I Look at the World by Langston Hughes (BWD)

Wait for your partners. You should work together.

​I Look at the World by Langston Hughes

​Read aloud the poem; take turns reading stanzas.

Multiple Choice

Which best describes the speaker in the first stanza?

• someone who likes to travel the world

• someone who has just woken up from a nap

• someone who feels uncomfortable in tight spaces

• someone who is realizing their world is restricted

Multiple Choice

In stanza 2, what has the speaker decided?

• that the walls are silly

• that the walls are flimsy

• that the walls of oppression must be torn down

• that the walls of oppression are a trick of the mind

Multiple Choice

Oppression is the cruel or unfair treatment of a group of people. Which of these would be a synonym?

• persecution

• justice

• equality

• integration

Multiple Choice

What does the speaker believe in stanza 3?

• They can build a new road.

• They can help others see the truth.

• They can build a world without oppression.

• They can find new places to live with their friends.

Multiple Select

Which of the following lines uses figurative language?

• "Fenced off narrow space/Assigned to me"

• "...walls oppression builds"

• "with eyes no longer blind"

• "And this is what I know"

Multiple Choice

Which line from the poem best expresses the speaker's attitude toward oppression? Hint: He uses figurative language to compare oppression to a physical object.

• "From awakening eyes in a black face - "

• "I look then at the silly walls"

• "I look at my own body"

• "Then let us hurry, comrades"

Multiple Choice

How do the phrases "this fenced-off narrow space" and "walls oppression builds" develop the meaning of the poem?

• They describe the way freedom looks to oppressed people.

• They illustrate how the speaker plans to combat oppression.

• They reveal how oppression limits people's opportunities in life.

• They highlight how neighbors build walls and fences to keep people out.

Multiple Choice

In lines 15-16, the speaker says "Then let us hurry, comrades/The road to find" What is the most likely interpretation of these lines?

• The speaker wants their friends to find their true passion in life.

• The speaker wants other to join him in pursuing a better world.

• The speaker wants to move to a different community with their friends.

• The speaker wants to run from their problems rather than confront them.

Multiple Choice

What theme is revealed through the use of figurative language?

• Oppressed people are forced to live in small spaces.

• Walls can be torn down to build a bigger and better home.

• People have the power to work together, create a better world, and remove oppression.

• Once we realize the danger, it's easy to overcome the danger.

Open Ended

What connections do you see between the message of the poem and upstanders like Helmuth?

Include a specific line from the poem and use it to support a connection.