Unforgotten Think

“I, Too,” is a personal poem written by Langston Hughes. “I, Too,” is a free verse poem of 18 short, powerful lines, and is made up of 5 stanzas. In this poem Langston Hughes uses the setting, imagery, tone and particular themes to express his feeling of being an unforgotten American due to his skin color. Hughes uses poetry in order to speak out about the oppression that he was receiving. Hughes claims that he, too, is an American even though the dominant members of his society push him aside and treat him as an inferior human because he is an African American.

He begins to have a hopeful look to a brighter future where all Americans will have equality no matter what race they belong to.

The setting for this poem is definitely a house. This is probably a big house. The house is big enough that the family that owns it has black servants. When dialed down, most of the poem takes place in the kitchen. During these times kitchens were not like how they are today. During the time period when this poem was written, the dining room is where the family and the guests of the family sat and ate. The dining room is where Hughes often envisioned eating in the future.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table. When company comes.” (Lines 8-10) Even though there isn’t a specific setting, the time period suggests the overall location for the poem. During this time period, many African Americans felt the pressures from the members of upper society. This time period setting puts the whole poem in perspective and ties together what Hughes is portraying throughout the poem.

Hughes’s tone allows readers to understand that the poem is a personal expression on how he feels about the oppression that he is experiencing in his life and what his outlook on the future is as he going through these experiences. He makes it known that it is a personal expression by using the word (I) over and over. This repetition shows the self-claiming aspect of Hughes’s writings. His tone is comedic at first when talking about how the white homeowners make him return to the kitchen and he laughs. Hughes understands that he cannot do anything about it, but knows that things will change in the future.

The imagery used in the poem distinguishes between the segregation that happened during this time period and how it affected many people and how it evolved. “They send me to eat in the kitchen,” (Line 3) shows how they separated different races of people. The white homeowners and guests got to sit and eat in the dining room while Hughes had to return to the kitchen. His imagery changes and evolves later in the poem.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table. When company comes. Nobody’ll dare, say to me, “Eat in the kitchen.” (Lines 8-13) Hughes’s overall mood and expression changes later in the poem. He is no longer in the kitchen. Hughes is hinting at the fact that America is moving forward and leaving the oppression behind. This is symbolic of racial equality that is now understood throughout America.

The main theme of Hughes’s poem “I, Too,” is the theme of oppression. This is shown through his words and how he feels oppressed by the owners of the house. The words he uses aren’t so much of symbolic meanings as they are actual historical truths about what happened to African Americans during these times. These truths show how men were treated almost like animals and they were sent away when guests were present in the household. The setting also relates to the theme of oppression being that the poem takes place in a white household with black servants.

The kitchen setting, where Hughes always ate, is also related to the theme of oppression. Back then only slaves and animals ate in the kitchen. Others ate in the dining room. Hughes documents this in his poem by simply stating how he was treated. He opens the poem on focusing on how America’s history of racial oppression affected African Americans, but then begins to look toward a brighter future. This brighter future being that African Americans and white Americans would have racial equality.

Another theme of the poem would also be the theme of freedom. Hughes keeps a hopeful mindset that eventually things will change in the future. He believes this eventual freedom will lead to racial equality for all people.

Langston Hughes uses a short poem to produce a powerful message. He does this by using setting, imagery, tone, and themes to show readers what African Americans went through during this time period. Throughout this era, African Americans experienced many years of oppression where they were treated less than other Americans.

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