In today’s society we face a lot of issues, but there is one issue that stands out to me most. Which these two poems address, that is injustice towards other race in America. In Langston Hughes “I Too” and “The Weary Blues” the trouble of unjust towards African Americans, weigh on the speaker’s mind. Each poem reflecting on the same issue just a little bit differently.

In conclusion, “Breakfast in Virginia”, by Langston Hughes, has an optimistic view of future race relations. Hughes shows this in the old white man. The old man represents all the white people who treat black

He became famous by creating a new-literary art farm called jazz poetry. During his career he wrote many poems including his poem called “I Too” where he expressed his opinions on fairness and not judging based on skin color. His poem explains how blacks were treated and how things changed in terms of equal treatment. “I am the darker brother they send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes but I laugh and and eat well, and grow strong (Hughes 2-7).” During this time, Hughes was not allowed to sit at the table with company and make conversation with white people. He was sent to the kitchen to eat by himself and seemed to be untouched by being treated differently because he was black. Instead, he is happy and grateful that he gets to eat and live life. Later in the poem, he transitions to what seems like a new time where blacks are treated fairly. “Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table, when company comes, Nobody’ll dare say to me, “Eat in the Kitchen”, then (Hughes 8-14) .” The poem was published in the year of 1926 when African Americans gained rights and Negro History Week was proposed. This poem explains the transition from African Americans being segregated to being treated like whites. Although Langston Hughes inspired many African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance, Countee Cullen contributed as

During a time in American History were African Americans had no rights of freedom of speech or even a right to vote. Growing up in many different cities and living with many relatives, Langston Hughes experienced poverty. Langston Hughes used poetry to speak to the people. Langston Hughes is a pioneer of African American literature and the Harlem renaissance error. Mr. Hughes dedicated his poems to the struggles, pride, dreams, and racial injustices of African American people.

Langston Hughes’s “Harlem” questions what would happen if one doesn’t fulfill one’s dreams. Hughes is an African American who wrote this poem in 1951. During this time, the African Americans didn’t have many rights so “Harlem” could have been written to show the experiences and thoughts that the African Americans had at the time. Hughes uses similes to appeal to the senses of taste, smell, and touch which creates a vivid image of what deferred dreams would “look” or be like.

Hughes asserts that a society is no longer plagued with racism is in the future, as the speaker states, “Tomorrow,/ I’ll be at the table/ When company comes” (8-10). There is evidence of intertextuality between Hughes’s poem “I, Too” and Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, as Hughes is stirred by the white poets that preceded him and asserts that the black population is a valuable part of American society. Another instance of intertextuality is the shared patriotic elements in “America” by McKay and “I, Too”, though those elements were more subtle in McKay’s

The line “When company comes” is an interesting line because it is evidence that the feelings of hatred are not based on the internal opinions of people but rather the social opinions imposed on the people of the time (4). This line shows how the views of others influence and propel racism. Hughes cleverly utilizes his words for motivation with the lines, “But I laugh, / And eat well, / And grow strong” (4-7). These lines are used as a tool for motivation for people of all

Momma Never Said Life Would Be Easy “Harlem” by Langston Hughes was written in 1994. The poem “Harlem” is about the Harlem Renaissance that took place in a New York neighborhood in the 1900s. During the 1900s, African Americans were in the transition from slaves to equal citizens with the ability to get paid for a job. Throughout his poem, he compares the attempts to be successful in America as African American to rotten fruits, disgusting infections, and sweets. Langston Hughes uses rhetorical questions, imagery, and similes in “Harlem” to overemphasize the difficulties African American have with success in America.

In history, there have been many African American heroes such as Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglas etc. They all contributed to free slaves from slavery. The author of "I, Too" is an African American whose work was about African Americans, he has received love from many people because of his poems. Hughes was a hardworking man who traveled through many countries; Hughes transmitted hope to his readers by letting them know that we all equal no matter our physical appearances. Hughes writes for everyone, not just a particular group. In his writing, he writes personal experiences and what happens around the world. Langston Hughes responds to Whitman's poem "I Hear America Singing" by using point of view and theme in order to convince others about hope and equality in America.

Hughes says “ they send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes, but I laugh, and eat well, and grow strong. tomorrow, I'll be at the table when company comes. Nobody’ll dare say to me “Eat in the kitchen” then. Besides, they’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed” (Hughes). Langston Hughes isn't allowed to sit with the rest of society because of his skin color but remains positive because he knows he's growing strong and beautiful. Hughes feels that in the future he will be able to sit with the rest of the society, and they'll be ashamed of how they treated