In "Let America be America Again" Hughes creatively uses literary devices and poetry techniques to emphasize an urgency for America to return to the values of liberty, justice, and equality that it was built upon. In his work he illustrates how the American Dream is so glorified, yet for many marginalized people, it has always been a myth of false hope and a huge illusion. Hughes raise' readers awareness on how the poor do not have fair chances of success because wealth is inherent. Hughes' poem reflects his historical context of the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement, further enhancing this urgency to reevaluate America.
"Let America be America Again" deserves to be added to 'the canon' of 'important literature' because its message is relevant in the midst of our current nation. More importantly, the poem is speaking up for and highlighting the long discrimination of African-American peoples that Hughengruber urges for Western authors to speak about. The problems our country faces today reveals that it does not reflect the ideals it was built upon. For example, I just watched a video about a father whose daughter passed away in the recent Florida school shooting. He spoke to the U.S. administration and Mr. Trump by saying right now we shouldn't be arguing about what political party we belong to our our personal views on gun control, but what should be happening is that we come together as nation. This exactly what Hughes is calling us to do in his poem, to come together as the one country that we are, though diverse because we are all supposed to live as if these ideals exist.
My definition of the literary canon somewhat stays the same after reading and selecting my poem. It is likely that this poem is not included in a current literary canon simply because the author is non-white, and middle aged like Shakespeare. This poem is Western though because it has to do with America, so it definitely deserves to be added to the general literary canon that is currently Eurocentric. Back to hooks' idea of writing without labels, this poem speaks for the entire America, so it wouldn't even matter if Hughes was African-American or not if he was speaking for the whole nation, but it does in this case because he is raising awareness on his people. We can shape also shape an African American literary canon, and this poem would definitely belong to it.
"Let America be America Again" deserves to be added to 'the canon' of 'important literature' because its message is relevant in the midst of our current nation. More importantly, the poem is speaking up for and highlighting the long discrimination of African-American peoples that Hughengruber urges for Western authors to speak about. The problems our country faces today reveals that it does not reflect the ideals it was built upon. For example, I just watched a video about a father whose daughter passed away in the recent Florida school shooting. He spoke to the U.S. administration and Mr. Trump by saying right now we shouldn't be arguing about what political party we belong to our our personal views on gun control, but what should be happening is that we come together as nation. This exactly what Hughes is calling us to do in his poem, to come together as the one country that we are, though diverse because we are all supposed to live as if these ideals exist.
My definition of the literary canon somewhat stays the same after reading and selecting my poem. It is likely that this poem is not included in a current literary canon simply because the author is non-white, and middle aged like Shakespeare. This poem is Western though because it has to do with America, so it definitely deserves to be added to the general literary canon that is currently Eurocentric. Back to hooks' idea of writing without labels, this poem speaks for the entire America, so it wouldn't even matter if Hughes was African-American or not if he was speaking for the whole nation, but it does in this case because he is raising awareness on his people. We can shape also shape an African American literary canon, and this poem would definitely belong to it.
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