The Reality of the American PromisePoetry, in a cumulative sense, is an expository archive containing the sum of human experience. For example, poetry helps us explore the most general and specific areas of humanity. Likewise, poetry can be used to investigate the depths of a particular feeling. Poetry helps us above all to understand the whole of a writer's lived contemplation on a given subject. When it comes to the "American Dream" or "American Promise," Emma Lazarus and Langston Hughes express very different views on what America has to offer to those most disadvantaged. Comparing the education of the two authors leads to an explanation of the different perceptions of reality found between "The New Colossus" and "Let America Be America Again". A close analysis of the poems themselves will tell us what exactly the authors are saying. To some extent, this information is useful when it relates to the struggles and difficulties that immigrants like Enrique face when trying to make it to America. It is also useful for forming a general opinion of modern America. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Emma Lazarus and Langston Hughes grew up on opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. The two men lived very different lives. . Emma Lazarus was of European descent. Langston Hughes was an African American. . Lazarus was born into a wealthy family. Hughes was poor and being black did not improve his situation in an era of racial segregation. Hughes' father published his first series of poems for her; a considerable expense at the time. It makes sense that Emma Lazarus saw America in such a positive light compared to Langston Hughes. Her worldview was much more guarded and protected because of the amount of money she had. This is a safe assumption to make. Lazarus was never immersed in the culture she was speaking to. Hughes, on the other hand, was born into a life of poverty. He stood alongside the poor and disadvantaged to whom he and Lazarus both spoke. In his poem “Let America Be America Again,” he was speaking to his own people. Hughes's view of life in America is rather negative compared to Lazarus's. When defining reality, experience is much more accurate than observation. Therefore, Hughes' perspective is different from Lazarus's because it is much more accurate. Poetry is a complex form of expression. It uses devices such as metaphor, symbol, repetition, allusion, sound, rhythm, imagery, connotation and irony. Using these devices, poets can create multiple dimensions of meaning behind each word. Due to the complexity caused by multi-layered meanings, poetry is prone to misinterpretation. This is why detailed analysis is essential for a correct interpretation of both poems. In “Let America be America Again,” Hughes immediately introduces the fact that he believes America is not all it can be. This is due to its use of the word "yet" in the title. Hughes wants America to return to “the dream it was” (2). He wants America to keep his promise: to grant him equality, freedom and the opportunity to pursue happiness. Although Hughes believes that America has fulfilled its promises at one point, he states, "America was never America to me" (5). Hughes never truly experienced the fulfillment of the American promise. There existsobviously an imbalance in the distribution of resources, which is why Hughes never got the promised share. By using phrases such as "the plan of tyrants", "kings collude", and "man be crushed by him above" (8-9), Hughes is trying to tell the reader that people are there. Power is the one who lives happily, but at the same time deprives everyone of opportunities. However, there is not just one large group of poor people. Hughes recognizes that there are several disadvantaged subgroups of people. and they all suffer for specific reasons. For example, “Negro bearing the scars of slavery” (20) refers to African Americans who were considered less than human and who are still profiled and discriminated against today. This is because they were enslaved at one time in America. The Native Americans are another good example: Hughes addresses their struggle by saying that the “red man” was “driven from the earth” (21). Anyone who has taken an American history class knows how many Native Americans remain; about a tenth of the population. Immigrants who came to America didn't just complain about not having the opportunity to fulfill the American promise. They worked hard to improve their livelihoods. For example, Hughes views farmers as “slaves to the soil” (32). Likewise, he describes the factory worker as “sold to the machine” (33). Aside from the “Negro” (34) who was once a slave himself, Hughes insinuates that the lower classes worked so hard that it was as if they were slaves to their specific professions. Despite their hard work, these people were still “hungry” and “beaten” (Hughes 36-37). The poor and disadvantaged working class were battered by years of hard work, but they still hungered for a better life; A life that would literally bring more food to the table. Hughes was unhappy with the current reality of American life for the lower class. But that doesn't stop him from dreaming of an ideal America. For Hughes, an ideal America was a place that is “the dream of dreamers” (6). It was a place where “opportunity was real” (Hughes 13), where immigrants could pursue their dreams into reality. a place where there was so much equality that we could smell it “in the air we breathe” (Hughes 14). For most of the running time of “Let America be America Again,” Hughes only hopes that these ideas will become a reality. However, near the end of the poem, he swears to his audience as a final appeal that “America shall be” (Hughes 78). He assures his audience that one day they will have opportunity and the fulfillment of the American promise. “Let America Be America Again” is a much longer poem compared to “The New Colossus.” Indeed, it is possible to refer to a greater quantity of relevant details to address reality than to promote ideals. In “The New Colossus,” Emma Lazarus paints a very optimistic picture of America. To an immigrant reading the poem, America would seem like an ideal place to start a new and much better life. Lazarus begins his poem by establishing the striking difference between the Colossus of Rhodes - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and "The New Colossus" which will replace it as the symbol of human achievement and endeavor. For Lazarus, the statue ancient is masculine, “brazen”(1) and severe, symbolizing the often oppressive character of ancient Greco-Roman patriarchies. In contrast, the Statue of Liberty is a “powerful woman” who brandishes a torch “whose flame / Is it. lightning imprisoned" (Lazarus 4-5). This statement likens him to the Greek gods who were also