Dinner Guest: Me
Dinner Guest: Me - meaning Summary
Racial Objectification at Dinner
Langston Hughes' poem presents a Black speaker satirically aware that he has been reduced to "The Negro Problem" at a white dinner party. Guests ask polite, probing questions while expressing shame and enjoying luxury. The speaker occupies center stage and is alternately flattered and objectified. The poem exposes racial curiosity and complacency: social niceties and fine dining mask avoidance of real solutions to systemic injustice, which are left for later.
Read Complete AnalysesI know I am The Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Answering the usual questions That come to white mind Which seeks demurely To Probe in polite way The why and wherewithal Of darkness U.S.A.-- Wondering how things got this way In current democratic night, Murmuring gently Over fraises du bois, "I'm so ashamed of being white." The lobster is delicious, The wine divine, And center of attention At the damask table, mine. To be a Problem on Park Avenue at eight Is not so bad. Solutions to the Problem, Of course, wait.
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