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- I, Too, he is a first-person male
2.voice is revealed in the speaker’s first-person nouns such as ,” I, Too, I am the darker brother, me to eat in the kitchen, But I laugh, say to me, I’ll be at the table, how beautiful I am (Langston Hughes1902-1967).
- Words and phrases capturing the tone. The speaker talks with joy, pride, and amazement of the world around him because he is dealing with a profound issue that touches on racism. The words and phrases include “laugh, “eat well, “Nobody’ll dare,” “grow strong “and beautiful, “be ashamed.”
- The subject here is racism. The speaker says he has a voice, he can sing meaning express him. He is the “darker brother “sent to eat in the kitchen, addressing the racial segregation. However, he laughs with pride because he can eat well and grow stronger. He defies this racism by stating that tomorrow he will sit at the table and when visitors arrive, and nobody will tell him to eat in the kitchen. He compounds this refusal by saying they will see his beauty and be ashamed, because similar to them, he is American too.
- Madam and her madam
2.i worked, I got through, nearly broke me down, I said, pack-horse out of me, I’ll be dogged if I love you(Langston Hughes 1902-1967).
- The speaker expresses oppressiveness, frustration and abuse tones. She says she had a twelve-room, house to clean, had to get breakfast, dinner, and supper, too, and take care of children.” Additionally, he had to “wash, iron, ad scrub and walk the dog around, expressing the extent of oppression through work. Frustration and abuse, is highlighted when he says, “It was too much,” Nearly broke me down,” and “Pack-horse out of me?”
- The maid feels overworked, she is doing the work that should be done by more than one person she says, she had a twelve-room, house to clean, had to get breakfast, dinner, and supper, too, and take care of children. The ideas of the madam she works for does not resonate with her behaviors. Madam proclaims to love towards her, but the working arrangement is too much for her to handle. She states, “It was too much,”, and “Nearly broke me down.”
1. “A Toast to Harlem”
2. I address, myself, you told me, explaining to me, I am a colored Indian, I would be, I like Harlem, belongs to me, I am in Harlem to stay, I feel like, I wouldn’t mind
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3. The speaker expresses disappointment, assertiveness and cohesiveness using words and phrases like white folks scared of black people, I got more reasons, to be scared of white folks, beat your head in public, folks ought to live like neighbors, from river to river, Harlem is mine, I will too someday, I will have my window to shoot from,
4. The speaker is determined to defeat the racism in Harlem. He considers Harlem home, where white folks should not try to bully them because from river to river, Harlem is mine;” I get put back in my place. He addresses racism touching “White cat black cat,” It would not be my,” as long as what is, is,” “folks ought to live like neighbors,” he asserts that they should be one without any kind of discrimination.
Themes
I too, reveals prejudice/racism against the black
Madam and her madam – oppression of the maid
A Taste of Harlem – determination to defeat racism
Emotions
I, Too, – Joy, protest and amusement
Madam and her madam – Frustration, anger, protest
A Taste of Harlem – protest, anger
Character traits
I, Too – determination, the speaker is determined to defy the act of racism by saying he will be on the table, come tomorrow.
Madam and her madam – brave, face her boss listing the issues she is being overworked on. Also, one realizes that she left when she says, It was too much, “Nearly broke me down.”
A Taste of Harlem – unshakeable, he tells the white folks he is the one who should be scared of them, says, “Harlem is mine” to affirm homeliness to the whites. he says, “I got more reasons, to be scared of white folks.”
The voices are different because they address various aspects like the continuing injustice, poverty, racism, inadequate opportunities, stereotypes, and disappointment towards the country’s laws. The speaker is unhappy about these situations, even when he is being bullied in Harlem, a place he calls “mine” to show it belongs to blacks. This poem tackles the issues surrounding African- Americans soberly with the hope of attaining justice, racial equality as elaborated by the leaders in Harlem renaissance, although the challenges are yet to bear fruits. The speaker poses rhetorical questions concerning the optimism and dream that continually diminishes. This voices questions if such hopes would simply end or turned down or if other more things would continue to thwart it.
Works cited
Langston Hughes. (1902-1967). . “A Toast to Harlem”
https://town.hall.org/radio/HarperAudio/052694_harp_ITH.html
Langston Hughes. (1902-1967). I, Too. Retrieved fromhttps://poets.org/poems/langston-hughes
Langston Hughes. (1902-1967).madam and her madam.https://poets.org/poem/madam-and-her-madam