America is the land of the free but lately it doesn’t seem like it. With all the police brutality and the rasict comments by the President of The United States and his followers. In a poem written by Langston Hughes called “ Let America be America Again” it talks about how America is not free for everyone. So Langston Hughes poem relates to modern America because people are still judged by skin color, social class and people would do anything for money. Today people are still doing what ever it takes to make money.…
Although these poem’s share the same style and same meaning the of the poems is vastly different.…
What is Bop? In “Bop” by Langston Hughes, the narrator describes Bop as Be-Bop, the opposite of Re-Bop. The general idea of Be-Bop is that it is current, makes sense, what the colored boys play and that it is authentic. This leads to Re-Bop having the definition of being white boys play, an imitation, and complete nonsense. In “Bop”, a character by the name of Simple is stating his own theory on the origin of Be-Bop music to an unnamed narrator. Simple uses his somewhat ethnocentric views to help the unnamed narrator acknowledge more of the world’s current racial issues.…
America has always been regarded as the land of the free and the place where if you work hard, you will reach success. However, Langston Hughes disagrees with this idea in his passage, “Let America be America Again”. Hughes suggests that America was never “America” in the first place, and without unity, America will not be the place everyone has worked so hard to build to be what it is today. In “Let America be America Again”, Hughes develops a theme of commonality and unity being the factors that affects the objective of America being the land of the free.…
Langston Hughes, born in 1902, is a black poet from Missouri that holds strong values with expressing himself. Robert Hall (Logic) , a 28 year old, born in Gaithersburg, Maryland is a modern rapper that shares similar values with Langston Hughes. Both Robert and Hughes feel very compassionate about expressing their opinions and fighting for what they believe is right. “Let America be America Again”, a protestful poem by Langston Hughes and “America”, by Robert Hall both share the same theme of standing up for one’s beliefs.…
This essay I read called Graduation told a story about a young Middle School African American girl named Maya Angelou, who was graduating and was moving on to High School back in 1940. She was from a small town in Arkansas and was extremely excited to be graduating. She had high hopes for the future and right before the graduation ceremony, she felt like she was the birthday girl, the center of attention. She had done well for herself throughout the school year with very good academic grades and no tardiness and no absence. Her mom was proud and couldn't wait to see her daughter graduate, her mom even made her a nice dress. They had a guest speaker at the graduation ceremony his name was Mr. Donleavy. His introduction speech to the graduates had put the black race down while he praised the white kids and said they were going to be doing much better. that speech by Mr. Donleavy had really upset her. It made her feel really low about being black. Right after the speech one of her classmates went up to speak, his name was Henry Reed. He was the valedictorian. He read a poem that gave her hope and brought her back up in good spirits. She once again felt good about the color of her skin. The graduating class was happy and was encouraged by Henry Reed's speech, they felt like the black race was on top again.…
“Let America be America Again” is a poem about how Hughes claims that the great nation of America has simply lost its sense of pure patriotism. The theme of this would be the corruption and inequality in America. Langston Hughes fully believes that the dream and foundations American was initially built off has dissipated. He states, “There’s never been equality for me,” claiming that the nation within itself has lost its own idea of equality.…
The dream that was never born, the promise of hope that was never promised, the right to be treated equal that was never given. Langston Hughes expresses his discomfort with the American ideals in his poem Let America Be America Again. The author details the aspects of a life that American is supposed to represent, the right of liberty and opportunity, yet Hughes lets its discomfort be known; The discomfort of a lie, a lie that promises equality for everyone, and the right to be part of the land of liberty an opportunity. The truth that America requires an established wealth to participate in its dream.…
The Key to the American Dream The American dream is the idea that a better life can be achieved for oneself through hard work and a vision for what you want. Everyone is free to do as they wish and has an equal chance of achieving their dream. For decades, people from all around the world have come to this land of opportunity to pursue their dreams and ambitions. Even people who grew up with the amenities America has to offer have created their own fantasies of what they want their futures to become.…
In “Let America be America Again”, Langston Hughes speaks on his opinions of the American Dream. Throughout the poem, Hughes compares his hopes and dreams for America with the reality of life for those outside of certain cultural, religious, and societal groups. This is a dramatic and diverse poem, fluctuating from peaceful moments to angry explosions. The author starts by mentioning of the key vision of America, where there is the hope for liberty and equality. Yet for the oppressed races, American life has been one of persecution. Writing now in the first person, the author empathizes with all struggling Americans, "I am the farmer/ the worker/ the Negro/ I am the people." With the gift of optimism, the writer urges "We, the people, must reclaim the land/ and make America again!"…
The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity. These were values held by early settlers, and have been passed on to following generations. What the American dream has become is a question under constant discussion. What is the American dream? Many authors, poets and photographers have tried their hand at depicting their idea or the concept of the American dream. Langston Hughes, one of the many distinguished poets in the United States has written a number of poems reflecting the African American way of life and how it coincides with the American Dream. Matthew Warshauer, a professor of History at Central Connecticut…
“A Song Flung Up to Heaven”, which was published in 2002, begins with Maya Angelou’s return from Africa in 1965, shortly before the assassination of Malcolm X, with whom she had intended to work with. The book covers those devastating periods of her life in civil rights work as the northern coordinator for Marin Luther King, as well as other events of the 1960s. People died and get injured, and thousands of people got arrested. Angelou vividly recalls scenes of rioting in the Watts area of Los Angeles.…
Don’t you hate being called the wrong name or by a name you don’t like? Maya Angelou’s “What’s Your Name, Girl?” addresses the importance of specifically African American names. Angelou does this by telling about her experience of being called out of her name.…
When you hear the phrase "the American people" do you think of a people who are despoiled, alienated, or lost? William Carlos Williams characterizes the American people in this way in his poem To Elsie, which provides commentary on the American people's lost perspective. Through tone and imagery Williams tells of a self-alienating America that has lost perspective of its most treasured ideology, the American Dream, due to its violent and unstable tradition.…
Whitman wrote, “I hear America singing.’’ The purpose of the poem was to tell the reader how the American dream was going when Whitman wrote this poem. Langston Hughes wrote,” Let America be America again.’’ The purpose of this poem was to tell the reader that not everyone could have lived the american dream. What i have gathered they can both agree on that they want america to get better. Since, “ I hear america singing,”and “Let America be America again” are similar and different. I can compare and contrast.…