Comparing I, Too, Sing America And Still I Rise

Compare & Contrast The poems “I, Too, Sing America” and “Still I Rise” both have the same general topic. They both discuss the African American fight for equality. In “I, Too, Sing, America” Langston Hughes writes about a slave that sticks up for himself. Whenever the guests arrive, the “slave owners” send him to eat in the kitchen so he won’t disturb them. However, the next day he decides to sit at the table with the guests to show that he is no different than they are. He knows that they are ashamed for as he claims, “I, too, am America”. In “still I Rise”, Maya Angelou writes a poem that is clearly made for the white oppressors for black people. A black woman chooses to speak up for herself, other blacks, and her ancestors. Both poems show that slaves eventually had enough of being treated unfairly, and they weren’t going to put up with it any longer. …show more content…
The main symbol would be violence and oppression. In “I, Too, Sing America”, there is no literal violence but there but there is plenty of oppression as most of the actions of the white Americans in this poem are extremely oppressive. For example, in lines 3-4, the slave owners sending their slave into the kitchen when company shows for dinner is both obviously oppressive and somewhat violent. In “Still I Rise”, it begins by emphasizing the ways that the wrong kinds of writing can change the minds of the oppressors and the oppressed. Those who would help liberate blacks must first change their way of thinking. In line 3 it states “you may tread me in the very dirt”. This shows some violence and oppression because it shows how one may treat another person with disrespect/cruelty. Altogether, both poems show a fair amount of oppression and violence as it is based upon the mistreatment of African

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