I, Too, Sing America

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.

Pg2

I Hear America Singing

By Walt Whitman

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand
singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or
at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of
the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the dayat night the party of young fellows,
robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

Pg3

POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

ASSIGNMENT ON THE POSTCOLONIAL READING OF

I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes

Submitted by
S.Pavitra
09ENG32

While we analyse I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes

(pg 2), it is only natural to also take into view I Hear America
Singing by Walt Whitman (pg 3). Hughes claims Whitman to
be one of his inspirations, and though not intended to be a
reaction to his poem I, Too, Sing America can be better
understood with reference to I Hear America Singing.
I Hear America Singing presents an image of America that
America would like to believe truean image of proud and
healthy individualists engaged in productive and happy
labor. Mechanic, carpenter, mason, boatman, deckhand,
shoemaker, hatter, wood-cutter, plowboyfrom city to
country, from sea to land, the "varied carols" reflect a
genuine joy in the days creative labor that makes up the
essence of American.
I, Too, Sing America is the voice of the black community in
America. Though the narration is singular, it's almost as if a
whole community is speaking this poem, instead of just one
individual. In light of Whitmans poem, I, Too, Sing America
seems to be saying Hey I work too. I work harder than you
know. You should sing about me, too and you will". That
kind of sums up Hughes's poem. The whole idea seems to
assert the narrator's identity as a human being, an American
citizen and a beautiful one, at that. The poem is told in the
present tense and in first person, and yet its subject and
time period could be seen either as slave-owning America or
early 20th-century America. The speaker in this poem could
be thought of as a person from either of these times, and
serves as a kind of "representative" of all black Americans in
Americas history.
Literally, there's no violence in the poem at all but there's
plenty of oppression, and if you look at the poem in its full
cultural context (i.e., that of slavery), there's plenty of
suggested violence within the text here. The actions of the
white Americans in this piece are blatantly oppressive, and

those same actions are just bristling with a subtle, almostthere violence.

When the narrator says that he is the darker brother, we

know that he is speaking of his skin colour and is referencing
to the "brotherhood" of all men in America. So he's asserting
his identity not only as a black man, but also as a vital part
of American society as a whole. The narrator here isn't
speaking just for himself he's speaking on behalf of his
entire race. When the white people in the house have
guests, the narrator is sent to eat in the kitchen, as if to
show him where he actually belongs according to the whites.
We should note that even though we eat in the kitchen in
the modern day homes, eating in the kitchen was much less
common back in the days of slavery. Back then, you always
ate in the dining room. Eating in the kitchen was just for
slaves and animals.
But the narrator laughs, eats and grows strong.The food
imagery here is drastically different from the image
presented in the previous couple of lines. Earlier the whites
use the food (asking them to eat in the kitchen) as a means
to show their superioty and control ; but here, the food is to
show that its a way for the oppressed to enrich themselves
and to "grow strong". The "eating well," in this case, stands
for educating themselves and growing from experience.
Tomorrow, the narrator imagines the future with hope and
is assertive about it. He'll be on equal footing with his white
oppressors and will sit on the table. He gives almost like a
threat (Nobody'll dare) that he has earned his freedom and
no one will now dare to oppress him any longer. Not only is
he present at the table, but he will have some control over
what people do and don't say to him, that is he will
command respect.
And he goes on, the Americans will realise not only his
existance but his beauty also. He hasnt grown beautiful over

the course of the poem, every human being is beautiful only

that since the Americans havent treated him like a human,
let alone an equal, they will be ashamed of themselves when
they realise that he is equal.
Pg5

I, too, am America. The narrator as a member of an

oppressed race, is asserting that he, too, belongs in
America, is a part of it and is integral to its very existence.
Just as much as anyone else.
While Whitman speaks of all the Americans singing he very
generally recalls different professionals and how they make
the chorus of the country. Itseems as if Hughes in his poem
reminds Whitman and others that he(the community of
African Americans) too is a part of the America Whitman is
talking about and his singing also forms a part of the chorus
of America.. The narrator does not only stop at saying that
he too sings America. But depicts the situation at present
and gives a vision into the future; saying that you might not
include me now but wait, there will be a time when I will sit
equal to you and you will have to agree that Im as much
American as you are.

Pg6