- Published: September 9, 2022
- Updated: September 9, 2022
- University / College: King's College London
- Language: English
- Downloads: 50
In the poem “ Let American Be America Again” by Langston Hughes, the author portrays America as a place where people try to escape their old life of oppression and struggles to this so called “ American Dream”. But, what they find is “ the same old stupid plan of dog eat dog”. Hughes sees that American is being seen as a ideal utopia while he actually views America as a place where there are too many obstacles in the way to achieve the American Dream. The dream is only stood in the way by the obstacles we create.
For the dream to come true, change must happen. “ The dream that’s almost dead today”. The dream is not what it is but, the dream is what you want it to be. The dream pushes down other people when also, the people who are degrading others are no better. Hughes believes the dream is made out of three things: liberty, equality, and opportunity. He hopes that United States will be the dream where “ opportunity is real, and life is free”. Obstacles that we create are made by our selfishness by being tangled in the “ ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! . We discriminate against each other which makes it harder to achieve ourgoalsanddreams. Because of the hatred between each other to certain people makes it that, The Homeland of the free was never The Homeland of the free to them.
In the text Hughes states that change is needed if we are to achieve this dream. Hughes says that the U. S. A. has never been the dream it should be. Yet, it must be the dream where it is “ the land where everyman is free. That the land is everyone, the people who made America, “ the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—”. We have to work hard to “ bring back our mighty dream again. ” The vision of America that Hughes shows is that the U. S. A. is not what it should be. He shows it as a place where America is no different from anywhere else, and that the same things happen. How can America be a utopia if it is made out of imperfect people? He also shows that even though America has not achieved this dream yet, it must become this dream, because America is the dream.