I, Too

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

• 1902-1967• “The Poet Laureate Of Harlem”• Central figure of Harlem

Renaissance• Civil Rights Activist, openly in

favor of Communism and Socialist Legislature

• Inspired by poets Walt Whitman and Claude McKay

• Poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer and columnist

• Attended Columbia University for just over 1 year

I, TooI, 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.

YouTube - I, Too

The Speaker• One man (darker brotherbrother) speaking as the

voice of a whole race of people in America

• Resigned to social status, knows better days are coming

• Maybe a domestic servant, being hidden away by the master “when company comes”

• “But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong”- Always positive

Section 1• Telling white America I

sing the Star Spangled Banner too, I am an American

• But because of the color of my skin you cast me away, separate yourselves from me

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.

Section 2

• Speaker’s dreams for the future

• Earn his rights, and no one will be able to cast him off

• No longer hidden, end to segregation

Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then.

Section 3

• America will embrace their gifts and see what wonderful things “we” are capable of.

• Shift from I to collective “we” shows the larger story of the one black man being a larger analogy for African-Americans as a whole

• Repeats America, instill the fact that America is America for the black man too.8

Besides, They'll see how beautiful we are And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

Diction and Syntax

• Simple language, dejected at first, but hopeful

• Easily understood, deeper meaning apparent without much reading between the lines

Conclusion• Written in 1932 after Hughes was denied passage

on a steamship because of his race, “I, too” is a poem which calls to mind the injustices done to blacks in America since they became free. The speaker, forced to eat in another room because of his masters fear that someone may see him, is hopeful for what is to come for he and his people. He reminds us that he too is an American, and ought to be afforded the same rights and should not be subject to indignities like segregation and racism.

I, TooI, 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.

Bibliography

• http://www.helium.com/items/826594-langston-hughes-wrote-african

• http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/Langston-Hughes/2383/comments

• http://www.radessays.com/viewpaper/6114/Poetry_Analysis-_I,_Too,_Sing_America.html