Born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri, Langston Hughes embodied the subtle status of African-American culture throughout his career as a novelist, poet, and scholar. Hughes was a unique poet, in that he sought to communicate the voices of black America and reflect the culture, lifestyle, and obstacles involved in the lives of black Americans. Through his writing, experiences, and uncanny capacity for empathy, Hughes developed a strong understanding of the American Dream and the state of the American Dream in society. More specifically, Hughes was able to effectively give voice to the disenfranchised American dream belonging to black America, a dream far removed from the traditional American dream. Through strong depictions of prejudice, poverty and darkness, Hughes tells of an oppressed dream, a dream for those who could not even obtain rights such as freedom and equality. For these people, dreams often die or are forgotten. However, Hughes does not declare that all hope is lost. Although the subjects of his American dreams often lack possession, respect, and dignity, Hughes asserts that their dreams, while not immediately or easily realized, can in fact be realized with time, belief, and dedication. Through works such as “As I Grew Older,” “I, Too,” “American Heartbreak,” and “Let America be America Again,” Hughes articulates the meaning of the underprivileged American dream, addresses the obstacles to its realization, and sheds light on the modern context of the American dream in relation to society as a whole. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original “How I Did It” essay. Grew Older,” originally published in 1925, refers directly to a narrator’s dream. The poem focuses on the difficulty of facing obstacles on the way to achieving success. While the poem does not directly address the cultural context, it is immediately apparent that “As I Grew Older” centers on the particular difficulties of African Americans in finding equality and acceptance in an indifferent world. “As I Grew Older” begins with a dream the speaker had long ago, a dream “Bright as the sun.” The speaker, now old, seems to be distraught, since this old dream of his has never come true: My dream rose, rose slowly, slowly, between me and my dream rose until it touched the sky. Throughout the poem, the nature of this wall remains unknown. However, the wall is described as insurmountable, impossible to break through. The figurative language used in the poem serves to dramatize this struggle to break through the wall, and the language is further used to represent the speaker's loss of hope, as he works in vain against terrible odds. The wall itself is given a human touch and is personified throughout the poem As this wall rises to the point of blocking the sun, the world around the speaker darkens and lies in the shadows. This action of "lying down" can be interpreted as symbolic of the speaker's denial of his dream and his resignation to the fate that life has dealt him as he lies in the shadows. the speaker shouts "my hands, my dark hands!" adding a racial element to the man's anguish. Furthermore, the shadows can be seen as an actualization of the character's darkness. It is now clear that the speaker represents all African Americans who have been forced to give up their dreams in the face of discrimination and persecution. Given the existence of the speaker in the shadows, a parallel can be drawn between the speaker and the African American narrator in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. The narrator of Invisible Manhe significantly states that “I am invisible, you understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” (Ellison, 3). This powerful description accurately summarizes the speaker's plight in “As I Grew Older” and allows for greater understanding of the obstacles to the process of the speaker's dream. Through line 23 of the poem, the speaker is listless, pessimistic, and seemingly submissive. However, starting in line 24, the speaker demonstrates new vigor. With strong determination, articulated in descriptive language, the speaker sets out to command his “dark hands” to dismantle the wall, to help him realize his dreams: My dark hands! Break through the wall! Find my dream! Help me to shatter this darkness, to shatter this night, to shatter this shadow into a thousand lights of the sun, into a thousand swirling dreams of the sun! By using words with strong consonant sounds like “shatter,” “smash,” and “break,” the speaker invokes feelings of empowerment and strong desire (Morgan, 1). The poem ends vibrantly, with the image of the wall breaking, letting light pass through to shine on the speaker. With the wall shattered, the speaker would be free to pursue his dreams. “As I Grew Older” does not portray the disenfranchised American dream in a positive light. Overall, the poem paints a bleak picture of the success of black Americans. Furthermore, the end of the poem doesn't even make the speaker reach his dreams; ironically, the conclusion indicates that being able to achieve his dreams is also a dream. The hypothetical upheaval of darkness and upheaval of night never actually occurs, leaving the speaker to seize the opportunity. “As I Grew Older” is therefore very indicative of Langston Hughes' opinion on the dream of black Americans in the early 1900s; it was not a real thing, and only through dedicated and determined pursuit could the dream be achieved for black America. However, did Hughes feel this way about the state of black America? Another poem, “I Too” (also titled “I, Too, Sign America”) helps summarize his point of view a speaker, a “darker brother” who must eat in the kitchen when friends are visiting. Relegated to the background, he is not given the same right to meet guests, the same right to opportunities that other family members have. This situation can be said to be representative of black America in Hughes' time, as African Americans were directly denied opportunities in various ways, much like the speaker of "As I Grew Older", the narrator of "I, Too". yearns to come into the foreground To gain more opportunities, the narrator intends to “eat well” and “grow strong.” He then expresses this aspiration through planned actions, in the lines: Tomorrow I will be at the table When the company arrives No one will dare Say to me: "Eat in the kitchen", Then they will see how I am beautiful and ashamed - Demonstrating his "beautiful" merits, the narrator tries to to gain the opportunity and, in the context of the poem, to be accepted as part of America. The fact that this acceptance is sought is significant. By pointing out that African Americans are not even accepted in America, Hughes further distances the traditional American Dream as a dream for blacks. Further supporting the conclusion of “As I Grew Older,” Hughes suggests another step in the pursuit of the American Dream, that of. be able to pursue it with complete self-confidence. It is clear that Hughes believes that there is an inherent and negative separation between being an African American and being a white American, in terms of the American Dream. A third poem, “American Heartbreak,” serves to make Hughes's intentions are extremely clear. The short poem describes Hughes' position, that of an African American wholook from the outside. He is the obstacle against which freedom has stumbled, a paradox that America must contend with. We now see that a common theme ties Hughes's poems together: double consciousness. The concept is very present in both “American Heartbreak” and “I, Too”. The term, coined by WEB Du Bois, refers to the challenge of reconciling oneself with the two cultures that make up one's identity. Double consciousness is more specifically described as follows: “The history of the American Negro is the history of this conflict, of this desire to achieve a self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this fusion he wishes none of the older selves to be lost (bold writing is mine - G. Sh.). He does not wish to Africanize America, because America has too much to teach the world and Africa; he does not wish to whiten his Negro blood in a wave of white Americanism, because he believes that Negro blood still has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American without being cursed and spat upon by his fellow men, without losing the opportunity for self-development.” (Gates, Jr. and McKay, p.615) Furthermore, the theory of double consciousness implies a clear separation between a person's self and how an individual sees himself or herself. Clearly, this division would cause lowered self-perception and esteem among victimized and disenfranchised participants in the psychology of double consciousness (Shaduri, p. 89). What, however, did Hughes propose to enable black America to participate in authentic dreams? In his poem “Let America be America Again,” Hughes offers his idea of ​​a solution. “Let America be America Again” is a call for a return to American ideals, but at the same time serves as an account of the tragic realities of the American dream for those who occupy the lowest levels of American society. Hughes begins the poem with a summary of traditional American ideals. It speaks of a land where “opportunities are real” and “equality is in the air we breathe.” However, Hughes then writes some illuminating lines: For me there was never equality nor freedom in this "home of the free." Throughout the poem, Hughes continues to refer to the "homeland of the free" in quotation marks, thus sending a powerful statement. Hughes goes on to describe various disenfranchised groups in America, such as the black man who “bears the scars of slavery,” the red man “driven from his land,” and the immigrant who “clings” to hope. As in many of Hughes' poems, the end of the poem brings with it an optimistic change. Ironically, Hughes states, “Let America be America again, the land that never was and yet must be.” Indeed, the second half of the poem serves to be a call to the dispossessed, to actually create a homeland of the free. Hughes calls on “niggers,” “Indians,” and “poor men” to take back America and take power. Only then will those who are disenfranchised be able to bring their dreams of America back to life and realize their American dream. This idea is further supported by the poem's concluding lines: We, the people, must redeem the land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain - All, all the stretch of these great green states - And make America again! Concluding "Let America be America Again", Hughes declares his intention to empower the poor; without their action, no change is possible. The American Dream, in Hughes' eyes, is unattainable without this intentional change. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay Nel.