Langston Hughes 'Poem I, Too'

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and social movement that occurred due to black migration to the north increasing the social and economic boom. Langston Hughes is one of the influential African Americans that contributed to the Harlem Renaissance, by writing about events and his surroundings, his work was able to help struggling African Americans. Langston Hughes was born in February 1, in 1902 in Missouri. He began writing poetry while living in Lincoln, Illinois and years later he launched his literary career with his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. Most of his writings were influenced by his upbringing in New York City’s Harlem, which was a predominantly black community.

“But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.” ( pg 261 # pgh 3 ). This quote comes from Dr. Martin Luther King jr. on I have a dream and is interesting because how they were supposed to be free when abraham lincoln along time ago but still aren't free . This person said this during the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement was “The civil rights movement was a mass popular movement to secure for African Americans equal access to and opportunities for the basic privileges and rights of U.S.” citizenship. Being in the right position. This time in history was difficult for many people because there was a lot of fighting about the rights and how blacks and whites were treated very different. During this time people

Langston Hughes has showed the happiness and pain of the African American struggles in his poetry and plays. Throughout the Harlem Reniassance Langston wrote 800 poems and was one of the most infuencal people in black history. His lyrical jazz flow gave is poems and short stories a creative artistic style to tell his story. He touched and influence many artists past, present, and future. In his poems and stories he taught African Americans to be proud of who they are and where they come from.

To begin, Langston Hughes had a lot of key contribution towards him becoming an innovative writer. For instance, Hughes’s Grandmother had a major influence on his love of literature as he described in his novel Hughes's grandmother was also a marvelous storyteller, narrating “long beautiful stories about people who wanted to make the Negroes free” (The Big Sea: An Autobiography, Langston Hughes, Page 17, 1940.) Langston Hughes is widely considered one of the best poets who ever walked the earth. Many of his themes focused on the issues that were confronting the nation: race, equality and suffrage. Hughes highlights some of his work that fell in line with this perspective.

Langston Hughes is an extremely successful and well known black writer who emerged from the Harlem Renaissance (“Langston Hughes” 792). He is recognized for his poetry and like many other writers from the Harlem Renaissance, lived most of his life outside of Harlem (“Langston Hughes” 792). His personal experiences and opinions inspire his writing intricately. Unlike other writers of his time, Hughes expresses his discontent with black oppression and focuses on the hardships of his people. Hughes’ heartfelt concern for his people’s struggle evokes the reader’s emotion. His appreciation for black music and culture is evident in his work as well. Langston Hughes is a complex poet whose profound works provide insight into all aspects of black

Langston Hughes was one of the great writers of his time. He was named the “most renowned African American poet of the 20th century” (McLaren). Through his writing he made many contributions to following generations by writing about African American issues in creative ways including the use of blues and jazz. Langston Hughes captured the scene of Harlem life in the early 20th century significantly influencing American Literature. He once explained that his writing was an attempt to “explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America” (Daniel 760). To fulfill this task, he wrote 15 volumes of poetry, six novels, three books, 11 plays, and a variety of non-fiction work (Daniel 760). He also edited over 50 books in his time (McKay).

     Langston Hughes was one of the most important writers and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes creative intellect was influenced by his life in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. Hughes had a very strong sense of racial pride. Through his works he promoted racial equality and celebrated the African American culture. It was in Lincoln, Illinois that Hughes started to write his poetry. In November 1924, he moved to Washington D.C. where he published his first book of poetry. Hughes is known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America. Langston is also known for his commitment to jazz. Hughes refused to distinguish between his personal and common understandings of black America. He

“The Harlem Renaissance was a time where the Afro-American came of age; he became self-assertive and racially conscious… he proclaimed himself to be a man and deserving respect. Those Afro-Americans who were part of that time period saw themselves as principals in that moment of transformation from old to new” (Huggins 3). African Americans migrated to the North in great numbers to seek better lives than in the South as the northern economy was booming and industrial jobs were numerous. This movement brought new ideas and talents that shifted the culture forever. Black writers, such as Langston Hughes, used their work to claim a place for themselves and to demand self-respect in society. Poems that Langston Hughes wrote captured the essence of the complexity of a life that mixes joy and frustration of black American life through the incorporation of jazz and blues in order to examine the paradox of being black in mostly white America, the land of the not quite free.

A situation can be interpreted into several different meanings when observed through the world of poetry. A poet can make a person think of several different meanings to a poem when he or she is reading it. Langston Hughes wrote a poem titled "I, Too." In this poem he reveals the Negro heritage and the pride that he has in his heritage and in who he is. Also, Hughes uses very simple terms that allow juvenile interpretations and reading.

The first line of I, Too - “I, too, sing America” - is the speaker’s declaration that he is American. But who is he replying to - why does he “too” sing America? And why does he “sing America?” Why can’t it just say “I am American?” First of all, it’s important to establish that Hughes’s writing was inspired by Walt Whitman, whom many view as the father of American poetry (Ward). In Whitman’s poem I hear America Singing, the first line immediately shows a parallel of I, Too: “I hear America singing.” On the other

      In the first line of "I, Too", Hughes says that he too sings America. He is saying that he too sings America. He is saying that he embraces everything America embodies, everything that established her in the first place. He sings for the freedom, the beautiful mountains, and her independence. Even though he embraces America in all her beauty, he is really saying I love this country and I should be socially acceptable in it. He wants everyone to see this, especially when he states that he is the darker brother. That second line quos the reader into why he is not accepted into society. That line spoke true of his life and what he faced everyday just walking down the street Because he was the darker brother, they would send him away to eat in the kitchen when company would come. However, he says he laughs, eats well, and grows strong. He knows one day African Americans will be accepted into society. Therefore, he takes care of himself and does not let society's opinion get him down. He is confident in this because when company comes they will be ashamed that they did not let him eat out in the open. Society will see his beauty and not see him as a disgrace. He finishes off his poem saying that he is America too. He is the freedom, the beautiful

Langston Hughes was an American poet during the Harlem Renaissance. His literature and other artistic forums filled Manhattan during the 1920’s and is still admired today. His writing not only promoted African-American culture but also brought attention to the injustice and repression of the African-American race. Hughes poems “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” further his views on equal civil rights and the horrible treatment by law on the African-American race.

Long before the civil rights movement, African Americans had no rights as an American citizen. Even after desegregation, African Americans were not given the same respect and value as a white American. During the Harlem Renaissance, however, many African American writers and poets began to challenge these viewpoints in their writings. In particular, Langston Hughes used his short stories, plays and poetry to portray the experiences of black life in America. He was heavily influenced by Walt Whitman and the ideas of free verse and was able to represent the feelings of African Americans after the abolition of slavery.

Credited as being the most recognizable figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes played a vital role in the Modernist literary movement and the movement to revitalize African American culture in the early 20th century. Hughes’s poems reflect his personal struggle and the collective struggle of African Americans during this cultural revival.