I, Too by Langston Hughes by Valentina White https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi Black History Poetry Project - Valentina White en-us 2022-02-01 13:28:10 UTC 2022-02-08 13:16:02 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f1fa-1f1f8.png I, Too 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2023312132 BY: LANGSTON HUGHES

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.

]]> 2022-02-01 13:36:02 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2023312132 Who is the Speaker? What kind of person are they? 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2023322307 The speaker of this poem is Langston Hughes. Hughes was a main figure in the Harlem Renaissance. He was known for writing many poems, novels, short stories, essays, and plays. Hughes was a person that genuinely strived to portray the happiness and difficulties of black lives in the working class. One of the main goals he had was through his works, was to avoid making black lives seem ideal and to stray away from stereotypes. ]]> 2022-02-01 13:41:08 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2023322307 Langston Hughes | 1902 - 1967 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2023326432 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/langston-hughes]]> 2022-02-01 13:43:05 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2023326432 Who is the audience? 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2023344618 The audience of this poem is typically for other black lives that feel the same way he does. They may need reassurance that they are not the only ones being neglected and left out. He wants to show them that there is no reason to feel the way they do. Although it may feel tempting, they are still beautiful and those that pay no mind to them will feel ashamed in the end for missing out on how beautiful they really are. ]]> 2022-02-01 13:51:50 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2023344618 What is the era and place? What is the situation? 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2026673302 The situation is this poem is that there are people in the 1920s, and the normal thing for them was to eat at the table. As soon as company would come, they would simply regulate the blacks to the kitchen. The place (the house; the table) represents power that the African Americans did not contain. ]]> 2022-02-03 03:03:14 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2026673302 What is the purpose of this poem? 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029305287 The purpose of this poem is to inform people of the message being sent out to any black lives during this time. The message being sent out to them was that they are not equal. The rebuttal Hughes has to this is that black people are equal to everyone else, and he will show everyone how beautiful he is, and how much he does matter. He is also indirectly stressing that he shouldn't have to do much, other than simply sit at the table and not eat in the kitchen. The one thing about this poem is that Hughes is proud of America. He is proud of everything it has gone through and wants to express that he lives in America, just as everyone else, and shouldn't be treated differently if living under one nation.]]> 2022-02-04 12:00:08 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029305287 The CENTRAL Idea in One Sentence 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029312289 American racism should be disposed of and black lives will be seen as equal everywhere.]]> 2022-02-04 12:06:28 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029312289 Describe the structure of the poem. How does this relate to content? 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029318865 The structure of this poem is set up to contain no rhyming and/or standard metre that happens to be varied throughout the poem. I feel as though this relates to the content, because most standard poems have rhymes and during this time it was known for the Europeans to create poems that followed the tradition of just rhyming in each stanza.]]> 2022-02-04 12:12:42 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029318865 What is the tone of the poem? How is it achieved? 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029323308 The tone of the poem is hopeful while also resilient. It is achieved by expressing the hope for future black lives during this time, such as Hughes' life and how he plans to go about his future. It is resilient in the way that he will not let this racism stop his life and the growth he is bound to achieve. ]]> 2022-02-04 12:16:36 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029323308 Well-Chosen Words 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029327678 Words that seemed very well chosen for this poem were "the darker brother", "I grow strong", and lastly "I, too". I noticed that at the end of "the darker brother" Hughes decided to start off his poem here, and make a broad statement to keep himself known as to who he is. "I grow strong" brings about the resilience in him and that he will right through the racism being put upon him. "I, too" shares the message of the whole poem, that he will not let himself be treated differently and "he too", will receive the same opportunities as everyone else, regardless of if he is black. ]]> 2022-02-04 12:20:31 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029327678 Are there predominant usages of figurative language? What is the effect? 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029331523 There is the use of figurative language, such as the metaphor used, the table that the people eat dinner at. The effect is that it emphasizes the higher status and opportunities people were given over blacks during this time. If looked at in a similar perspective, personification is included too. It is giving the black lives a lifestyle in which only the white people were given at this time. There is another metaphor used, for him being the darker brother. This metaphor is giving us incite that he is a Black American Citizen.]]> 2022-02-04 12:23:48 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029331523 Use of Sound Devices 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029342979 There is an allusion in Line 1, "I too, sing America", relating to Walt Whitman's Poem, "I Hear America Singing". Since Whitman's Poem symbolizes americans coming together to join in song but excludes black people, he is replying to this Poem saying "I too, sing America". When Hughes repeats "I, too" it represents enjambment and end-stopped lines. His poem also already contains metaphors. ]]> 2022-02-04 12:33:44 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2029342979 Why I chose this Poem? 2408394_1 https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2031761801 I chose this poem because while reading this, I felt the sense of a movement being made. I was able to enjoy reading that he believing in change and would be proud of America while also adapting to being seen in his own way. Hughes is making is voice heard through this short poem and the message is clear once understood. Some people don't understand each other unless they communicate, and considering he was a main figure in the activist, I felt he knew what he was doing.]]> 2022-02-06 19:31:17 UTC https://padlet.com/2408394_1/w063ievvntaivwyi/wish/2031761801