Problem
In Section 2 of "Let America be America Again" by Langston Hughes, the poem begins with: "I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart" and ends with: "The poorest worker bartered through the years."
• What words and phrases are repeated several times in this section of the poem? What effect does this use of repetition achieve for the message and/or tone of the poem?
• What American values and cultural norms does the speaker criticize in the stanza beginning "I am the young man"? Who suffers because of these values and norms?
• In the context of Poe's "A Dream Within a Dream," can we control our fate?
• What does the narrator in the poem think about his fate and life in general?
• Is this a valid perspective?
1) What do you think is Whitman's definition of achievement (in terms of Americans) in "I Hear America Singing"?
a) How is the idea of patriotism depicted in this poem?
b) How do you define patriotism?
2) How are these authors' views of America the same and different?