Hughes' poem, "I, too" is modelled after Walt Whitman's poem "I hear America singing." Hughes was extending Whitman's idea that America can be found in its people by including a particular section, the African-American. Beyond this, however, Hughes was taking Whitman's patriotic and idealistic message and portraying an America still filled with prejudice and inequality. Like "Theme for English B", all humans can attest to feeling misunderstood and feeling discriminated against by others, whether for their color, sex, economic class, fashion sense, musical tastes, and so on. Reading "I, too" should encourage others to create their own "Song of America."
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