Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, And Tupac Shakur - 1088 Words

Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and Tupac Shakur have a major role in English Literature, Even though they live during the different time periods from different backgrounds, and they all have written many poems about the American dream. When it comes to the American dream, people have different points of view on the topic. Many people believe that American dream is about all American citizens having equal rights and opportunities to achieve the success through hard work. On the other hand, many people believe otherwise, and they believe that not everyone living in the America has same rights and opportunities like and others because race and backgrounds of an individual play a major role whether they are going to succeed or not. While†¦show more content†¦They send me to eat in the kitchen, When company comes† (Hughes, 2,3,4). He shows the discrimination African Americans encounter while living in America, and they are not treated equally. Hughes expresses his feeling s that America was never America to him. In his poem, â€Å"Let America be America again,† Hughes writes, â€Å"(It never was America to me.), O, let my land be a land where Liberty, Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. (There’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this â€Å"homeland of the free.†)†(Hughes 10-16). In this poem, Hughes points out that he never feels like he is living in America because he never experiences the equality, freedom, and opportunities what he always hears about America. Moreover, Tupac Shakur uses his poetry to address all the injustice happening in the United States with African Americans. In his poem, â€Å"Liberty Needs Glasses† Shakur writes, â€Å"Excuse me but lady liberty needs glasses / and so does Mrs. Justice by her side† (1-2). Shakur uses the symbol of lady liberty and glasses to get the attention of Americans th at they should open their eyes and see what is truly going on. Shakur also uses the end of â€Å"Liberty Needs Glasses† to show double standard of the American dream. He writes â€Å"I mean really if anyone really valued life, and cared about the masses, they’d take ‘em both 2 Pen Optical, and get 2 pairs of glasses† (Shakur