Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes are two great American poets who were concerned with the future of America. In the poem “I Too (Sing America)” Hughes describes a segregated and not perfect America, a world divided by color rather than ideas and freedom. Whitman imagines a brighter future of America in the poem “One Song, America, Before I Go”. Both poems describes and yearns for a better human experience in America. This papers seeks to examine and explore the depiction of America as a place with the potential for freedom and equality. It further explores the treatment of the themes of patriotism and belonging, and, how it relates to the desire for a more perfect American Union.
The theme of racial inequality is at the center of Langston Hughes’ poem “I Too”. Hughes like the great Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that America will change and people will forget the past horrors of segregation and disenfranchisement of black people. The persona in “I Too” does not want to “wallow in the valley of despair” (King Jr. n. p.). The poem is an indirect response to Walt Whitman’s patriotism in poems like “One Song, America, Before I Go”. While Whitman could sing easily about America and be awed by its greatness, Hughes argues that America has a dark side that needs to be addressed. It has a problem of race. It has people who are proud to be America, who want to “sing” America but the system does not recognize their existence. Hughes taps into one critical aspect of human existence which is the fact that human beings want to be recognized as human and be treated equally. In the America that Hughes depicts, there is denial of recognition. There is also denial of existence. The persona is not seeking to break away from America, he is singing a place on the high table.
The relationship between color and America is important to Hughes. The persona’s first proclamation is they are “the darker brother” (Hughes 2). Here there is an acknowledgement of differences in skin color but also the revelation that brotherhood is still possible. Talking about “the dark brother” does sound ironic considering the fact that it is this skin difference that allows black people to be treatment differently. People would in such situations revolt or try to break away from such systems that deny them equal treatment as human beings. The persona makes a claim to humanity. It becomes apparent that the persona is making a response to individuals like Whitman who sing America when he says “They send me to eat in the kitchen” (Hughes 3). “They” in this case represents the general white society that Whitman sings off. The persona shows that there is a denial of equality. White people are ashamed of the fact that there are black people that live amongst them. Hughes makes a point that America needs to take the existence of black people as a reality that will not be wished away.
There is an element of stoicism in “I Too”. The persona does not protest when they are sent to the kitchen to eat when visitors come. They rather “laugh/ And eat well, / And grow strong” (Hughes 5-8). The observation is that America would like to act as if it does not have a racial problem, that the existence of black people does not matter. The reality is that it does matter to the persona. The idea is that for America to sustain its image of freedom and hope, it has to make sure than it is proud of all its children, including those it thinks are different.
The image of the future is important to Hughes and the persona in “I Too”. The persona says “Tomorrow,/ I’ll be at the table,/ When company comes,/ Nobody’ll dare/ Say to me,/ “Eat in the kitchen”” (Hughes 9-13). There is hope that the promise of freedom and equality will be realized. The potential is high for black people to sit at the same table with white people without prejudice and segregation.
In the third stanza the persona is more assertive. They note that in the future, America will have no choice but to treat black people equally. The silence of black people at the time was not going to be maintained. At some point black people were going to demand freedom and equality. At some point, the kitchen which is representative of the oppression of black people would be vacated and black people will demand freedom. This is a warning to America to honor its promise of freedom and equality for all. If it does not honor, the black man will have to fight for his the sit at the table. In the event that black people have attained a place at the table they would not go back to be dark past of oppression and segregation.
“I Too” is a deceptive poem in that it is simple in style and devoid of emotions. It however masks human emotions and experiences. It is by drawing the contrast images of black people eating on the kitchen floor and white people eating in fancy dining rooms that one begins to understand the horrors of racial inequality. The simple free verse style is designed to rid the poem off excesses and put across the message that black people will one day rise and demand equality. Hughes is saying that if Whitman can sing of America, he can too. Even though that means defying racial expectations and revolting against the system. The persona is an equal patriot.
The last two stanzas of “I Too” reflects on beauty and belonging. The one thing that sustains segregation is the inability of people to see the humanity of another. The persona is calling on white people to look closely and see that black people are as “beautiful” as they are and they too are American. Beauty in this case represents sameness. Color blinds individuals from seeing the inner humanity in the other.
While the persona in Hughes’ “I Too” declares their patriotism with reservations about the treatment of black people, Whitman’s “One Song, America, Before I Go” sings is an adulation and praise of America. It is an exercise in nationalism. Whitman does not question whether he belongs to America or not. He knows that he belongs. What he is presenting is a last note of praise to America. From the onset the poem does seem like it is all about nationality and a high regard for place. It however has a serious human experience tone. It is a song “before I go”. There is an idea of leaving or departure, probably death. The individual who is leaving America want it to be known that they are still proud of it. He says, “I’d sing, o’er all the rest, with trumpet sound” (Whitman line 2). The exaltation of the idea of America is clear in the sound of the trumpet.
Striking similarities can be noted between Whitman and Hughes. They all wish for a better and prosperous future. They are aware that the state of American politics and society is not perfect but hope that it would be in the future. The idea of hope is integral to the two poems. In “One Song, America Before I Go”, the persona sings “For thee-the Future” (Whitman 3). There is also birth and regeneration in “I’d sow a seed for thee of endless Nationality” (Whitman 4). Whitman observes that America is prospering and its politics is promising but it could do better. This is why the future is important to him. Asselineau argues that “Whitman took refuge in the future, or more precisely -for it was not a question of cowardly flight, but of a journey toward something - he threw himself with impatient fervor in the direction of his destiny and that of the country” (206). Seeking refuge in the future is a way of balancing beliefs and reality. Whitman’s patriotism is not nostalgic, it is wishful. He is not looking back to America’s past and praising it, he is offering a glimpse of the future. It is the future that catches up with Hughes who also refuses to tie his patriotism to the past but to the future.
If one is to read, Hughes’ poem as a response to Whitman’s patriotism in “One Song, America, Before I Go”, they have to be careful when looking at Hughes’ poem as criticism. It seems like Hughes and Whitman are in agreement that the American experience of their day was not what they wished for but they were hopeful. In the last stanza, Whitman says “As Life and Nature are not great with reference to the Present only./ But greater still from what is yet to come” (Whitman 10-11). Whitman argues that the best of life cannot be found in man’s present circumstance but the future. Hughes talks about sitting at the table in the future. The persona sings only for the future and not the present. One wonders why they do not like the present. Something is inherently wrong with the present system. Whitman does not say what it is that is wrong. Hughes points out that the problem is that America does not recognize the existence and humanity of black people.
In conclusion, Whitman and Hughes explores patriotism by wishing for a better future rather than holding to a darker past. They are all hopeful that America is capable creating a better future without racial injustice or despair. Both authors adhere to a free verse way of writing that reflects on their desire for freedom and change.
Works Cited
Asselineau, Roger. The Evolution of Walt Whitman. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1999.
Hughes, Langston. “I Too”. Poetry Foundation. Web 11 April 2016.
Whitman, Walt. “One Song, America, Before I Go”. Bartleby. Web 11 April 2016.
King Jr. Martin. L. “I have a Dream”. Archives, 1963. Web 11 April 2016.
