As I Grew Older
By: Langston Hughes
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!
Langston Hughes poem "As I Grew Older" shows how he had a constant struggle with being a African American in the 1900's because of all the prejudice. The wall he mentions in his poem symbolizes the block that society had against African American's and how because of this wall it blocked all his hopes and the "light" of his dreams. It continues to say how Langston sat in the darkness of the wall because all of society accepted it and he couldn't see his "light" of his dreams. Then he continues by saying how he broke the wall, trying to find his "light" to get rid of the shadow that the wall had casted upon on him. Finally he ends the poem by saying how the shadow would break "Into a thousand lights of sun, Into a thousand whirling dreams Of sun!" meaning that once the wall was gone not only his dream would be able to be seen again but also the dreams of those who were also blocked by the wall. Langston Hughes poem was written in free verse. It compares to the book Twisted because Tyler also had a wall in his way, his dad. Just as Hughes dream was blocked by the wall or society, Tyler's dreams of being accepted and not a "bad kid" was blocked by his dad. Until he had stood up to his father allowing his dreams of fitting in and becoming someone better to be revealed once again, just like Hughes who had broken the wall and allowed himself to find his dreams.
Struggle
By: Sidney Lanier
My soul is like the oar that momently
Dies in a desperate stress beneath the wave,
Then glitters out again and sweeps the sea:
Each second I'm new-born from some new grave.
Lanier's poem "Struggle" is representing of how you die and are reborn several times through out your life, much like how a oar of a ship is pushed under water and "drowns" and then comes above the water and is "reborn". This also gives personification to the oar as if it had the ability to die like a person. Her poem tells how every second you are different from yourself than the person the moment before, thus the "Each second I'm new-born from some new grave." The poem is written in a ABCB rhyme scheme. The poem "Struggle" relates to the book Twisted by how Tyler dies and is reborn through out the book. For example when he commits the felony and then is reborn when he gains his muscles. Another example is when Tyler puts the gun in his mouth and "dies" but is "reborn" when he realizes he is to big for the mirror and therefore bigger than his dad.