Langston Hughes I Too Meaning

573 Words3 Pages
Although, Hughes is not known for using lots of symbolism, there is some that can be found in “I, Too”. His poetry is generally straight forward and to the point, which means there is not much hidden meaning in his poetry. To me, “I, Too” would be considered an anti-discrimination poem, which shows the injustice of racism. The poem is very effective because of its genuine emotions. The poem describes a black man's personal experience with racial discrimination. He is treated as if he is an embarrassment and made to feel inferior. It can be interpreted in a number of ways. "I Too Sing America" has psychological and cultural references such as intergroup stereotyping, communication, cooperation, and conflict. Moreover, it sounds like a slogan, appeal to immediate action. Therefore he hides his radicalism in the title of the poem, which is not a poem at a closer look…show more content…
It also gives us insight to the style that Hughes uses in all his poetry. He uses humor in most of his writing to convey his message. What the laugh represents is his thoughts of the future. "I laugh..." They will laugh, and will be happy. Moreover, laugh means that he'll be able to look back. Eating is another interesting symbol because it represents learning and knowledge. Without knowledge one cannot further themselves in life or make themselves better. Eating well means to learn well and retain the knowledge. "Growing strong" represents the retaining of the knowledge. Not only does this mean to grow strong with knowledge but for the voices of equality to grow stronger. The biggest use of symbolism is the last line: "I, too, am America." The line "I, too, am America" shouts out that someone was forgotten within many years of oppression and discrimination. Whom are you are going to oppress. Hughes's answer is - yourself. People oppressed themselves yesterday, are oppressing today, but will not tomorrow. Tomorrow will come and no one will be
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