LET AMERICA BE AMERICA AGAIN
Langston Hughes
PARAPHRASE
America is said to be “land of the free, the home of the brave,” a country in which one
can immigrate to make a new beginning and to escape tyranny. America is full of
bountiful promises of wealth, joy, happiness, and freedom, but how true is that when the
immigrants were slaves and had nothing but their thoughts? No riches, no freedom, and
no happiness. America was founded by the blood, sweat, and tears of these immigrants
who first came here, but in turn, American gave them nothing. Therefore, America is not
the land people perceive it to be.
APPLICATION
This poem opened my eyes to a new way of thinking. America is literally “a melting pot’
for multiple races and ethnic groups. What made one race think they were superior to
everyone else? The constitution clearly states that “all men are created equal,” but how
long did it take for Americans to honor this principle? There is still racism and hatred in
America; in fact, I believe it is everywhere. The difference between America and other
countries is that many people came to America to flee from harmful environments and to
take America up on its promise to be free and to start anew. More importantly,
immigrants did not know they were trading in one evil for another by running from their
homelands to become slaves or indentured servants. America holds promises for those
who are worthy of the challenge to contribute to our society. Now I am elated to see
change and to read about and witness great historic moments, such as Rosa Parks’
refusing to surrender her seat on the bus, or when Barack Obama became our first black
president. I believe now America is what it should have been and continues to be so.