As I Grew Older/ Langston Hughes

As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes

Table of Contents

Bridging

Pre- Reading

LOTS Q&A

DDP

Text

Bridging Q&A

HOTS

Vocabulary

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HOTS Q&A

Background

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Answer the questions

It was a long time ago. I have almost forgotten my dream. But it was there then, In front of me, Bright like a sun— My dream. And then the wall rose, Rose slowly, Slowly, Between me and my dream. Rose until it touched the sky— The wall. Shadow. I am black. I lie down in the shadow. No longer the light of my dream before me, Above me. Only the thick wall. Only the shadow. My hands! My dark hands! Break through the wall! Find my dream! Help me to shatter this darkness, To smash this night, To break this shadow Into a thousand lights of sun, Into a thousand whirling dreams Of sun!

Copy these words and phrases

optimisticnaive hope and faith in the future a wall rose a wall of oppression prejudice discrimination racism inequality obstacles despair depression

frustratedfeeling of defeat a mature person fight for a dream break through the wall find the strength shatter the darkness overcome the obstacles realize one's dream gain racial equality pessimism optimism

Background

In order to understand this poem, the reader must realize that during the period that Langston Hughes wrote it, Blacks in America didnot have equal rights when compared to White Americans. Despite the great hope that the freedom from slavery of the 1860sbrought, Blacks were still denied the right to vote, they had to sit in the back of the bus, and theycould not use the same restrooms or water coolers that white people used.

Hughes was an active writer during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. During this period, Black writers and artists used their skills to fight for equal rights via peaceful means and self-expression. Hughes’s dream wasthe dream of a non-racist society in America and the freedom for anyone to do what they choose to do and to be treated equally. However, his dreams came true only many years later during the more militant Civil Rights Movement headedby the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1950s and 1960s.

LOTS questions

What made the speaker forget his dream?

What happened to the speaker as he grew older?

What did the speaker have "a long time ago"?

The wall that rose slowly between the speaker and his dream

He almost forgot what his dream was about

The speaker had a dream

Distinguish Different Perspectives

• How different people see an object, a person or an event.
• perspective, point of view, attitude,

different, differences, looking from above, however, on the one hand… , on the other hand…, the opinion of… is that, the reader's / narrator's outlook (השקפה), perception, side, angle

How to answer HOTS questions

Check:

Steps:

• CAPITAL LETTERS- names of people, places and things, beginning of a new sentence
• Verbs- tense
• Nouns- a/an, s
• Content- did I stay on topic?
• Paragraphing- Is my writing organized?

• Read and understand the question.
• Think of your answer, based on the text.
• Find supporting details in the text.
• Write.

Practice HOTS questions

What change occur in the speaker's world view towards the end of the poem?

Is the poem optemistic, passemistic or both? Explain

Why does the speaker say "I am black"?

The poem is optimistic because the ending / the last stanza is optimistic. At first, the speaker's perspective is pessimistic because the wall blocks the light and rises between the speaker and his dream. However, the opinion of the speaker at the end of the poem is different. He is going to use his hands to break through the wall and take away the shadow. His new point of view is to break the wall "into a thousand lights of sun", and that is a hopeful and optimistic attitude.

I Believe that the speaker declares he is black because he wants the reader to understand his inability to realize his dream is the result of the obstacles he has to face because of the color of his skin. I can infer from these words that the wall rising between himself and his dream represents the obstacles: racial inequality, descrimination and oppression that the speaker suffers from because of his skin color.

Towards the end of the poem, the speaker's perspectives changes. Instead of being depressed, feeling defeated and hopeless, he decides to try and overcome the obstacles ( discrimination, imequality and racism) that stand in his way and commands his hands to break through the wall.

How to answer bridging questions

Check:

Steps:

• CAPITAL LETTERS- names of people, places and things, beginning of a new sentence
• Verbs- tense
• Nouns- a/an, s
• Content- did I stay on topic?
• Paragraphing- Is my writing organized?

• Read and understand the information.
• In the given information, mark the words that relate to the poem/story.
• In the given information, mark the words that relate to your answer.
• Make a list of supporting details from the text.
• Write.

Make a connection between the qoute and the poem

"When Langston Hughes wrote the poem As I Grew Older (1925), African Americans were discriminated against. They were prevented from using the same bathrooms and restaurants as whites and were forced to sit at the back of the bus. Essentially, the United States of America was a racist society with racist laws." – Hamlet Pericles

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