I too poetry
- 2. ABSTRACT This paper is an analysis of African American nationalism which is reflected in “I, Too” by Langston Hughes. The focus of the discussion in this paper is metaphor, symbols, discrimination, and nationalism. The methods used to make this paper is a textual and a close reading. Through the analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic elements in this paper, readers can understand about discrimination and the African-American nationalism that reflected in poetry “I, Too”. Keywords: Figurative Language, metaphor, symbols, discrimination, nationalism.
- 3. INTRODUCTION “The true poem rests between the words.” — Vanna Bonta — Poetry is one of genres in literature. Laurence Perrine in “Sounds and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry” (1969:3) defines poetry as a kind of language that says more and says it more intensely than does ordinary language. There is no an exact definition of poetry, but poetry can be understood by analyzing it. Analyzing poetry itself is an activity concerned with examining the words and stanzas in poetry from the perspective of images, obvious meanings and implied meanings in order to have a greater understanding of the poetry itself.
- 4. Langston Hughes, whose full name was James Mercer Langston Hughes, was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He was the only son of James Nathaniel Hughes and Carrie Mercer Langston. His parents divorced when he was young and his father moved to Mexico. In 1914 he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her new husband. It was here that he started writing poetry — he wrote his first poem in the eighth grade. A year later the family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio. Despite all the moving around, Hughes was a good student and excelled in his studies. After high school, Hughes traveled in Mexico, Europe, and Africa — sometimes by working on freighters. By 1924 he had settled in Harlem, New York, and was an important figure during the Harlem Renaissance. One of his favorite pastimes was to sit in clubs and listen to the blues as he wrote his poetry Until He died on May 22, 1967, in New York, NY.
- 5. I, Too (1926) 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.
- 6. LITERARY REVIEW Figurative Language A. Riley in his book, An Attempt to Develop the Elements of Figurative Language, with A View to Facilitate the Study of Poetical Criticism states that Figurative language is a language that uses some analogies between two subjects which are either directly or by allusion transferred from one to the other. (1827:1) Metaphor The quality of a poem can be greatly influenced by the quality of its metaphors. Laurence Perrine in Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry (1969:65) states that in metaphor the comparison is implied – that is, the figurative term is substituted for or identified with the literal term. Walton Beacham on his book, The Meaning of Poetry (1994:102), states that the object in the metaphor which is of initial importance is called the tenor; the element which reflects or illustrates the tenor is called the vehicle. As an example the poetry of “Spring” by Robert Burns: “O my Luve is like a red, red rose” The poet is attributing the qualities of the rose to his love, and so the rose becomes the vehicle reflecting on his lover, who is the tenor in the metaphor.
- 7. DISCUSSION The History of The Poem This poem tell the history of United States through the lens of the African-American experience. It embodies that history at a particular point in the early 20th century when Jim Crow laws throughout the South enforced racial segregation; and argues against those who would deny that importance— and that presence. “They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes,” Hughes powerfully speaks for the second-class, those excluded. The full-throated drama of the poem portrays African-Americans moving from out of sight, eating in the kitchen, and taking their place at the dining room table co-equal with the “company” that is dining. Intriguingly, Langston doesn’t amplify on who owns the kitchen. The house, of course, is the United States and the owners of the house and the kitchen are never specified or seen because they cannot be embodied. Hughes’ sly wink is to the African- Americans who worked in the plantation houses as slaves and servants. He honors those who lived below stairs or in the cabins. Even excluded, the presence of African-Americans was made palpable by the smooth running of the house, the appearance of meals on the table, and the continuity of material life
- 8. Figurative Languange The most dominant parts of figurative language in the poetry by Langston Hughes., I, Too, are metaphor and Symbols. Metaphor “I am the darker brother.” Langston use term of darker brother as metaphor to represent that the speaker is a member of a family in this case a brother, brother is a member of family that no one no matter how hate or despise could get away as they will exist in someone life. This stanza could also mean that he/she is no matter how different their skin color are still human same as them.
- 9. Symbols “I, too, sing America.” This poem begin with a powerful statement that the speaker also sing America, sing in this case could be mean that the speaker speak with the song as music traditionally used as lamentation for their fate as slave there are almost nothing to do and music is only outlet for their stress. In the other hand I, too, sing America could also mean that they are equal with their master as they too can sing the national anthem with the same language as them which show that they are equally as capable as their master to converse, read, learning, etc.
- 10. Extrinsic Explanation of Poem Racial discrimination has been happened around the world, on the top of that the big country like America have racial discrimination once in the society of American. Racial discrimination could be happened with religion, racial or gender and it could be happened everywhere. Racial discrimination in America happened between “the white” and “the black”. The black is African who live in America, white man in America call them with humiliate name, such as “Negro”, Black American”, “Afro-America”, and “Nigga”. According to Irwin Unger in “These United States: The Question of Our Past” (1989: 38) Black American come to the “New World” as slave firstly reach English mainland colonies in 1619 when a Dutch vessel unexpectedly put in at Jamestown with a cargo of twenty Africans. Black American have different threated with the White American, not only by the society but also the government. Discrimination which the Black American get is happened in many way such as, education, employment and a residence for the Black American. Langston Hughes from this poem wants to tell how tough the Black American deal with racial discrimination.
- 11. “I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen” From the line above, Hughes uses “brother” to describe that Black American is same with another American because they America but, in the third line we could know that Black American had been threat differently from the White American in every living aspect. “But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.” Langston Hughes from “But I laugh, And eat well” want to describe the Black American could endure all the racial discrimination that given to them by White American. Then, in the seventh line the words “And grow strong” give us a picture that the Black American become stronger and have spirit to defend their right for the equality in America. This is proven from A More Perfect Union: Document in US Histroy by Paul Boller, Jr. and Ronald Story (1988: 274) that in 1968 when Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown talk protest abour racist police in Columbia University.
- 12. “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be Ashamed----“ In the fourth stanza, Hughes want to show us their struggle would be succeed and the world will see them as an American not a Black American or Negro. Then, the world “They’ll see how beautiful I am” to show us that Black American are kind persons and they have an unique sense of art like they create Jazz and Blues genre for music. Paul Boller, Jr. and Ronald Story in A More Perfect Union: Document in US History (1988: 276) said that the Black American used Jazz and Blues as a critics for the discrimination and the results is very good, not only Black American but also White American joint their struggle for their equality. Then, the Black Nationalism was grown among the American
- 13. CONCLUSION From the poetry “I, Too”, we can know that Langston Hughes have a high level patriotism and nationalism as American even though he understand the depth American atrocity that happen to African American. This poem also show us that he have a brighter view of the future that Africa-American will stand equally with white society of America. These poem truly show how bright the future is with education, experience, and strong will mankind no matter the race can achieve greatness. “I swear to the Lord,I still can't see,Why Democracy means,Everybody but me.” — Langston Hughes —
- 14. BIBLIOGRAPHY Jr., Paul Boller. 1988. A More Perfect Union. Houghton Mifflin Company. Madaras, Larry and James M. SoRelle. 1991. 3th ed. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in United States History, Volume 1: The Colonial Period to Reconstruction. Guilford: The Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc.. Perrine, Laurence. 1969. 3th ed. Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry. United States of America: Harcourt College Pub. Unger, Irwin 1989. These United States: the questions of our past, Volume 1: to 1877. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: A Divison of Simon & Schuster. Riley, A.. 1827. An Attempt to Develop The Elements of Figurative Language, with A View to Facilitate the Study of Poetical Criticism. London: S. Robinson & G. B. Whitaker Foner, Eric, and Olivia Mahney. 1990. A House Divided: America in the age of Lincoln. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Beacham, Walton. 1974. The Meaning of Poetry: A Guide to Explication. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc. National Research Council (NRC). 2004. Measuring Racial Discrimination. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Gellner, Ernest. 1983. Nations and Nationalism. New York: Cornell University Press.