Preview

Source and Darker Brother

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
388 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Source and Darker Brother
I, Too
 by Langston Hughes 


I, too, sing America.

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.

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 we are

And be ashamed --

I too, am America

Recording http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=1552 -------------------------------------------------
Name: DATE: Score: /24

DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions using complete, grammatically correct sentences based on your understanding of the poem. Base your answers on the context of the poem, I hear America Singing, American history, and the English language. Do not copy information from any outside sources. If you use a source to find an answer, you must include the source and write the answer in your own words. If you just paraphrase the source material, use sources inappropriately, or do not include a link to the source, you will not receive any points for the answer. Use this document to complete the assignment. Print a copy and hand it in on Tuesday, May 7th at 1:15 p.m. I do not accept handwritten assignments. (3 points for each question)

I, Too
1. Explain briefly what you think “I, Too” means, and why you think that Langston Hughes used this title.
-------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------

I, too, sing America.
2. Why does he use the verb sing in the first line?
-------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------

I am the darker brother.

3. Why does he use the word brother in the first line?
-------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------

They send me to eat in the kitchen

4. Who does the word they refer to, and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The poem was based near the time of the civil war. It is a poem that captured the feelings of all the Americans during the end of the Civil War’s end and the assassination of Lincoln. Also, captured the hearts of many Americans making the poem popular.…

    • 145 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How does the poetry of Langston Hughes, “I, Too,” “Harlem,” and “A Song to a Negro…

    • 684 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Often American authors imply what it is like to be an American in their poetry. Essentially, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman share similar thoughts in their literature. In “I, Too” and “I Hear America Singing”, the authors use textual evidence to support their opinions on America. In Walt Whitman’s poem, “I Hear America Singing”, Whitman explains how hard labor in America is music to him. Whitman says “I hear America singing, the varied carols i hear”, meaning how these jobs differentiate, but they all come together as one large working society. In comparison, Langston Hughes discusses society in his poem “I, Too”. Hughes wrote his literature in an era of time where racism and segregation was strong. Hughes states how he wasn’t allowed to…

    • 242 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I feel that the poem “I, Too” represents and explains the author’s desire to write. In the quotation, I have presented above, shows how he will overcome racial discrimination through showing just how beautiful and valuable he is through his writing and poetry. During the time period, people of color were not permitted to sit at the table as a guest. They were forced to eat in the kitchen when entertaining. This act is what Hughes is referring to and it was a common practice of racial segregation. Hughes is, nevertheless, hopeful and optimistic. For in his writing, he connects the world of a colored man to that of a white man. As the literature book descried him, “a champion of his own society who never hesitated to speak freely.” In his free…

    • 151 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    BBUS 480

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Write an essay of 900-1200 words that analyzes your chosen poem and articulates how your artistic choices in your creative interpretation respond to specific thematic, formal, historical, and/or material aspects of the poem.…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the poem “I Hear America Singing “by Walt Whitman, and the poem “I, Too” by Langston Hughes have many different similarities. “ I Hear America Singing” I s and example of free verse. Also “I, Too” is an example of free verse. In “I Hear America Singing “is talking about residents in America being happy and joyful about being able to work. The poem “I, Too” is about the African American house worker being sent into the kitchen when guest came over for dinner.…

    • 304 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The poems “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman, And the poem “Let America Be America” by Langston Hughes are both similar because the two poems talk about America. The poems are also similar because they’re about how America is a good place, and you can sense that.…

    • 249 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Critical Lens

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages

    write a critical essay in the story "Thank you,M'am" by Langston hughes of literature you have read from the particular perspective of statement that is provided for you in the critical lens.In your essay, provide a valid interpretation of the statement, agreeor disagree with the statement as you have interpreted it, and support your opinion using specific references to appropriate literary elements from this work of literature.…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even though, “ I, Too” and “I Hear America Singing” both explore the idea of racial inequality, they are conflicting towards each other because of the perspective each poem is written in. For instance, “ I, Too” is written in the perspective of an African-American man, whereas the perspective of “I Hear America Singing” is seen from a Caucasian point of view. Hughes states, “ I am the darker brother” (line 2) and “But I laugh,/ And eat well,/ And grow strong.”(lines 5-7). Contrarily to Hughes declaration of not being hindered, Whitman writes “mechanics” (line 2), “the carpenter singing”(line 3), “the mason singing” (line 4), “the boatman singing” and “the deckman singing” (line 5), “the shoemaker singing” (line 6). These lines written by…

    • 239 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Whitman vs Hughes

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Unlike Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes shows the reality of America and that not everyone is accepted or have jobs but he remains very optimistic. For instance, in “I, too, Sing America.“ he says that he’ll “laugh, and eat well, and grow strong” even if he is forced to go “eat in the kitchen when company comes” because one day the people who ever doubted him will see how “beautiful” he really is and will “be ashamed” for he, too, is America. Langston Hughes knows that America is not perfect but still stays positive. He uses the word “tomorrow” to symbolize the future. He says that “tomorrow” he will be eating at the table…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “I hear America Singing” and “Let America be America again” have similarities The poems both explain about the American dream. In “I Hear America singing” it staits “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear” “Let America be America again” is saints “Let America be the…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Compare and Contrast

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Whitman used repetition of words and phrases and his word choice portrayed a seemingly optimistic way of life in America. Using words like “singing,” “partying,” and “strong melodious songs” all have a positive air about them, which helps develop the writer’s perspective of America. The numerous occupations named in the poem additionally give a sense of appreciation for the possibilities in America, and gratitude for the ability to work and support a family, and in a sense, accomplish the American dream.…

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most poems anyone reads will have imagery, symbolism, or metaphors. After reading the poems “God Bless America” by Sarah Jones (2000), “Facing West From California’s Shores” by Walt Whitman (1860), Allen Ginsberg’s “America” (1956), “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes (1938), and Wislawa Szymborska’s “The Century’s Decline” (1986) I realized that even though they all talk about America , except Szymborska, the way they say it and how they say it makes very different poems. Sarah Jones wrote “God Bless America” in 2000. The country was established and immigrants from all over the world made their lives here, they’ve had children and grandchildren here. When Allen Ginsberg wrote “America” he was angry and fed up with all of the lies the government was spreading. He felt America was being told what to think and he was the only one who didn’t fit in. Walt Whitman’s “Facing West From California’s Shores” is spoken as a person who has traveled all around the worlds looking but not finding what he desires. 1860, when this was written, was the same year the Civil War began. Perhaps the man couldn’t…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Connotative and denotative meanings of words and phrases are the backbone for African American literature. In “I, Too” by Langston Hughes, Hughes uses words and phrases that have a deeper underlying meaning than what they appear to be. With his work focused on the equality of blacks in early America it makes it easier to pull out the words and phrases that have these subliminal meanings. The tones in “I, Too” can be established by seeking the connotative meanings of certain words in each stanza. The use of connotative meanings show the reader how patriotism, determination and advisory are the tones in “I, Too”.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “People without a knowledge of their past history, origin, and cultures is like a tree without roots” (Quote, Marcus Garvey). From my perspective, a person has to know the past, to shape the future. By investigating and digging into the history, we discover more and more relevant facts, from which we can take an advantage. Thus, the analysis of literature and poem becomes more interesting and intriguing when we eventually learn more about its historical and cultural background. In this essay, I am going to look through several poems of Walt Whitman: “O Captain! My Captain” and “Drum Taps.” These two precisely represent the struggles of the greatest event – American Civil War, which marked a defining moment in the United States History.…

    • 1268 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays