summary of I, Too by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

I, Too

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I’ll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody’ll dare

Say to me,

“Eat in the kitchen,”

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

I, too, sing America.

The speaker begins by declaring that he too can “sing America,” meaning that he is claiming his right to feel patriotic towards America, even though he is the “darker”. The persona says; that he sing for America implies the love of a persona toward his/her country, by saying I too, he tries to tell us that there is other people (whites) who believes that they are only one who love America.

I am the darker brother.

The one who speaking is Black America,

They send me to eat in the kitchen. When company comes,

He says he is not allowed to sit by the table when guest come.

Just who are 'They' - the people who send the speaker out to eat in the kitchen? These must be the white house owners, those with power, who do not want the dark-skinned man around when their friends or family come to visit. They fear that he might cause something terrible to happen. They don't want to mingle with his type. He may appear to be a subservient type, but he is biding his time.The persona try to show how black Americans(slave) were segregated, they do not allowed to sit on table with their masters

This alludes to the common practise of racial segregation during the early 20th century, when African Americans faced discrimination in nearly every aspect of their lives. They were forced to live, work, eat and travel separately from their white counterparts,

But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.

This shows how persona is strong willing, and enjoying to sit in the kitchen as he can eat well and become strong enough to fight those kind of humiliations. He is thinking about the future, not necessarily the immediate 24 hour future but a time when he and his darker brethren will not be subject to humiliation or condemned to retreat into the kitchen.

In the third stanza by saying Tomorrow the persona referring to future America that He'll be at the table, that is, he'll have his own space and opportunity to partake of the feast that is America's bounty. He won't be told to 'Eat in the kitchen' any longer because times will be different, the culture will be changed and those who dictate to him now will see him in a different light.

These same people who treated him with such cruelty and disdain will then conclude that they were wrong. They'll regret their previous actions.This statement applied to all black America who were segregated during slavery period in America Someday, he knows that he will sit at the table and everyone will see how beautiful he is.

I, too, am America.

The person claims that he "is America" it implies that the persona is too aware that he/she is American citizen. The last line is a parallel with the opening one and reinforces the idea of the speaker fully integrated - now he is America. No longer excluded, no longer a problem but a solution, no longer a human divided but a whole person totally identified as American.