The Poem: I Too, Sing America
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 I am
And be ashamed--
I, too, am America.
About the Author:
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 and died on May 22, 1967. His parents divorced when Hughes was a child. He
began writing poetry in Lincoln, Illinois, when he moved to live with his
mother and her husband. He was one of the earliest innovators of the jazz
poetry. He was best known during the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote about the
period that “the negro was in vogue” in which was later called as “when Harlem
was in vogue”.
Personal Response: "I, Too, Sing America" by
Langston Hughes is a remarkable poem that shows the relationship of whites and
blacks. This poem shows how the whites treated the black as a nuisance sending
him to the kitchen when they are dining. However, with courage, he will grow
stronger and stay at the table when dining and make them feel ashamed for
treating him that way. He didn’t care what others think, to him, he knew he was
beautiful. This is a great poem that tells people what black people think and
will do now and in the future.
The relationship between the
whites and blacks are important. As I read this poem, it had reminded me of
when the world once had despised the blacks and treated them as if they were
trash. I really think it was wrong for those who hate black people because all people are the same and they all have an equal right.
This poem relates to me in a way when I was kind of treated that way
back in elementary teasing me that I looked like Chinese even though I am a
Korean. They were being a racist. There was a book called The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. by Johnny Ray Moore. This book
is a story about Martin Luther King Jr’s childhood all the way to how he spoke
a speech to stop the whites treating like black people like a bother. This book
relates very much to this poem. The world may be racist and still see black
people as a nuisance or a bother, but those black people had the courage to
defend themselves and use their rights as a person.
TP-CASTT:
TITLE: The title, I Too, Sing America tells me that this poem is about Americans acting towards one another. I hope this poem is enthusiastic. I give my respect to this guy for having courage to stood up for himself that the whites should be ashamed for treating black people like trash or a nuisance.
PARAPHRASE:
I sing to America.
I have darker skin
They will send me to the kitchen and not the dining table
When visitors come,
However, I laugh,
I eat a lot,
and grow more powerful.
Tomorrow,
I'll eat at the table
When visitors come,
Nobody'll not even try
Say to me,
"Go to the kitchen or somewhere else to eat,"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see the beauty of me
And be bashful--
I am an American.
CONNOTATION: (Format Analysis)
1. Structure - Free verse, no Rhyme Scheme, Meter - DACYTL, Trimeter, Punctuation - periods, commas, and quotation marks. Parallel Structure.
2. Speaker - A black American that wants equal rights, Audience - the people who treated the black American as a nuisance.
3. Figurative Language - Irony of Situation. It gives an irony where the neglected person gets courage to stand up for himself.
4. Imagery - sight (beauty)
5. Repetition - There is repetition in the first line and last line of the poem.
ATTITUDE: Writer’s tone:
lonely, proud, courageous. Think complexity; The tone shifts according to
each stanza
The tone of the poem in lines 2-4 shows the tone of loneliness. The tone of the poem in lines 6-13 shows the tone of courageous. The lines from 14-17 shows the tone of being proud.
SHIFTS:
1st Stanza - It talks about how they treated him poorly sending him to the kitchen when visitors come.
2nd Stanza - It talks about that he will get stronger and stay in the dining table the next time.
3rd Stanza - Tells the beauty within himself.
The poem itself tells how the character lived and how he will get his courage and stand for himself.
TITLE: Now that I have read the poem a second time, I realize that this poem is
dedicated specifically to those who are racist against the blacks and treating them
like trash. The people treated the black guy as a nuisance because whenever a
visitor came they will send him somewhere else so that the black guy won’t be
seen. So the black guy gets his courage so the next time the visitors come he’ll
not move and eat in the dining table.
THEME:
1. Every person is beautiful in their own way.
2. You should not stereotype people of how they look.
3. The black race is treated with neglect.
4. All people has equal rights.
5. People should show respect to each and every person.
References (APA-6):
Hughes, L. (2010). I Too, Sing America.Website. Retrieved from http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/langston_hughes/poems/16945
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