Langston Hughes Let Usa Be America Again Analysis

Langston Hughes: Champion of Social Justice
Langston Hughes (born James Mercer Langston Hughes) may be regarded as one of the most influential poets of the 19th century. His work was most notable for insightful portrayals of African American life in the 1920’s, and played a major role in the cultural development of the Harlem Renaissance. His poems told stories of culture, suffering, music, laughter and language. Hughes’ poem “Let America Be America Again” serves as a prime example of his poetic influence on the struggle for racial equality, particularly in a country which claims that “all men are created equal”. This poem develops the theme that only by granting social equality to all peoples can America reach its maximum potential, through …show more content…
The first speaker lays out the ideal version of America, a “pioneer on the plain”(3), a “dream”(6), a “land where Liberty/ Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath”(11-12), etc. To this, a quieter voice contests that “America never was America to me” (5). Suddenly, the first speaker asks “who are you that mumbles in the dark?” (17), inciting the other speaker to make his voice heard. As this voice in the dark begins to speak, he takes on the personae of those who stand oppressed in the so-called land of the free, such as the “poor white”, “Negro”, “Immigrant”, etc (19-22), and explains the plight of each. He argues that America would never be America without these people. The airing of grievances eventually gives way to an explanation of how all Americans are fundamentally the same, having “dreamt [the] basic dream” (39), and then stating that the ‘dream’ is “almost dead today” (61). Finally, the voice urges that, in order to achieve the dream all americans long for, America must needs be “ [a] land where every man is free” …show more content…
For example, lines 1,2,3,6 and 7 all begin with either “Let it” or “Let America”, which serves to tie the individual lines together. In this particular case, the anaphora is meant to reinforce the ideal the speaker holds for America, as a “pioneer on the plain” (3) or “[a] great strong land of love” (7). Later in the poem, anaphora expresses a different idea: the links in the chain that bind oppressed Americans, specifically “Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!/ Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!/ Of work the men! Of take the pay!/ Of owning everything for one's own greed!” (27-30). Each ‘of’ begins a new link in the chain, a different manner in which inequality prevails in the American system. According to the speaker, these metaphorical shackles are preventing America from reaching that ideal set forth in the first stanza. When asked to identify himself, the ‘voice in the dark’ becomes a spokesman for each individual group under oppression. Whether that be the “poor white” (19), “red man driven from the land” (20), or “the worker sold to the machine” (32), the speaker represents the underrepresented. By taking on the personae of each different group, the speaker shows that America is more than just wealthy whites. Therefore, in order to reach the full potential of what America could be, the state of inequality must be

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Langston Hughes Let Usa Be America Again Analysis

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Let Usa Be America Again Langston Hughes Analysis