Critical opinion differs on Langston Hughes' poem, "I, Too, Sing America." It certainly reflects Walt Whitman's poem, "I Hear America Singing," because Hughes' title clearly alludes to Whitman's work. However, Hughes is a very talented poet in his own right and should not be described as an imitator of Whitman. I agree and disagree with the points made by the authors of the critical articles I have read about Hughes' work. I don't; agrees with Gohar and Nadell's statement that Hughes refers to the institution of slavery in this work (Gohar2) (Nadell1). Rather, I believe it refers to the position of most African Americans in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayIn "Subverting the History of Slavery and Colonization in the Poetry of Langston Hughes," Saddik Gohar argues that Langston Hughes poetically addresses the history of racism and colonization that connects African American literary traditions with its counterparts in the United States. I disagree with Gohar because Langston Hughes' poem is an expression of events that happened at the time which included his political take on the situation. Hughes' poem "I, Too, Sing America" is a poem written during the Great Depression in which Hughes informs his readers of his views on America and its politics. “But I laugh, and I eat well, and I grow strong, but to-morrow I will be at the table when company comes” refers to problems occurring in politics and social improvements as economic conditions improve. It refers to the hardships of that time, and “I'll be at the table when the company arrives” demonstrates overcoming those struggles over time. The first verse of "I, Too, Sing America" is a perspective view illustrating Hughes' thoughts. of what he believed would happen if economic and political issues worsened. In the second stanza the direction of the poem's events reverses, conditions improve, and Hughes writes of the positive outcome that reflects Franklin D. Roosevelt's work in turning the economy around for the better. Hughes is a political poet who expresses politics through his works (Gipson 1). I therefore disagree with Gohar's critical assessment. In contrast to article one, article two evaluates Hughes' work, “I, Too, Sing America” in an accepting and idealistic tone in accordance with the figurative meaning of the poem. In article two Martha Nadell argues that the meaning of the poem is directed towards some kind of economic issue, which Hughes chooses to express poetically. I agree with Nadell's assessment because based on the time period in which the poem was written, the economy and politics were troubled; therefore, knowing that Hughes was a political individual who expressed events poetically, I determined that he was referring to the events that occurred at the time. Nadell's statement was raised by his analysis of the Harlem Renaissance and what all the people there had in common in their lives. it works (Commander 2). “This formulates a unified theory of the relationships between images and text, rather than employing the African American literacy movement approach,” (Gipson 2) which is relevant because it gives me insight into Hughes' thoughts on the Harlem Renaissance which influenced him to create poetically approach political issues. The Good Black Poet and Good Gray Poet discuss Hughes's inspiration in poetry, why he wrote the poems he wrote, and evaluation of his work. In this article
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