Langston Hughes Essay - 1204 Words

Tomorrow, I ll be at the table When company comes. States Black writer Langston Hughes. America is great, isn t it? This country was built on Liberty, and is a beacon to the rest of the world to which refugees can traverse towards. However, the course of actions in this country has not always been rainbows and sunshine, nor is it today even. There was a time in this wonderful country when Liberty seemed to dwindle, and the hope for our country s equality was slight. During this time, lived a unique writer by the name of Walt Whitman, who awed the country with his patriotic voice which he embedded into his literature. One of his most famous poems, I Hear America Singing, touched the heart of the American People by recognizing the many†¦show more content†¦Hughes does a brilliant job of proving to people during this time that racial tension still existed, and that as much as white people wanted to resent blacks, there was no way in getting around the fact that they still sing America too, just like the carpender of the boatmen in Whitmans poem. Hughes also builds off of the fact that Whitman rarely uses periods, and wrote his poem as a continuos flow of literature. Hughes does this to show his readers that he has just as much intelligence and writing ability as Whitman. For example, Whitman writes, The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,. Whitman does a brilliant job of never using periods to keep his poem flowing contunually. It is clear that Hughes adopted this structure in his poem as well, writing, They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well,. This use of continual flow in both Whitmans and Hughes poems proves Hughes incentives in building upon Whitmans poem. Within both Hughes and Whitmans Poems, it is obvious there is a correlation of themes. First of all, Whitman displays strong themes of singing, and how people of America sing America! Therefore, Hughes poem displays the same theme, stating direcly in his title I, Too, Sing America, that along with all other Americans, he sings as well. This use ofShow MoreRelatedEssay on James Langston Hughes891 Words   |  4 Pages (February 1, 1902 - May 22, 1967) Born in Joplin, Missouri, James Langston Hughes was born into an abolitionist family. He was the grandson of grandson of Charles Henry Langston, the brother of John Mercer Langston, who was the the first Black American to be elected to public office in 1855. 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