As I Grew Older

Langston Hughes

Summary of the poem

Langston Hughes As I Grew Older
begins about a dream that the
poet had long time ago. The poet
says his dream, bright as the sun,
was right in front of him until a
wall rose between him and his
dream. The poet is an old man now
and he is thinking about his dream
which he dreamt long time ago.

 He remembers that his dream was not

fulfilled as a strong barrier was created
by his fellow white people who will not
let his dream come true. The wall seems
to grow forever and ever and it has
become it has become so tall that it
rose until it touched the sky. The
dream which was as bright as the sun
has now turned dark. The wall has
become a long dark shadow and has
been blocking his dream.
The dream being replaced by a shadow,
the poet has become black.

 The poet lies down in the shadow which

means he feels defeated and helpless. He
finds that his dream is no longer above him
and so he feels despair. Instead of his
dreams, he finds the thick wall and the
shadow above him.
Dark hands refers to the poets own hands,
the color of his skin, who will be able to
break through the wall and find his dream.
The poet wants to break the wall and shatter
the darkness that is keeping him from
attending his dream. He wants to break the
shadow into thousand lights of sun and
thousands of whirling dreams.

Analysis
THEME: The poem is in negative effects of
racism, prejudice and discrimination. It is
a comment on any form of racial
oppression where one is unable to achieve
their dreams, whether it is because of age,
gender, nationality or religion. The poem
puts up a message that we should believe
in ourselves and stand up against the
unjust society and rise above any sort of
discrimination. No matter what stands in
the way of someones dream, he can
always find his dream and fight for it.

TONE:
The tone/mood of the poem, As I Grew
Older, keeps changing as the poem
progresses. In lines 1-6, the tone in the
speakers voice is optimistic, nave and
innocent.
In the next lines 7-16, the tone turns
into a depressing, angry one.
Lines 17-23, show a sign of pessimism
and anger in the speakers voice.
Finally in the lines 24-33, there is hope
and the whole stanza expresses that he
can still achieve his dream.

Changing Perspectives
The
poems
changing
tone
signifies the speakers changing
perspective on life as he moves
from childhood to adulthood.
Lines 1-6 show the speakers
viewpoint when he was a child.
Lines 7-16 reflect the change in
the speakers viewpoint. Lines
24-33
show
the
present
perspective of the speaker, that
the time when the poem was

Metaphor
The wall has been used as a metaphor.
The wall is presented as an obstacle to
the poets dream. The obstacle is
racism and discrimination against the
blacks. The poet feels defeated but at
the same time he is not going to give
up his dream. His dark hands will help
him to shatter the metaphoric wall
which has been created by the whites
and will destroy hatred and racism.

Other Symbols
Light symbolizes dreams,
hopes, optimism, possibilities,
goodness, intellectual
achievements and awareness.
On the other hand, darkness
symbolizes prejudice,
discrimination, hatred, racism,
evil and ignorance.

Other Symbols
The use of the words dark
hands symbolizes the color of
the poets skin. The poet is black
and he himself makes reference
to his dark hands. The speaker
believes that he can break
through the barrier of being born
with a darker skin tone in a
white society. I am black and
my dark hands are examples of

USE OF EXCLAMATION:
The poet has used five exclamatory
marks in As I Grew Older. Exclamations
determine emotions and energy in
expressing some idea. They are also
used as loud commands or gestures. The
use of exclamation in As I Grew Older
indicates the poets motivation to break
out of this oppression. The verses are
short yet punchy implying the speakers
repetitive outbursts of effort.