1. Please Grab Your Notebook and a Glue Stick

2. Quick Write – put this in your QW section
Make a list of 10 jobs you think are necessary to help America function.
Why do you think these jobs are important?

3. Background Information: WALT WHITMAN
Whitman’s brother was wounded in the war which impelled Whitman to run and care for him. Deeply moved by this experience, Whitman went to Washington, D.C., to work as a volunteer nurse.

4. Time and Place: The Conditions
Following the Civil War, the United States experienced tremendous economic growth and social change.
For example, Socially:
Many people moved from farms to cities
The # of immigrants increased dramatically
The country expanded westward
For example, Economically:
Railroad construction
Advancement of the telephone
The typewriter
The automobile

5. The Downside of this Growth?
Working and living conditions became disgraceful
Whitman saw…
People asserting their freedom as individuals
Americans breaking free from conventional ways of life and following their own visions

6. “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman

7. “I Hear America Singing” BY WALT WHITMAN
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, 
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong, 
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, 
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work, 
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands, 
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown, 
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, 
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly, 
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

8. I Hear America Singing -- Questions
What occupations does the speaker indicate represents America? What do you notice about these jobs? What do they have in common?
2. Based on the occupations listed in the poem, how do you think Whitman views America?
3. Look back at line 1. Whitman writes, “I hear America singing.” Why do you think America is personified? What is the effect on the reader?
4. Identify Whitman’s tone. What evidence (words or phrases) led you to this conclusion?

9. Background Information: LANGSTON HUGHES

10. Time and Place: The Conditions
He began writing in the 1920’s when little progress had been made for the rights of African Americans.
The South – legalized segregation
The North – hired black workers for low income jobs

11. Hughes saw…
His father leave for Mexico to flee the discrimination and his college-educated mother move from city to city looking for work, only to find low paying jobs and to live in poverty.
Harlem as a beloved city even though he could not find work.
The rhythms of blues and jazz music as important incorporations to include in his writings and used the language of the people he encountered.
Beauty in the wisdom, humor, and strength in the people he portrayed in his poems, fiction, drama, and songs that he wrote.

12. “I,Too” by Langston Hughes

13. “I,Too” by Langston Hughes
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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

14. “I, Too” – Questions
Who is the speaker of the poem? (Hint: it is not the poet). How did you know that this person was the speaker of the poem?
How is the speaker of the poem treated? What is the speaker’s response to the treatment?
How will things be different “tomorrow”?
What statement does the speaker make in the final line of the poem? Why would the speaker feel the need to make this statement?
Identify Hughs’ use of repetition of words and structures. What Effect does the repetition have on the audience? Explain how and why this is important.
What is the tone of Hughs’ poem? Explain what evidence (words or phrases) led you to this conclusion and How.

15. I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman
Compare the TONE of “I Hear America Singing” and “I, Too” How are the two writings similar? Different?
I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman
I, Too
by Langston Hughes

16. Reflection:
After reading both pieces, explain which piece best reflects the America of today. Explain why.