Let America Be America Again By Langston Hughes Essay

The dream that was never born, the promise of hope that was never promised, the right to be treated equal that was never given. Langston Hughes expresses his discomfort with the American ideals in his poem Let America Be America Again. The author details the aspects of a life that American is supposed to represent, the right of liberty and opportunity, yet Hughes lets its discomfort be known; The discomfort of a lie, a lie that promises equality for everyone, and the right to be part of the land of liberty an opportunity. The truth that America requires an established wealth to participate in its dream.
Langston Hughes began to publish his works in an interesting period. “Hughes's public career began in 1921,” (Longabucco) What made this period so interesting was the uproar in African American culture. “the 19-year-old Hughes arrived in Harlem just as the 1920s were getting underway, and he would be there to witness, as well as help to shape, the so called "Harlem Renaissance" of African-American music and arts.” (Longabucco) In company with this movement,
An America that promises liberty and equality to everyone, an America that has no ruler, but an America that rules in favor of its citizens. This view of America is expressed by Hughes in his poem in lines 11-14 “O, let my land be a land where liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.”(693) This ideal America is the view that it is presented to the world, an America where the rulers are it citizens, and not a pre-established self-crowned ruler. The America that represents the common citizen, the hard working American citizen who strives to make his dreams a reality. The worker that began with nothing, but his own will to achieve a goal greater than