Poems of American
Poetry is a response to ordinary life experiences (Clugston, 2014). I will be comparing two literatures, Child of the Americas by Aurora Morales and Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes to show the different uses of literacy elements and the similarity of the conflicts they represent. The poem Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes tells the tale of the American dream and the hopes it was built on; it shares the hopes and dreams of the Negro slaves, the Indians forced from their lands and the poor white men who built America. The poem Child of the Americas by Aurora Morales tells the personification of America; it tells the ethnicity of an American child. I will be comparing the conflicts and the literary techniques of both poems as well as discussing the simile and differences of both poems.
The main conflict in both poems is Individual versus Self but both poems can also be considered Individual versus Society. Individual versus Self is a conflict within one’s self (Surber, n.d.). The Individual versus Self conflict faces the individual against their own thoughts. Individual versus Society is a conflict between a person and a group or society (Surber, n.d.). Though both poems do not directly deal with conflicts, they both represent a conflict against the ideal life. In both poems, both authors express what America is and what it means to be an American. The expectation of what America is, “America be the dream the dreamers dreamed,” (Hughes) and “I am a child of the Americas,” (Morales) constitute as Individual versus Self because it is perceived as what the author expects them self to be. Both poems also deal with the prejudice of the ethnicities of America, “I am a U.S. Puerto Rican Jew, a product of the ghettos of New York… I am Caribeña, island grown. Spanish is in my flesh… I am not African. Africa is in me… I am not Taína. Taíno is in me” (Morales) and “I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land,” (Hughes), which constitutes as Individual versus Society; both authors express ethnicities that are not Caucasian. Racial tensions are high in the society today and the core of it is “Colored versus White.” Even though the civil war had ended, making all Americans equal, racial biased and inequality is still everywhere today. Both poems express that America was meant to be the land where all are equal no matter the color of their skin.
Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes uses the following literary techniques: Allegory, Personification, Symbolism and Metaphor. An Allegory is a story that is designed to illustrate an abstract concept or system that exists outside the story (Clugston, 2014). “America never was America to me,” is the allegory of this poem. The poem mostly speaks of what America is but on the side, the author wants the audience to know that it has not been America to him. It shows that America is attainable because it can be dreamed but the author has not reached that dream. Personification is a figure of speech in which qualities normally associated with a person are ascribed to abstract things or in animate objects (Clugston, 2014). Personification is giving an object or animal descriptions that are used for humans. In this poem, the author personifies America, as if it is a person with personality traits and has hopes and dreams rather than being just a country, a place or a land. A symbol is something that has a literal identity but also stands for something else—something abstract—like an idea, a belief, or an emotion (Clugston, 2014). America is the main symbol of the poem, a symbol of hopes and dream, but there are other symbols within the poem to represent other meaning than its literal expression such as, “of dog eat dog.” “Of dog eat dog,” represents the rivalry between individuals who would harm each other in order to succeed. America can also be considered a metaphor of heaven. A metaphor is an imaginative comparison of two unlike things, suggesting how each resembles the other (Clugston, 2014). Followers of religions follow the teachings of their god to achieve heavenly entrance. In this case, America can be seen as the heaven that the author tries to achieve. The author expresses what needs to happen in order for America to be the America it was dreamed to be. The changes the author explains that people need to make in order to make America be America again can be a metaphor to the tasks, such as sacraments, that a religious person must follow to enter heaven.
Child of the Americas by Aurora Morales uses the following literary techniques: Syntax, Rhythm, Metaphor, and Imagery. Syntax is the grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence; it dictates how words from different parts of speech are put together in order to convey a complete thought. In the Child of the Americas, the author breaks sentences into smaller portions. Similar to lyrics of a song, the sentences are run-on with commas as separators rather than semicolons or periods as would be used if it was a proper sentence. The way it is written makes the audience read the poem in a rhythm. A rhythm is a pattern of sound or speech and the Child of the Americas can be read in a rhythm that makes the audience expect the next line. The author makes the reader feel the excitement through her words and rhythm. A metaphor is a figure of speech that implies that two unalike things are the same. “I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness, a flashing knife blade of crystal, my tool, my craft.” In the quote, “English” is the metaphor because it expresses mind, weapon, tool and crafts rather than just a language. It is depicted as the author’s mind and art. “Tongue of my consciousness,” makes the reader believe that the author grew up with English (American) views, such as the “Western Values,” like those who believe in democracy and believe in human rights. Imagery is the name given to the elements in a poem that spark off the senses. Imagery is the use of words that evoke a picture or a description that appeals to the senses of a person. In the poem the author uses imagery in several parts, “Spanish is in my flesh, Ripples from my tongue, lodge in my hips.” In the quote, the use of the words “flesh,” and “ripples” makes me sense ripples in my skin, as if Spanish was under my skin. The author’s used of literary techniques gives the reader a sense that America is alive inside of the author and as if everything that form the author is America rather than biology.
Poetry is everything the poet sees (Clugston, 2014). Let America Be America describes what it is to be American and Child of the Americas describes being an American. To be an American, is to be a free individual in a country full of hopes and dreams. The American dream is defined in the Declaration of Independence as all men created equal with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The core of the American dream and the beginning of America was based on freedom, liberty and equality. Both literature use America as a symbol and personify America to connect the audience to characters’ lives. America is the symbol of hopes and dreams. The audience can sense the authors’ love for America and their long for it; the longing of what America is and what it represents. With their use of words, both authors make the reader feel their dreams rather than just describing it.
References
Clugston, R. W. (2014). Journey Into Literature (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education.
Hughes, L. (1935). Let America Be America Again. Retrieved from: http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/let-america-be-america-again
Imagery definition retrieved from: http://www.poetryarchive.org/glossary/imagery
Morales, A. (1986). Child of the Americas. Retrieved from: Clugston, R. W. (2014). Journey Into Literature (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education.
Syntax definition retrieved from: http://literarydevices.net/syntax/
