From Langston Hughes' "I, Too"
"Besides, they'll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed --I, too, am America" (720).
After reading this poem I thought it was a particularly unique and interesting way to portray the desire for equal rights and to not be discriminated against. Then I looked at the date in which it was written and though it to be especially profound. In 1926, to publicly take such a strong and matter of fact approach to racism is really impressive to me.
I enjoyed the poem a lot, and this quote which comes from the last lines of the poem, is so powerful because he is saying so much. He is saying that he is beautiful not despite of his African American heritage, but because of it and that the people who told him to eat alone in the kitchen for so long will be ashamed when they see just how beautiful he is. He is also stating that he is every bit and just as much of what makes up America as the next person and he is proud of that.
I like that the author took a more subtle approach to his point. Instead of openly saying that racism is hurtful and he is tired of being discriminated, the author is using the forced isolation as a way to grow big and strong and show the people that have kept him down just how beautiful he has grown to be. This different approach to a topic that has been written about so much seems to make his point stand out even more.
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I love Langston Hughes's poetry. He is sombody that inspires me to write poetry, a novel feeling for me.
ReplyDeleteHi, Marybeth. I think Hughes's prediction in 1926 has come true to a certain extent as mainstream American culture has become ashamed of slavery and racism, at least superficially, and has learned to admire African-American culture to the point where young people regardless of ethnicity emulate the language of urban African-American youth. Nancy
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