As I Grew Older / Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

Langston Hughes was a famous African-American poet who lived during

the time of worldwide racial oppression (( against black people in
America
Hughes was involved in the !ivil "ights #ovement led b$ %r #artin Luther
&ing' (r and wrote protest poetr$
Hughes was a part of the Harlem Renaissance as one of the finest poets to
promote African-American culture' such as )a** music
Cultural Issues
+ntil the end of the American !ivil ,ar (-./01' African-Americans
were held slaves in the southern states However' even after the$ were freed'
the$ were not treated as e2uals 3he$ were oppressed and discriminated
against 4or e5ample' the$ could not eat or stud$ in the same places' or even
sit ne5t to a white person on the bus (segregation 6786 9:;< 1 3his went on
until the$ began fighting for e2ual rights nearl$ -== $ears later under the
leadership of %r #artin Luther &ing' (r in the ->0=s and ->/=s
Langston Hughes was a Harlem "enaissance writer' deepl$ concerned with the
racial pride and with the creation of African-American poetr$ as an
independent genre. He wrote )a** poetr$ in the st$le of )a** music he loved
((a** originated in the +nited ?tates as an African-American version of @uropean music' and
therefore also s$mboli*ed the e2ualit$ of white and black people1
Ariginall$ called the Bew Begro #ovement' the Harlem Renaissance was a
literar$ and intellectual movement that encouraged a new black cultural
identit$ in the ->C=s and ->D=s Et is a Fspiritual coming of ageF in which the
black communit$ was able to take control of its Ffirst chances for group
e5pression and self determination 67<6 9GH: F
?ince racism was still widespread and economic opportunities were rare'
creative e5pression was one of the few wa$s available to African-Americans
in the earl$ C=
th
centur$ 3he Harlem Renaissance transformed Fsocial
disillusionment to race prideF
Interpretation of the poem
@choing the free and individual e5pressiveness of )a**' the poem is written all
in one stanza' with irregular line lengths and no specific rh$me scheme 3he
simple vocabular$ makes each word important' the themes are clear' and
repetitions in the poem create movement. 3he speaker is the poet himself'
telling us about his own personal e5perience in his life 3he setting of the
poem is divided into three clear time frames.
- The past - In the past, the speaker was a young person who had dreams for
his future, but he found there was a big obstacle to his dream, a wall.
-The present - His present situation is life in the dark shadow of the thick wall
All he is able to do is lie down' as he is blocked off from light and from
reaching his dream
- The future - His future plan is to fight against the wall and do ever$thing he
can to break it down and fulfill not onl$ his first dream but also man$ others
(Ia thousand lights of sun).
Theme and Message
3he poem is about the inabilit$ to achieve childhood dreams because of racism
and pre)udice ,hen the speaker was $oung' he had dreams of achieving great
things His dreams were IJright like sunK As he grew up' he e5perienced
pre)udice and racial discrimination' and his naLve and optimistic dreams were
shattered
3he racism and pre)udice that the speaker encountered because of his skin
color are Ithe wallK that grew higher until it blocked his childhood dreams
3his wall caused him to live in a IshadowK of depression and despair
En the last stan*a (divided to stan*as b$ @!J1' the poet commands his hands to break
through the wall so that he can overcome the pre)udice and achieve his
dreams
3he poem is a comment on racial pre)udice' discrimination or an$ form of
oppression ((MMMN that makes people unable to fulfill their dreams Et ma$ be
because of age' gender' nationalit$ or religion
3he poet implies that when a personOs potential' or hisPher worth as a human
being is prevented and ignored because of racism'
it is a global loss
Literary Terms & Analysis questions (p. 52-5!
Tone Q is the attitude of the speaker or narrator as communicated b$ the writer
through hisPher choice of words 3he tone ma$ be serious' humorous' pla$ful'
ironic' etc 3he tone can change in the different stan*as
Lines 1-6R naLve' optimistic' innocent (bright like a sun Q#$ dream1
Lines 7-16 R depressing' angr$' (wall' between me and m$ dream %imming'
hiding' the light of m$ dream1
Lines 17-23 R pessimistic' depressing' angr$ (shadow' Bo longer the light of
m$ dream' thick wall1
Lines 24-33 R hopeful (the lines e5press hope that the speaker can achieve his
dream1
simile is when $ou compare two nouns (persons' places or things1 with
FlikeF or FasI
Her hair is like the sun. He is as strong as a lion.
metaphor is when $ou use two nouns and compare or contrast them to one
another +nlike simile' $ou donSt use FlikeF or FasF in the comparison
My life is a dream. Life is a ourney
I!ll the world"s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
#$hakespeare)
p. !3
- 3he wall s$mboli*es an obstacle to the speakerOs dream &eeping in mind
that the poetPspeaker was an African-American' the obstacle is racism'
pre)udice and discrimination
C 3he speaker means that he cannot achieve his dream because of the
obstacles in his wa$ 3he wall is blocking him from reaching his dream
D 3hinking skill of cause and effect.
3he growing wall (the child"s growing awareness of racial preudice1 has
caused the speakerOs mood to change As the wall grows' it casts a shadow'
which is the despair that the speaker feels 3he speaker is completel$ shocked
and overwhelmed b$ the pre)udice and Ilies down in the shadowK He feels
defeated' unable to function and has given up hope as a result of the pre)udice
T He is not going to give up on his dream En lines CT-DD' he commands his
hands to break through the wall His hands are the ItoolK that will break
through the metaphoric wall and destro$ the hatred and pre)udice
3he hands ma$ also s$mboli*e creative power that breaks down the wall En
other words' the poetOs use of his hands b$ writing will enable him to
overcome pre)udice and achieve his dream
Light "arkness
%reams
hope
Aptimism
possibilities P opportunities
goodness
awareness
intellectual achievement
Ure)udice
discrimination
hatred
racism
ignorance
evil
%arkness does not alwa$s have a negative connotation in the poem 3he
sha#o$ an# #arkness caused b$ the wall have a negative connotation
However' the poet himself is %lack and he makes reference to his Idark
handsK Q in this case darkness is positive 3he poetOs P speakerOs dark skin
color is the target of pre)udice to which he is so strongl$ opposed Et is the dark
of pre)udice that has a negative connotation' not his dark skin color
- At first' the obstacles make the speaker feel depressed and defeated He is a
victim and he sees onl$ a thick wall in front of him However' he refuses to
accept the role of victim because he commands his hands to break through the
obstacles so that he can achieve his goals 3he speaker knows that he can rel$
on himself and his personal strength' so he tries activel$ to do something to
change his situation
C 3he theme of the poem is the negative effects of racism Ure)udice and
discrimination The message of the poem is that we must take action against
un)ust societ$' deal with pre)udice and rise above it ,e can onl$ rel$ on
ourselves to do this
D Bo' the poem is not onl$ about racism ?omeone ma$ be prevented from
achieving a dream because of IwallsK' or obstacles such as age' gender'
nationalit$ or religion Ure)udice against an$ minorit$ group or person is a
IwallK that makes it harder for them to achieve their dream
"ridging te#t and $onte#t % p. 5
- 3he poem' written in ->C/' is about an African-American whose childhood dreams
are shattered as he grows up in America Langston Hughes was an African-American
who grew up in America He fought for racial e2ualit$ and is speaking for all African-
Americans who lived in America at the time En the poem' the speaker and the poet
are probabl$ the same person 3he speaker e5periences racism growing up and cannot
fulfill his potential At the end of the poem' the speaker breaks through the wall with
his dark hands 3his shows pride in his blackness and African heritage He e5presses
hope for a future of racial e2ualit$ and freedom
Et is significant that the speaker uses his hands to break through the wall of pre)udice
and to achieve his dreams' because it is through art' literature and music' which
re2uire the use of their hands to write and paint' that African-Americans believed the$
could challenge racial stereot$pes and bring about racial e2ualit$
C Ves' E think that the speaker in the poem is reall$ the poet because both of
them are African-American' both e5perience pre)udice and both tr$ to
overcome it 3he events in the poem could reflect the poetSs life because we
know that he was a leading figure in the Harlem "enaissance movement He
believed that writing and art would bring about racial e2ualit$' and the speaker
in the poem talks about using his hands as a FtoolF to overcome pre)udice
I ha%e disco%ered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to
go, if you really want to go.
Langston H&ghes
s ' (re$ )l#er *+ Langston H&ghes
Et was a long time ago
E have almost forgotten m$ dream
Jut it was there then'
En front of me'
Jright like a sun--
#$ dream
And then the wall rose'
"ose slowl$'
?lowl$'
Jetween me and m$ dream
"ose until it touched the sk$--
3he wall
?hadow
E am black
E lie down in the shadow
Bo longer the light of m$ dream before me'
Above me
Anl$ the thick wall
Anl$ the shadow
#$ handsW
#$ dark handsW
Jreak through the wallW
4ind m$ dreamW
Help me to shatter this darkness'
3o smash this night'
3o break this shadow
Ento a thousand lights of sun'
Ento a thousand whirling dreams
Af sunW