Langston Hughes wrote a famous piece of literary criticism, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” in which he posits that the “job” of an African American poet is to promote black pride. Hughes asserts that an African American poet should “change through the force of his art that old whispering ‘I want to be white’…to ‘Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro—and beautiful’” (701). Focusing on this assertion, compare “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “I, Too.” Considering theme, speaker, metaphor, personification, and/or other literary devices, let your comparison bring you to an evaluation of the poems. Which poem better achieves Hughes’ stated goal? (Be sure to answer the question in bold in your thesis!)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44428/the-n...
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46480/i-hea...
