I, Too

The poem, I, Too, by Langston Hughes, is a rather short poem, but within it are layers that unfold as I read it over and over again. Beginning with the line " I, too, sing America" was bold as the reader is introduced to the poem by this idea that the speaker feels the need to stand up for himself and fight for his role in America. It is evident in the second line that the reader finds out that the speaker is a black soldier, struggling to find his spot during wartime, as he is sent to the kitchen to eat, rather than with his own fellow Americans. In the second half of this stanza, however, he explains that he "laughs, eats well, and grows strong." I believe Hughes is revealing this sense of integrity and pride, even during times when the black soldier is faced with racial inequality. In the second half of the poem, Hughes entails that the next meal time he will sit in a spot and not move to go eat in the kitchen and that everyone will see "how beautiful he is" and that these other men will "be ashamed." In essence, this man is saying that he must be respected by his peers during the war, as they are all fighting for the same cause. I believe the writer put an altered version of the beginning line at the end " I, too am America" to show that he no longer just "sings" America but he is a part of the battle and rightfully deserves a place in his own country. While this poem has no rhyming scheme it is apparent that the writer wished to create a transformative poem, where between the first and last line, the speaker goes through a sort of transformation such as I can to I will. In this idea, the speaker transforms for merely singing of America to being America, as he gains the confidence to show everyone who he truly is regardless of his skin color. I find this poem extremely interesting because of the maturity and confidence gained in such a short amount of line.