Segregation

Lourdes Bohorquez

Professor Sherry

Comp 102

10/21/14

I, Too

Langston Hughes uses setting and symbolism portray his poem. I, Too directly speaks the reader with obsolete words from the past. Although the treatment the main character was facing was cruel this generation never really knew what it was like to live in a segregated time period. Hughes places you in the story with details on how slaves used to get treated and near the end of segregation

Symbolism is used throughout the poem to make a point. Hughes uses the word America repeatedly which plays a significant role in the poem and its meaning. America is viewed as the land of the free, which in the past was not the case. Equality is all the poem is pleading for. Not only are white people American, African Americans are citizens and deserve to be treated equal. Langston Hughes uses I, Too to make this point obvious and direct the reader to the point he’s trying to make. “I am the darker brother” meaning he’s African American, and “They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes, but I laugh and eat well, and grow strong” by grow strong I believe he means growing strong until segregation ends and they become equal.

During the time of segregation, eating together; using the same facilities and having the same exits were not allowed. This is the reasoning behind sending him to the kitchen to eat. “Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table when company comes. Nobody’ll dare say to me, ‘Eat in the kitchen’ then”. This means one day he’ll be able to sit at the same table and eat with them without a problem or conflict. The main character in the story shows emotional and mental strength. It takes a lot not to burst into rage especially with a situation like that. He took the negative and made it positive, he looked on the brighter side and it shows it only makes you stronger. This bring a better perspective on the positive changes made by the end of segregation