I, Too (1926), written by Langston Hughes portrays the division between two races in America. The poem is a realistic portrayal of the black live experiences in America who feel segregated from the country America. The poet sings the muses of racism in the country and the racial division between the whites and the blacks. It employs the spirit of Harlem Renaissance that emerged to showcase the experiences of blacks living in America.
The poem employs different writing technicalities such as anaphora and repetitions that creates a musical expression. This led to the introduction of jazz poetry and Hughes has been credited to it. The poem is a clear exemplification of jazz poetry that employs a musicality of jazz rhythm to showcase racial relationships in the country.
However, the poem protest against the racial division between the whites and the black folks. The poet clearly indicates that he has to leave the table and sit separately when the “company comes” or the whites enter for a dinner. It clearly shows the segregation between the blacks and the whites in the country of America. It also indirectly gives the racist remark towards him because the clear separation from the table indicates the inferiority of the black presence.
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Critically, the idea of racism and inferior treatment is well established as a common theme in the poem. The poet already declares to “America” that he is of race and he calls himself the “dark brother”. The “dark brother” suggests the community of black folks and the dark implies their skin colour where they faces extreme rejection and brutal treatment in the society. Their skin colour has always been associated with inferiority than the white skin and hence the theme of inferiority is well established by the poet when the poet is demanded to be separated from the dinner table.
It is also interesting to note the optimistic flow in the poem. This optimism is the arising enthusiasm of the Harlem Renaissance movement that emerged to change the stereotypical representation of the black folks. The poet is optimistic in the poem where it is observed that nobody will be dared to remove or segregate him from the dinner table when the “company arrives” or he will be send to eat alone in the kitchen. He sees that the Harlem Renaissance movement will change the perception in which the black is viewed. The poet implies that the society will embrace his skin colour and his individualism and they will be abashed of their treatment towards the black folks in the near future.
The poem uses a subjective pronouns “I” , “me” as well as the larger group for “They”. These pronouns have a deep meaning to indicate the individual experiences of the black community. The subjective pronouns highlight the experiences of every black community in the society and the pronoun “They” refers especially to the white folks who are the larger community in America. These clear usage of the pronouns also reflects America that is divided based on racial identity. Hence , one can clearly observe that the poet bridges a sense of belongingness to America and he continues to sing that he , too is a part of America and he is not a stranger to America that establishes his identity as simply an American.
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