POEM :
DEMOCRACY
BY:
KHAIRUL ANUAR BIN
SAMSUDIN
NURUL NABIHAH BINTI MOHD NASIR
PRIYAA A/P SUBRAMANIAM
BACKGROUND OF THE POET
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February
1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. Hughes began writing
poetry in Lincoln.
His first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, (Knopf,
1926) was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926.
First recognized as an important literary figure
during the 1920s, a period known as the "Harlem
Renaissance" because of the number of emerging
black writers.
Died of complications from prostate cancer in May
22, 1967, in New York City. In his memory, his
residence at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem has
been given landmark status by the New York City
Preservation Commission, and East 127th Street
has been renamed Langston Hughes Place.
Both of Hughes' paternal great-grandmothers were
African-American
both of his paternal great-grandfathers were white
slave owners of Kentucky.
#On his maternal grandmother's side, there was French
and Indian blood. One of the first women to attend
Oberlin College, she first married Lewis Sheridan
Leary, also of mixed race. Lewis past away in 1859.
# In 1869 the widow Mary Patterson Leary married
again, into the elite, politically active Langston family.
Her second husband was Charles Henry Langston, of
African-American, Native American, and Euro-American
ancestry.
# Charles and Mary's daughter Caroline was the mother
of Langston Hughes.
#Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri.
# He is the second child of school teacher Carrie
(Caroline) Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel
Hughes.
#
#After
the separation of his parents, while his mother
traveled seeking employment, young Langston Hughes was
raised mainly by his maternal grandmother, Mary Patterson
Langston
# Through the black American oral tradition and drawing
from the activist experiences of her generation, Mary
Langston instilled in her grandson a lasting sense of racial
pride.
# After the death of his grandmother, he went to live with
family friends, James and Mary Reed, for two years. In his
1940 autobiography The Big Sea he wrote: "I was unhappy
for a long time, and very lonesome, living with my
grandmother. Then it was that books began to happen to
me, and I began to believe in nothing but books and the
wonderful world in books.
# Later, Hughes lived again with his mother Carrie in
Lincoln, Illinois. She had remarried when he was still an
[Link] in grammar school in Lincoln, Hughes was
elected class poet. During high school in Cleveland, he
wrote for the school newspaper, edited the yearbook, and
began to write his first short stories, poetry, and dramatic
plays.
Democracy will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.
I have as much right
As the other fellow has
To stand
On my two feet
And own the land.
I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I'm dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.
Freedom
Is a strong seed
Planted
In a great need.
I live here, too.
I want freedom
Just as you.
BY LANGSTON HUGHES
It is no surprise that democracy in the United States was
nonexistent in the early 1900s and throughout the Jim
Crow era, for blacks had no rights. Democracy back then
was laughable and a joke - and outright biased.
Government rule by the people pertained to whites
exclusively, excluding all African Americans.
FIRST STANZA
The poet gets right to the point in the first stanza.
Democracy, referred to here in the most general sense of
the word, isn't coming to anybody through compromise
and fear.
Forget about today, this year, or any year even.
Democracy isn't happening if folks are constantly
bargaining with one another or feeling fearful about what's
to come.
The poet isn't limiting himself to a particular time or setting
since he includes "today, this year/ Nor ever." Democracy,
no matter what time it is or where we are, won't come
"through compromise and fear."
Even though the speaker is keeping things kind of
generalized, he does so in order to keep the message
here applicable to all folks.
SECOND STANZA
The "I" in line 5 tells us this poem is coming to us from a
first-person point of view, We (hopefully) all have two feet
and the right to own land if we can afford it.
So although it's in first-person, the poem is also
generalized enough for all people to identify with, since the
poet still hasn't zeroed in on a particular time or place.
THIRD STANZA
-He's tired of hearing folks say, "let things take their
course." When we hear that common idiom, we may think
of submitting to the way things are, no matter how wrong
those circumstances may be.
And he is just plain tired of folks allowing bad habits to
persist.
We're either free or we're not. And folks will either fight
for freedom or say, "let things take their course." At this
point, he seems to be in the former camp of fighting for, or
at least voicing the necessity for, freedom and democracy.
Get up, stand up.
All people need bread to eat, and all people need freedom.
So, our focus should be on getting these things today,
quick-fast in a hurry, not tomorrow
FOURTH STANZA
We might think of beginnings, strong beginnings, and the
hope that the seed will flourish into something much bigger
and more fruitful than its initial form. Maybe there's a
potential for an even greater "strength" to come in that tiny
little seed.
And if we think of freedom, the same kinds of ideas may
come to mind. Freedom, as an ideal, provides the
opportunity for bigger and better things beyond itself,
perhaps in the sense of progress for an entire community
or nation.
Since freedom is also planted here "in a great need," we
also understand that freedom is not optional. It's
necessaryjust like the bread we saw earlier. So the
speaker is really stressing the idea of freedom being a
fundamentally necessary part of human life and, more
specifically, democracy.
The last stanza comes to us just as plainly and casually as
the rest of the poem.. He lives here so he ought to be
entitled to freedom just like any other citizen. Seems fair to
us.
Notice that, even by the end of the poem, we still don't
have any specifics as to where we are or what time it is.
So from beginning to end, the speaker's message is
intended for all peoplenot just New Yorkers or
Californians.
We also feel in this last stanza more of the speaker's
universal desire for freedom. The "you" in line 21 can be
anyone and freedom likewise should be for everyone as
well.
By the end we feel the speaker's sense of reason and
demand for freedom
GENERAL MEANING
The story discusses the erroneous methods that were
being used to achieve freedom and a democracy. He
criticizes the fear and tactics used to attain democracy
by stating, Democracy will not come..through
compromise and fear. Blacks have had to sacrifice
themselves in order to build the United States through
the travesty of slavery. Still, as they built the United
States into a powerful nation they did not gain any
freedom and rights. The speaker also tire of hearing
people say, Let things take their course..Tomorrow is
another day Essentially, he is condemning those who
take a passive approach towards equality and freedom.
The speaker obviously does not enjoy the same freedom
as others saying: I want freedom. Just as you.
THEME
A freedom is everybodys right
-We should always fight for our right in
this world so that we can get a
chance to voice out our opinion on
some situation but we also should
remember that there is a limit in the
way we give out our opinion.
SYMBOL
DEMOCRA
CY
Lines 1-4: Democracy, no matter where it is, won't come
through bargaining with one another or through fear. It takes
guts to get and it takes a lot of heart to keep it alive.
Lines 13-14: Democracy, just like "tomorrow's bread," isn't
any good to anyone if we're dead. So enough talk about
"tomorrow." Get the show on the road, because democracy
and freedom need to be realized today.
TOMORRO
W
Lines 1-4: Maybe democracy will come this year, maybe not. But
while we're busy talking about the future, we fail to recognize that
today is what really matters. And if we keep compromising by
saying "tomorrow," we're not helping matters much.
Line 14: We just can't get over the awesome metaphor we get in
"tomorrow's bread." Bringing home the bacon (or bread) doesn't
usually apply for tomorrow. We need to eat (and live freely) today.
FREEDOM
Lines 13-14: Who needs freedom? Who needs freedom after you're
dead? Yes, those famous lines really stick with us and give us a little
chuckle too. And that's a perfect combination to capture just how
urgently the speaker needs freedom now.
Lines 19-21: The speaker lives here just like you do. And if you're
free, then he ought to be too. Seems reasonable enough, right?
POETIC DEVICES
Literal analysis
Personification :
Democracy will not come.
Metaphor :
I cannot live on tomorrows bread
freedom is a strong seed
Planted in a great need
Tone/mood
Frustrated mood and the feel of dissatisfaction.
Technical analysis of images
Images of uncertainty
tomorrow is another day :
The persona feels that everyone have
the right to voice out things in ones life and they can do that by
getting the democracy. The persona feels that he or she does not
want to get the right after the death of his or hers but they want to
fight for the democracy when they are still alive.
ISSUE
The Conflicts Between Classes, Race, and Different Age
Groups
other African Americans that if they want to have equal rights
they cannot comprise what they believe, nor should they fear
standing up for themselves. Hughes was an educated man, but
he was considered to be lower class at the time because of his
race. He was expressing that he did not consider himself to be
inferior to the white majority, because he had the strength "to
stand on his own two feet." He was expressing that he deserved
to have the right to "own the land", and be an equal member of
society. He knew that no change would come from turning the
other cheek. He was expressing that the freedom to be granted
for future generations wasnt going to help him at all; he wanted
equality now. "Freedom is a strong seed, Planted in a great need"
is simply informing readers that freedom is a right for everyone
in the United States. Hughes was an American, and deserved to
have the same rights as white people.
MORAL VALUES
One should fight for our freedom
or rights.
We should treat people equally
THE END
THANK YOU
