Words Like Freedom
By Langston Hughes
There are words like Freedom
sweet and wonderful to say.
On my heartstrings freedom sings
all day everyday.
There are words like Liberty
that almost make me cry.
If you had known what I know
you would know why.
1. What is the poet communicating in this poem (i.e. paraphrase the poem)?
2. How can words make people have joy or pain or sadness?
3. The poet tells his reaction to the words freedom and liberty. What is your reaction to those words?
4. Finally, tell another word (any word!) that you have a strong reaction to (positive OR negative) and explain why.
The words that the Langston Hughes used are Freedom and Liberty. He is trying to show us the meaning that those words have on him. Everyone has a word that means something to them and those are his. Words can make people have a happy or sad reation because of the way the author uses them. For example, freedom makes me feel happy of fell joy because it is a word that helps people and its a great word. My reation to those is strength.Those words show strength because freedom and liberty mean to hsve power or well, strength. A word that I have a reaction to is free. I react to this in a good way because well, everyone loves free stuff! Also, because everything has a reason for its price and so maybe this is showing that maybe that product is cheap.
ReplyDelete-#8
The poem is trying to tell us how Langston Hughes feels when is alone in his house thinking how fortunate he is to be him self.
ReplyDeleteWords can cause emotions to you if the word does something good or bad in real life. Like free can make some feel good because to be free means to do anything you want any time you want. Words like kill make people sad because killing is sad to end someone's life and hurt his or hers family.
My reaction to freedom is good because if I am free I am a whole new person than being enslaved. It is good to be free because you can do anything you want. Liberty makes me feel the same because you do not have to listen to anybody on how to live your life you chose your destiny.
I have a good reaction to fun because it means something exciting or awesome is coming up. Thats what I think of the poem "Words Like Freedom" by Langston Hughes.
Last comment was Connor#10
ReplyDeleteI think that this poet is expressing what the two words Liberty and Freedom mean to him. It seens like he thinks these words are important. The last sentence, "If you would have known what I know yoiu would know why". That probley means that he has had experience with these two words.
ReplyDeleteWords can make people have joy, pain or sadness based on what history they know about the words. Someone may feel sad because when they think of the word, the picture in their head is not very happy. If someone has experience with the word, it might make them have different emotions.
My reaction to the words freedom and liberty are strong because I am very happy that everyone has freedom. With out freedom, nobody would live happily. Being free is what each American deserves. The word liberty has a strong feelinf on me as well because I feel like us Americans have liberty and justice. We take a stand! With liberty you can make your own decisions and you don't have to listen to anyones opinion on YOUR life. Freedom and Liberty have similar meanings to me.
One word that I have a strong opinion on is justice. I have a strong feeling on this because I have justice. I can stand up and make a change. Justice is something that I think people are fotunate to take advantage of because it gives everybody a chance and an opertunity to make a change and to help out others and the world. I think that the poem "Words Like Freedom" by Langston Hughes is something that can really make you think about how important words can be.
Annie #2
I think Langston Hughes is communicating how the power of words can effect the way people see the world. Because he is american, he understands how fortunate he is to celebrate having freedom in his life. Everyones life experiences are different so words will draw different emotions from different people.I think for kids my age the words LIBERTY and FREEDOM are taken for granted. For me those words are gaining more meaning, because we are learning about colonial times and how hard our ancestors had to fight for liberty and freedom.
ReplyDeleteFor me , the word goal and or destiny is a word that brings a cheerful emotion. It brings me a happy emotion because it means that you are giving something your all and working hard towards something you were meant to be.
Freedom and Liberty are words that will continue to gain meaning in my life as I get older and learn more about other countries and how lucky we are to live in ours.
Noah#24
I think the poet is trying to say that freedom and liberty are the sweetest things. Though people take it for granted that they have freedom and liberty. We have to thank the solders for our freedom and liberity. They fight for us and we take it for granted. They keep us safe and we need to thank them. Without them, America would not be America today.
ReplyDelete-#3 Annika
I think that Langston Hughes is talking about the importance of the words freedom and liberty to him. He was African-American, living in a time when African- Americans were treated unfairly and often, cruelly. They did not have any liberty or freedom at all. When most people think of the word freedom, they think of something wonderful. However, Langston Hughes and African Americans never had freedom and liberty and this made him sad.
ReplyDeleteWords can make one feel happy, sad, or even pain. This may be because a word reminds a person of a memory or story. For Langston Hughes, the word “freedom” was important to him because he wanted his people to have the same freedom that was given to all Americans. African-Americans were denied freedom and liberty because of their skin color. This made him feel pain and sorrow.
My reaction to the word freedom is happiness. I feel joy when I am free and have the same rights as everyone else. My reaction to the word liberty is a sense of courage and pride. I feel that it gives me a feeling like I can and should stand up for my beliefs and rights.
A word I have a strong reaction to is the word “kill”. I hear kids say , “If you do this, I’ll kill you!” The word “kill” offends me because it is too strong and extreme. There are many other words which could be used in this instance which would sound better. The word “kill” has a sad association for me. Every day, I know that thousands of innocent people are dying because of war. I am talking about the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places. I don’t think that people should kill others over a disagreement. This explains my negative reaction to this horrible word.
#16
Langston Hughes I trying to tell us that there are many powerful words in the world that can make you have different emotions. Words can make people have different feelings by their definitions and, or by the way their said. Like if I said “I am the best” in a rude tone it would make the person I was talking to would feel sad, but if said “I am the best” in a joking around tone the person I was talking to would know I am kidding. When I hear the words freedom and liberty I think of when our country became free and slaves. I think of slaves because they all in America became free. Harriet Tubman was a big part of this. Liberty means freedom or release from slavery. . . One world that I have a strong reaction to is always because nothing is never always like I won’t always be a great friend because . . . we could disagree about something and then have a fight and sometimes I might do something that disappoints them. So I think nothing except for a few exceptions.
ReplyDelete#14
I would say that Langston Hughes is showing us that there are many words in the world that have an impact on people. Two of the words that have a large impact on him are Freedom and Liberty. He is telling us how he feels about those words and what they are like. Certain words can make different people have different reactions. An example would be if I said to someone, "You are dumb," that would make them have a sad and negative reaction. If I said, "Wow! Great job," to someone, they would have a happy, proud, and positive reaction. My reaction to Freedom is safe, happy, and proud. I know that I am safe because we have men and women who are fighting and risking there lives so that we can keep our freedom. I am also proud of the people who are fighting because they are prepared to die for our country and the people who make up our nation. When I hear Liberty, my feelings are also proud, happy, and safe. I feel safe because with our country's laws, no one will ever be enslaved like Africans were. I am proud because America will not have any more slaves like some countries do. I am happy because I feel that enslavement was very wrong, and we don't have it any more. One word that has a strong impact on me is Love. Love is very important to me and no one in this world could ever live without it. Love is the strongest emotion that I have. If no one had Love, we would all be sad and alone and life would not bring any joy to us. Love is the most wonderful feeling.
ReplyDeleteAshley #4
Langston Hughes loves the word freedom. It is sweet and wonderful to say because freedom is so important to him. When he thinks about freedom, it makes him happy and maybe it makes him feel like singing. The word liberty also means a lot to him. It makes him feel like crying when he thinks about the word. People cry when they have good or bad experiences that make them feel either happy or sad. If you experienced what he has been through, you would have known why the words freedom and liberty make him so happy and almost make him cry.
ReplyDeleteWords can make people feel happy, sad, or hurt. If you congratulate someone with kind words, you can make them happy. You can hurt people’s feelings or make people feel sad by saying unkind words like looser to them.
I do not have any strong reaction or feeling toward the words freedom and liberty like Langston Hughes because I have never experienced not having freedom. Langston Hughes is an African American who lived during the time when African Americans were not treated with equal rights. They could not drink from the same water fountains, go to the same restaurants, or sit in front of a bus. When Langston Hughes finally received equal rights, he finally understood what the meaning of freedom and liberty and how precious they are. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience the same things that Langston Hughes went through and because of that, I do not have any strong reaction to toward the words freedom and liberty.
The word “family” has a positive response to me. When I think of family, I think of my mom and dad caring and taking care of me. They provide needs and help me have a good life. I have a strong reaction because when they leave or go somewhere, I miss them. When they are gone, you feel like there is no one to love you or care for you. Then when they come home, you feel loved again and you feel happy and you feel like crying. I remember that when my parents went away, I missed them so much that I felt like crying like Langston Hughes. Family is very important to me for all of those reasons. When we learned about family in F.L.A.S.H, realized that there really isn’t anything that you can do without them.
- #7
I think that Langston Hughes is trying to say that different words cause different emotions on different people. Some people take things seriously even if you are joking, like if you say this to someone, "That's weird", then that person will feel really bad about whatever he/she was talking about. But say if you said that same thing to another person, then that person might say, "Yeah, isn't it?". Everyone is different, so different words will have different effect on them. Some reactions to words can be happy, joy, sad, angry, and suprised.
ReplyDeleteWords causes emotion because if the word you say to someone is very mean or disrespectful, then that person will feel depressed or maybe feel like he/she wants to cry. If you say to someone, "Good job! You did great!" Then that person will feel proud of themself. Words that are disrespectful will give a person sadness and pain. But if you respect someone by making a nice comment then that person will feel joy and happiness.
My reaction to freedom is happy because I'm not a slave and I am glad that everyone has some kind of freedom. When I think of liberty, I think of people making their own choices and not being ordered around by some person. You do what you want to do in your own life. You don't do something just because someone tells you to. You do it because you want to do it. I think freedom and liberty are somewhat similar and somewhat different.
A word that I have a strong reaction to is, "Died" because every day a person dies. Just hearing about it makes me really depressed. Everyone has someone special, especially family members and friends. My grandpa died about two years ago and ever since then, my grandma has been very depressed. If I hear that one of my friends died or my grandma died, then I would be very VERY sad. Losing a friend or family member is like losing complete happiness. My Great Grandma is 97 years old and we all take care of her. Some of her daughters lives with her to take care of her.
-25
I think this poem means that the ability to speak one's mind is freedom in of its self. Words that describe one's intermost feelings can really touch others, speak to their souls.
ReplyDeleteThe words liberty and freedom make me think of African slavery and how the slaves so desperately wanted freedom. It also makes me think of the the old saying "Give me Liberty, or give me death" and how the colonists revolted against England to make our country what it is today.
The word hope gives me a positive reaction because hope is something that everyone has-- it's the world's light in a dark room.
#1
Words Like Freedom
ReplyDeleteBy Langston Hughes
There are words like Freedom
sweet and wonderful to say.
On my heartstrings freedom sings
all day everyday.
There are words like Liberty
that almost make me cry.
If you had known what I know
you would know why.
When I read this poem, this is what came to mind:
Langston Hughes is talking about what these words mean to him. He savors the word, “freedom” in his mouth because it is sweet and wonderful to say. Langston is sharing his thoughts of those words to the readers. The last sentence, “If you had know what I know you would know why.” That makes me think, “What had he known?” My guess is that, like number 16, that he must’ve been an African American who didn’t posses freedom and liberty. That is what I think of this poem.
Words can hurt people, make people cheerful, or make people angry. They might affect people because of what that person has experienced in their life or something that happened in the past. “There are words like Liberty, that almost make me cry.” Something must’ve happened in the past with Langston Hughes that makes him want to cry when he hears the word, “liberty.” The word liberty must bring sorrow to him.
My reaction to those words are happiness and joy. As an American, I can be free and say whatever I want to say, unlike some other countries. I posses liberty and freedom, and I’m thankful for that.
A word that I have a strong reaction is “always.” Always means for something to be forever. Undying. Indefinite. Things don’t last forever. When I hear people say, “I’ll always be your friend!” Friends aren’t forever. There would be a better word choice than, “always.”
~#15
I think that this poet is talking about freedom and how he thinks that it's very important for our country to have it.
ReplyDeleteI think it could make you joyful because they might say something nice about you or to make you sad or in pain they might say something hurtful.
My reaction to freedom and liberty is that we as a country have those things and that these things are really special.
A word that I think is strong is constitution because it is what everyone follows in the U.S.
I think what the poet Langston Hughes is trying to communicate is that the poem Words Like Freedom is about telling us what liberty and freedom really feel like. I think these words can create freedom all across the world. I think it also might be talking about slavery. The last line of the poem says if you had known what I know you would know why. I think that means that the person witnessed slavery in their past. This poem reminds the person how great freedom is.
ReplyDeleteWords can make people feel joy, pain or sadness because it reminds them of something happy or sad that happened in their lifetime.
My reaction to the words freedom and liberty are I am happy for the people who have freedom and I will do a lot of things to help the people who do not have freedom.
The word I have a strong connection to is the word peace because peace keeps people from not killing or hurting each other. Peace also lets people help each other.
Max #21
I believe the poem means that based on one’s life experiences freedom and liberty mean different things to different people. Knowing the poet is black I would think that liberty has a great meaning to him based on the fact that some of his ancestors were probably slaves and lived a life as someone’s property. Words mean certain things to people based on what they have been through in their life. To me freedom means that people are fighting for their country to have peace and freedom for all who live there. Liberty to me means that people are freed from slavery or given freedom from a situation that has held them captive. The word I have a strong reaction to is slavery because some people in other countries don’t even have freedom they have to work all day and I just wish there was no such thing as slavery because they get treated so badly.
ReplyDelete#13 Jack
I think Langston Hughes is saying what liberty and freedom mean to him. I think liberty and freedom give him joy and happiness because something he knows makes him happy when the words freedom and liberty are said. In the last sentence of his poem he says, 'If you had to know what I know you would know why.' My reaction to freedom is happy because some people aren't free like we are. A word that gives me a happy reaction is fun. when you hear the word fun you thinks something exiting is coming up.
ReplyDelete~Nolan
I think the poet, Langston Hughes is saying what the words, Liberty and Freedom mean to him. In the last sentence, the poem says "If you had known what I know, you would know why". I think Langston is and has experienced these two things, Liberty and Freedom.
ReplyDeleteWords can make people feel those things because of experiencing them or what history they know about the words in there past life. Maybe someone hears the word "joy", they think about happiness and what has happened in there past life that has to do with joy. Also, say a person hears the word "pain", they might think about pain like getting hurt, or pain in there heart such as getting in a fight with a close family member.
My reaction to the word "freedom", is the fact that we live in a free country and that we have freedom in the United States, such as black people are friends with white people. My reaction to the word "liberty", is that we have liberty! We have the right to make our OWN decisions in our life. We can take a stand and we also have the right to defend and protect ourselves. Without liberty, our country, the United States of America, would not be a happy and exciting place to live in or even be in!
One word that has a strong feeling to me is, friendliness. Friendliness has a strong feeling to me because that is what makes this world a better place to be in. Without friendliness, black people would be separated from white people, we wouldn't have a free country unlike other places, and most important of all, the people that love and live in this wonderful country, would not be able to live a happy life. We would have all of those things if we didn't have friendliness. That is why this word is so important to me. Think of all the times you have met someone with friendliness or you have caused friendliness. All of those times when you did that, you have made one more person happy in this world.
Hannah #12
I think what the poet Langston Hughes is communicating is that when he hears the words freedom and liberty, He feels lucky to be free to do and think anything he wants and specially, be himself. And just people who has felt this kind of pleasure can understand what he is talking about.
ReplyDeleteI believe that people can feel joy, pain or sadness when they hear some words because they can have different or opposite feelings about some words. Like the word forgiveness can mean relief, revenge or sadness. Another example can be fortunate. This word can mean money or health. or just feel bad because you can think that life is unfair.
I think the words liberty and freedom make Langston Hughes almost cry it is because he feels happy and he chose to take the good part of his life. (Maybe he had had hard and nice moments, That is why he says "if you had know what I know, you can understand what I'm talking about).
For me, words and emotions can make human beings happy,funny,sad, or even mad. Freedom can make you happy or sad because reminds you about what happened in the colonial time. You may want freedom from an illness, or a bad experience. Live with liberty means a lot for me; feeling good with my life, in a free country in a nice place, loved and confident in myself.
A word that I have a strong reaction is everyday, because sometimes I forget to enjoy what I'm doing on one day and maybe tomorrow I would not have the chance to do it again.
Mariana#19
Langston Hughes is saying how important freedom and liberty are. The last line he says, "If you had known what I know you would know why" sounds like he knows someone that did not have Freedom or Liberty. Words can make people happy or sad because it brings back memories that make them happy or sad. Freedom and Liberty are special to be becuase people in other countries do not have freedom or liberty to vote or say what's on their mind.
ReplyDeleteMy word is strength. I always have to be strong when I think I might get scared. I have to be strong when I play sports, and I have to be strong when I talk to a friend in privacy and stand up for them.
Natalie #23
The poet is trying to tell us about liberty and freedom. Like all people, we want both. But at the end of the poem the poet says "If you had known what I know, you would know why." I think that this sentence means that some people don't have liberty of freedom. For example, in Africa, people still have slaves and servants. In America, some people don't have liberty. There are many places where a lot of people don't have either. Words can make people feel happiness or pain by having a dedicated speech and talking about your childhood if you were an adult. For example, when John McCain gave his speech, he talked about when he was a POW and how all of his cell mates had taken care of him when he needed it. I think that freedom means to be free and not to let everything get in the way of your life. Liberty means to me that you have pride in what you are doing and care for your nation. I think that I can't pick a word, but I pick two. Give up, that has neither freedom or liberty. Because if you give up, and it's something that you like, but you mess up and give up, that's letting something get in the way, and that's not being free. You don't have liberty because you don't have passion in what you're doing and I learned this a little while ago. If you don't have passion for it, then don't do it. You should always have both of those in whatever you do, because if it's sports it doesn't matter how you do, it's the effort that counts.
ReplyDelete#6
The poet is expressing his feelings for the words freedom and liberty through the wonderful art of poetry. I can tell he has strong feelings for both words because of expressive word choices, such as cry and sing. Words can make you feel strong feelings by making you think of similar words and my own personal experiences and knowledge. For example, when I hear freedom, I think of independence and the 1st amendment, which tells you that you have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom to peacefully assemble, and freedom to petition the government for the address of grievances. This makes me feel proud of our government. Liberty makes me feel I have common rights to follow my dreams without fear or interference from the government. I feel strongly about the word (or the words) United States of America. This makes me think of its vast history and its future to come. We have led the world for many generations, and we will lead the world for at least a few more. I believe that America is a wonderful place!
ReplyDeleteR.D. 27
Words Like Freedom
ReplyDeleteBy Langston Hughes
I think that the poet is trying to tell us that even though we, the readers of this poem most likly have freedom and liberty, not all people in the world do. I believe that Langston Hughes must not have had liberty or freedom because he says in the poem "There are words like Liberty, that almost make me cry. If you had known what I know you would know why." I think that he might have been a black slave who really wanted Freedom and Liberty.
In the poem, Langston says that the word Liberty makes him want to cry. I believe that he says that because just the thought of liberty brought a wave of happiness onto him. I think that words can bring emotions to people because of their experiences. Let's say someone saw a slave, so when they hear the word slave they just want to cry. But now let's say that there is a slave trader, so when they hear the word slave they think MONEY!!! So it's all about what your point of view and your experences are.
When I hear the word Freedom, I think of slaves being freed, I think of people being able to just do what they want, people having their own religion. I feel happy when I hear the word Freedom. When I hear the word Liberty, I think of people having their own rights, not being owned by other people, like slaves. I am really happy that we have Liberty and Freedom here in America, because in other places they are not as lucky.
One word that I have a strong reaction to is "love" because here in America, we really take love for granted. We have parents and friends who love us. A long time ago when slavery was still legal, the slaves were treated like animals. Whey were whipped, burned, and even killed if they didn't work hard enough. You probably wouldn't think about love in that kind of situation. Those slaves were not loved by anyone. Maybe if the owners did even one act of love, like giving the slave a day off of work, or giving them a little bed to sleep on, the slave would feel grateful and be stronger after that, knowing that someone in the world cares.
-Lucy
"Words like freedom" by: Langston Hughes. I think the poem is talking about slavery. I think it describes slavery as," making him want to cry" be joy when they here slavery because some people think it wasn't wrong and slaves just did their cause slavery was not fun. People might think of work for them. From the slaves point of view it was described as pain because they worked 16 hours a day and got whipped sometimes. Some people think of slavery as sadness because some people thought it was wrong and it just wasn’t fair. Freedom and liberty are happy words to me and I think he is talking about when the slaves got free liberty. A very strong word to me is slavery. Slavery is a lot of things to me it is bad, unfair, and just cruel. I think that,"words like freedom" is a very touching poem.
ReplyDeletecory #11
I think what Langston Hughes is trying to say is that he's talking about slavery and freedom. He said it made him want to cry because people thought it was okay for people to have slaves and have black people be whipped just because they did something, that didn't even matter, that was wrong. I don't apprecciate that at all. Words like "liberty" can make people cry because it probably brings back bad moments from the past and how it was difficult for them or someone else. My reaction to this poem makes me want to cry too. It wasn't fair and I've learned a lot about them and I can't believe they had to go through that. It was terrible. Another word that I have a strong reaction to is the word pain
ReplyDeletebecause when I hear that it sounds like people are having a bad time or feeling and I want to help but sometimes I can't. If they have a headache, I don't know what to do except give them medicine to help the pain go away. But what if I had no medicine. I hate to see their facial expressions because it makes me feel bad. I think Langston Hughes has a point. I think he also is a very good poet and this is a very touching poem.
~Cameron#9