Name: _________________________________________________ Cohort: ______ Date: ________

I, Too, Sing America

by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.

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Focus Question
How would the speaker in this poem
answer our essential questions,
"What is America?" and "What does
it mean to be American?"

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.

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.

My Synthesis Statement (Reread your annotations. Look for patterns, then answer the Focus
Question.)!

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Reading Skills
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What in the poem did we pay attention to in order to determine the speakers perspective?