How is this idea explored in Hughes poetry?
Look at the speaker in “I, Too” and “As I Grew Older” and analyse their voice.
What tone are they using?
How have their experiences been shaped by society?
Is there any contradictions in their conception of self?
How does Hughes create this duality?
In Hughes’ two poems “I, too (1945)” and “As I Grew Older (1926)”, he uses a direct tone and historical allusions to explore the idea of ‘double-consciousness’.
In the poem, “I, too”, the exploration of the idea of ‘double-consciousness’ is done through the use of an optimistic and hopeful tone to encourage blacks to see their society not through the eyes of the whites, but from their own perspectives. The first line, “I, too, sing America” is direct, a forceful point that leaves no room for doubt about his thoughts. With this line, Hughes aims to portray that blacks are also Americans and are therefore within their right to be treated as equals in society. The phrase “I am the darker brother” has a figurative and literal meaning, representing not only the embarrassment that the ‘family’ has towards the brother, but also represents the segregation that existed at the time of the poem’s creation. “They send me to eat in the kitchen” is not only an allusion to the segregation of society – including restaurants – but there are also no signs of resistance from the speaker to the family’s command, connecting to the topic of ‘double-consciousness’: seeing their society through the eyes of white people convinced many blacks that they ought to accept their current lives. The repetition of three-syllable lines at the end of the second stanza is aimed to convey the orderly and simplistic lifestyle that blacks live under segregation. The last three lines also serve to show the persistence of the African-American community through all the hardship they face, no specific reference is made to the speaker as Hughes wants to highlight how this is an issue that affects all blacks. An egalitarian setting is foreshadowed, “I’ll be at the table”, to express the optimism that the speaker has for the future. This optimistic tone is followed throughout the last three stanzas as Hughes aims to counter the racist narrative that whites have towards blacks. This is done on line 16, “They’ll see how beautiful I am’, as it aims to show how counter to stereotypes, blacks can be powerful contributors to society and they shouldn’t be overlooked. Simultaneously, this line further counters Dubois’ claim of ‘double-consciousness’ by showing the speaker’s wish for society to see him as the ‘beautiful’ person he is instead of the ‘darker brother’.
These points are further reinforced in the second poem, “As I Grew Older”. Similar to the first poem, the second poem uses a monologue and first-person pronouns to represent the collective black community. In this case, the “dream” that the speaker refers to are the opportunities that have been eluded from the black community. The proximity of the dream from the African-American community serves as an allusion to how close blacks were to receiving true liberties during the Reconstruction period. The nature of the speaker’s tone yearns for an opportunity to return to such days where barriers did not impede all his paths; these barriers themselves serve as symbols of segregation. The repetition of the words ‘slowly’ is used to emphasize the impact of such barriers. The description of the barriers and the initial acceptance of them by the speaker underline how blacks were made to believe by segregationists that such separation would be beneficial to them. The description of the wall ‘rising until it touches the sky’ shows how such a dream is seeming less and less unattainable, illustrating how ‘double-consciousness’ dampens the hope of blacks in their future. The shadow itself represents confinement as the speaker is trapped due to the color of his skin. The use of anaphora “Only (Line 18)”, “Only (Line 19)” emphasizes the speaker’s feeling of confinement. From line 20 there is a shift in tone from one that is reminiscent and thoughtful to passion and determination. This determination represents the will of the black community to tear down stereotypes and no longer see themselves as the second class citizens that they have been viewed as by white people. The aggressive use of language, “Smash (Line 25)” and “Break (Line 26)” represent the frustration that is felt in the black community and how some have turned to violence to survive. The last few lines return back to an optimistic tone as the speaker links the return of light to the liberation of the black community.
Hughes uses both poems to address the issue of ‘double-consciousness’ by initially showing the dejection and unfair life that the speaker is living. This is then contrasted with a change in tone where the speaker breaks free of the lens that he has used to view himself (the blacks) and finally see himself as an equal.