When writing a literary work, many factors add up to create a single story in the form the author wants to present it. From this perspective, the setting and the accompanying mood in which the story unfolds are significant. The same story, placed in a different environment, will create completely different effects and evoke different emotions in the reader. In Langston Hughes’ poem “I, too,” the setting and mood shape the story, portraying the life of an ordinary home in the early 20th century in a rebellious and confident mood. The purpose of this essay is to confirm this thesis by analyzing the poem’s structure, the details and elements put into it by the author, and their connection with the general narrative and meaning.
It is necessary to understand the conditions in which the author was writing the work to comprehend the poem’s context and its setting. “I, too” was written in America in the early 20th century, a period closely associated with racial oppression. The poet himself was one of the central figures of the Harlem Renaissance, leading the flowering of African American culture (“Langston Hughes,” n.d.). In this regard, “I, too” is another work in a series of poems inspired by the observed events of social inequality.
In turn, this factor forms the setting in which the action takes place in the poem. Only a few lines indicate it, from which the reader can understand who the main character is, on whose behalf the poem is being conducted, and where he is. The words “darker brother” indicate his skin color, and the phrase “they send me to eat in the kitchen” emphasizes the presence of the kitchen as a separate room (Hughes, 2004). Thus, the setting is the American household, whose owners can afford to keep a black servant.
However, despite the apparent presence of racial inequality and the oppression in sending the protagonist to the kitchen when guests arrive, there is no trace of negativity or anger in the mood of the poem. On the contrary, the hero, even being in an abused position, finds positive moments for himself: going to the kitchen, he laughs and eats, becoming stronger (Hughes, 2004). This reveals the confident mood of the work, which lies in the fact that no matter what the hardships are, the main character will endure them and change the current order.
Added to this is a reference to Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” poem that appears in the first and last lines of the poem. Just as Whitman (1991) wrote that he hears America’s singing in the activities of various people, so the protagonist joins in this singing. This affiliation is because blacks were often forgotten and ignored, and although Whitman did not indicate the skin colors of his characters, he most likely did not mean black by them. Therefore, Hughes (2004) notes this separately in his poem that he too is part of America. Thus, he shows rebelliousness and creates a kind of rebellious spirit for his work.
The place and mood of the work are intertwined and affect the protagonist and the actions that he performs. Rebellious manifestations such as sitting at the same table with white people would be impossible anywhere other than in a house with a black servant. On the other hand, if it were not for the created positive mood, full of hope, the events taking place could be perceived by the reader in a different way: as aggression or a challenge. These two factors create a story only by existing together, and ignoring or changing one of them will create an entirely new tale with a different protagonist doing different things. The three components of a poem – setting, mood, and story expressed through action – cannot exist without each other. Only together do they create a single narrative that conveys the idea and the author’s confidence that one day blacks will sit at the same table with whites since they are also part of America.
Reference
Hughes, L. (2004). I, too. Poetry Foundation. Web.
Langston Hughes. (n.d.). Poetry Foundation. Web.
Whitman, W. (1991). I hear America singing. Poetry Foundation. Web.