Our Land By Langston Hughes Analysis

Unlike Hughes, when Trump says “The fact is, the American Dream is dead – but if I win, I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before.”, he doesn’t seem to directly define what it means to him other than “the Promised Land”. (“Trump Presidential Announcement”, 2015) Surprisingly enough, with his successful background, he comes across as someone who is also “in want” of what the country symbolizes. In considering the rest of the speech, it’s possible Trump defines the vision as acquiring international respect, world-wide wins in all arenas, national budgets in the black, and a slew of countless other achievements based on campaign bullet points. However, over a year later he posted to Facebook, according to CNN, the following:
Throughout his poem, Hughes leads his readers on a journey of renewal, remembering his source of hope. As he completes his picture, he challenges everyone to join in his crusade, saying “We, the people, must redeem / Our land . . / And make America again!” (Hughes, 1936). Likewise, Trump lists numerous ways that America and her people have fallen short of the original ideals and goals that formed the dominate society’s democracy in the 1700s. Yet, woven in all of the accusations, woes and challenges that face the nation, Trump holds a firm stand of hope and promise, saying “Together we will Make America Great Again!” (Presidential Announcement, 2015) It’s almost as if he had Hughes’ poem in mind as he wrote his speech. Here are two completely different men, one Black and one White, one raised at home and one raised by “a village”, one a poet and the other a politician. One who lived, yearning to see the national progress that the other seems to take for granted. They have two completely different writing styles, points of view and tone. However, at the end, they come to the same, universal conclusion: There exists the opportunity for change and the hope to make it