Poem Analysis
This is where the speaker is sent to eat when company comes.
What is the kitchen?
"I, too" was written during this cultural movement of the 1920s.
What is the Harlem Renaissance?
The table in the poem functions as this type of literary device.
What is a symbol/metaphor?
Hughes was a prominent writer in this literary and artistic movement.
What is the Harlem Renaissance?
The speaker asserts they are also this.
What is American?
The speaker says they will do this action "and grow strong" while in the kitchen.
What is eat well?
This discriminatory system was legal in the United States when Hughes wrote the poem.
What is segregation/Jim Crow?
The repeated use of "I, too" at the beginning and end is an example of this device.
What is repetition?
This poem by Hughes also addresses American identity and begins with "I."
What is "I Dream a World" or "Theme for English B"?
The poem challenges this concept about who is considered "American."
What is exclusion/discrimination/racial hierarchy?
The speaker predicts this group will "be ashamed" in the future.
Who are the people who send him to eat in the kitchen?
These laws, enacted after the Civil War, enforced racial segregation until 1965.
What are Jim Crow laws?
By giving human traits to America, Hughes employs this literary technique.
What is personification?
Hughes often incorporated this musical style into his poetry.
What is jazz/blues?
The speaker's claim to be "beautiful" challenges this during the time period.
What are negative racial stereotypes/stigmatization of Blackness?
This phrase appears both at the beginning and end of the poem with a slight variation.
What is "I, Too, sign/am America"?
This 1896 Supreme Court case established the "separate but equal" doctrine.
What is Plessy v. Ferguson?
The kitchen versus the dining room represents this literary concept.
What is contrast?
Hughes wrote a weekly column for this influential Black newspaper.
What is the Chicago Defender?
The poem suggests America's identity should be based on this concept.
What is inclusion/diversity/equality?
Analyze how the future tense in "Tomorrow, I'll be at the table" reflects the speaker's perspective on social change.
What is belief in inevitable progress/confidence in eventual equality?
What newspaper was Langston Hughes work regularly published in?
What is the Chicago Defender
Analyze how Hughes uses punctuation and line breaks to control the poem's tone and pace.
What are strategic pauses that emphasize certain statements/rhythm?
What was Langston Hughes most known for?
What is Jazz and Blues?
Analyze how the poem's final line relates to the American ideal of equality stated in founding documents.
What is the tension between American ideals and reality/reclaiming America's promise/etc.