...One of the themes in the works of Langston Hughes is inclusiveness. Inclusiveness is defined as including all parts of society and treating individuals fairly. Hughes started writing during the Harlem Renaissance, which was a new African American movement during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Hughes focused on modern, urban African American lifestyles and ultimately wanted fairness. During the Harlem Renaissance, most writers got inspiration from music and theatre. Some events that happened during this time would include African Americans being honored for their literary works which increasingly made this phase of literature. In result we have Hughes work. Inclusiveness is one of the themes throughout Hughes work, but specifically “I, too”, “Democracy”, and “Theme for English B” stand out strongly for describing how fairness and being included was a huge priority for African American’s during this time. In the poem, I, Too, Hughes portrays the idea of every race being equal. From the poem, Hughes says, “…they send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes…” (3-4), meaning that the African Americans were excluded from the guests of the house because they were not equal. Hughes portrays power and...
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...Negro poet” (Hughes 348). In his essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” Langston Hughes covers many important points but his hook is one to mention. This hook focuses a lot on the main issue of the essay itself. The issue is that the negro poets want to write like the white poets implying that colored artists want to be white. This then leads to the fact that the white audiences turned to the artists of color and saw them as stereotypical entertainment mainly because these black artists were afraid of being themselves. Langston Hughes’s poem, “The Weary Blues” engages with themes of the Harlem Renaissance and the content of the poem expresses various issues Hughes discussed in “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.” The poem, “The Weary Blues” is a powerful poem because it highlights the cultural traditions of the African American descent during a time of the Harlem Renaissance. The audience is able to...
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...ENGLISH B” by Langston Hughes Theme for English B was written by Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes has inspired the hearts and paved the way for many African American poets. James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet and playwright whose African American themes made him a primary contributor to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.The Harlem Renaissance was the name given to the cultural, social, artistic explosion which took place in Harlem between the end of World War 1 and the middle of the 1930s. Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He passed away in New York City on May 22, 1967 at the age of 65. Langston Hughes was a notorious American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. Langston Hughes was best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. Most of Hughes best work was written during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. His poetry made a huge contribution to the African American culture and the entire world. As I begin to ponder about ‘’Theme for English B’’ (an assignment given by Hughes’ Professor for students to write a paper), I try to imagine how things were back then. The poem starts off referencing a 22 year old colored man who is making his way towards the Harlem Branch Y, where he begins to write an essay. This poem, “Theme for English B” allows Langston Hughes to tackle the biggest issues on his world during this period of time; a world where black people were subjected to a constant and huge amount of discrimination...
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...Tekela Genous October 28, 2009 ENG 435 Langston Hughes “Mother to Son” is written entirely from a weary mother’s point-of-view and presents inspiration, themes, and imagery concerning the appearance and the reality of the poem. Every mother wants to see her child be successful in life through the hardships and the good times. The poem was written from a mother to her young son demonstrating the love and concern a mother has for her son and educating him on how life may be. The overall message is to never give up, although life is hard, one can never give up no matter what your struggles are, keep pushing forward. This poem implies that experience can teach life lessons, which the mother has been through time after time. She explains to her son in a well spoken way that things may go wrong, don’t get content, move forward and never give up. This poem reminds me of a novel named Push, written by Sapphire in 1996, it illustrates the conditions of living in Harlem in the 1980’s and the suffering of a girl, Claireece Precious Jones, who experienced sexual harassment, being committed twice by her own father, having two children by him, but never giving up. The first couple of stanzas show that the son may have asked his mother a question, because she starts with, "Well, son, I'll tell you." The mother then goes on and uses the metaphor “Life for me ain't been no crystal stair,” which can symbolize her spiritual pursue towards Christ or telling her son that life is...
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...We all woke up knowing our lives would change forever. Prior to my anticipated move-in day, my mom and I were shopping for the items I’d need while I’d be living in the Centennial dorms of Langston University. My dad on the other hand was just there for moral support and many encouraging words. The bright, shining smiles my parents had on their faces, like a ray of sunshine, made me feel good about how far I had come. Now I also have an outspoken, goofy, and enormously tall younger brother who tried to act like he didn’t care I was leaving, but in actuality, he would really be the main one missing me. The love I have and the love my family shares for one another is so great, so real and sincere. There is honestly nothing or no one that could ever take their place. We all have been through crazy trials and tribulations together, family has always been that one consistent thing in my life that I could always rely on. The thing about family is that you don’t have to go through anything lone, but together, as a unit. August 13th, was my move in date and I can never forget it, the way one remembers a loved one’s smile. Before we could get on the road and travel to the small, country town of Langston, my family and I started to hurriedly load my dad’s big Tahoe. At first, the car seemed like a huge military truck with sharp teeth in front instead of headlights, but that’s maybe because I was extremely anxious. It only took three “fun” trips back and forth for his car to be filled like...
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...Literary Analysis Langston Hughes’ poem “Theme for English B” urges an individual to consider that African Americans and White people are not as different as they have been claimed to be in the past. Hughes poem uses punctuation and repetition to emphasize the theme everyone is alike no matter the skin color. Langston Hughes uses the literary element of repetition it is used to draw emphasis to statements about the theme. The theme equality is made evident in line twenty-one which states “Well I eat, sleep, drink and be in love”. This quote illustrates the theme of equality because all Americans no matter the color of their skin can relate to this quote. All African Americans and Caucasian Americans can say that they eat, they drink, and they feel love. Those facts are not only applicable to Caucasian...
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...Blacks were highly oppressed in the South for a long period of time. Then during the 1920s they finally left it to find a place where they could express themselves, this is what was called the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a change in the way American blacks saw their race. It was a huge reinforcement of their cultural pride. They were finally able to rejoice and freely show their talents. This was an epic eruption in the culture, society, and art of black americans. Many intelligent successful authors were found during the Harlem Renaissance, among these writers were Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman, and Zora Neal Hurston. The harlem renaissance brought along many changes in how whites viewed blacks. The image of a stereotypical...
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...The Harlem Renaissance was created in the early 1920’s when a large number of blacks started migrating to the north. It was also a period of time where African American authors, artists, poets, and musicians were giving new ideas on how to live a better life. People like Louis Armstrong , Langston Hughes, Bessie Smith, W.E.B. Dubois, and Countee Cullen was apart of this movement because they wanted their voices to be heard and they also wanted to make a change for today’s society. They were the voice of not only the youth but also for the black African Americans born during this time. The Harlem Renaissance began after the first World War and lasted into the early years of the Great Migration up to the Great Depression in the early 1930’s. It soon came to be known as the great migration and it last for...
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...The Harlem Renaissance was a time for expressing the African-American culture and had a significant impact. Several famous people gained recognition during the 1920s and 1930s. Many things came about, things such as jazz and blues, poetry, dance, and musical theater becoming the next thing for African-Americans lives. Moreover, white people came to discover this newest art, dancing, music, and literature. The Great Migration of African-American people from the rural South to the North, and many into Harlem was the cause of this huge event. It became one of the largest African- American communities in the United States becoming the center for art and literature. Most Famous person involved in the Harlem Renaissance and an influential leader...
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...The American Dream is not something that can be defined with possessions or lifestyle. The American Dream is part of a mindset that every single person in the world strives to achieve. However, all people have an individual dream that is their end goal that may manifest in cars, boats, houses, spouses, etc. In literary works throughout history the presence of the dream is displayed through a variety of different topics, ideas, and storylines, but all are based on the mindset of achieving it. The American Dream is a generalized term for every person’s goal in life and will not go away until it is reached. It is prominently portrayed in various modernist time period novels and poems. The modernist movement was a time of disillusionment, partying, and a desire to get back to the way things were. It was the roaring twenties and the economy was thriving. This time period was one of the most significant in American History and The American Dream was heavily prominent during this time period, shaping the way others view the dream for years to come. The Great Gatsby, a modernist novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald perfectly displays the modernist’s American Dream. Jay Gatsby, the billionaire playboy with everything money could buy was still trying to achieve his American Dream. It wasn’t a house or a car, it was a girl. In the beginning of the novel the main character Nick observes Gatsby out on the dock. “I could have sworn he was trembling...distinguished nothing except a single green light...
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...University, claims that the Harlem Renaissance began in 1919 and lasted until the mid-1930’s. (Wintz) It began when many socially conscious and intellectual African Americans moved from the economically depressed south to the industrial cities of the north to take advantage of the employment opportunities that had risen because of World War I. As more and more socially conscious and educated blacks moved to Harlem, it started to become the cultural center for black people in America. The Harlem Renaissance had a huge impact on African American literature. Most blacks during that time period had a sense of wanting to take part in a common goal in giving artistic expression to the experiences that African Americans had been through. Black writers told the facts of black Americans. If it were not for brilliant black writers such as Claude McKay, Jean Toomer, and Jessie Faucet, the rest of America would probably not be as open to African American literature as they are today. If Langston Hughes and Paul...
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...What is one to do when one’s dream is deferred? How does one cope and move on with the several emotions that have been built because of this delay? In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, many characters’ dreams are deferred. From Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor to Walter’s dream of opening his own liquor store, dreams in the Younger family are genuinely abundant. A Raisin in the Sun portrays the life of the Younger’s, an African-American family living on the South Side of Chicago in the setting of sometime between WWII to the 1950s. As the play opens, Mama is expecting an insurance check of $10,000 that comes from the deceased Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy. Each of the adult members of the family has their own ideas as to how to what he or she would like to do with this money; Mama wants to buy a house to fulfill a dream she shared with Walter Sr. while Walter, Mama’s son, would rather use the money to invest in a liquor store. And, Ruth, Walter’s wife, agrees with Mama and hopes that she and Walter will be able to provide a better lifestyle for their son Travis. Finally, Beneatha, Mama’s daughter thus Walter’s sister, wants to use the money for her academics. As the play progresses, the Younger’s clash over their competing dreams. Ruth soon discovers that she is pregnant and considers abortion as an option to keep their lifestyle from getting “harder” than it already is. When Walter finds out about Ruth’s pregnancy and abortion option, but...
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...Birth of a Civilization An analysis of “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes 5/26/2008 American Literature 2328-8448 Deah N. Mitchell The violation of the African civilization that is known as slavery is defined as “a submission to a dominating influence” by Merriam-Webster. There are many accounts of this practice, and many more attempts to rectify its toll on African-Americans and its long-standing consequences. One such effort is the rhythmical reflection of ancestry through artistry- specifically poetry. During the Harlem Renaissance era several African American writers emerged. One of the most prominent and successful authors was James Mercer Langston Hughes. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” was written by Hughes at the tender age of 19. This poem is reflective of four central topics: African-American ancestry, racial pride, slavery and spirituality. The most obvious use of literary art, symbolism, plays a tremendous role in this poem and is effortlessly laced throughout the seams of this intricate ode. “I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.” According to the most widely accepted theories on the origins of man, homo sapiens’ appear to have originated in Great Rift Valley in Africa. Above the “rivers” can be interpreted as ancient African ancestry. The writer knows from handed down accounts the story of his people’s lineage. If Africa is home to all of our births then...
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...The American track record of its treatment to African Americans is saturated discrimination and segregation. To fight against the separate but equal reality African Americans, chose different ways to protest against that reality. It was through the different forms of writings that some educated and distinguished African American writers tried to portray the notion of double consciousness. Double consciousness is a term created by famous Harlem Renaissance writer W.E.B DuBois. The term double consciousness defines the action of African Americans to not only view themselves from their own unique perspective, but to also view themselves as they might be perceived by others ( in this case white people). Harlem Renaissance period provided the African American writers with the opportunity to expose the majority to double consciousness. It allowed the Caucasians to see the internal conflict of keeping with one’s heritage but wanting to make it in America under “white” standards. W.E.B Du Bois first citied double consciousness in The Souls of Black Folk and his writings signify “how a veil has come to be put over African-Americans, so that others do not see them as they are; African-Americans are obscured in America; they cannot be seen clearly, but only through the lens of race prejudice. Till this very day many African-Americans feel “unwanted” in America. I think back to a news video I saw about a black man named Earl Sampson that was arrested fifty six times and stopped and...
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...Josh Nicholas Professor Graham English 1301 8:00-9:30 September 12, 2013 “Salvation” by Langston Hughes No one person is without sin. Everyone has done wrong, and nobody is perfect. A lot of people seek salvation and forgiveness for what they have done in their life. The definition of salvation is the deliverance of sin and its consequences brought by faith in Christ. Of the many people that seek salvation, some may not find what they are looking for. In “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, the main character has lied to and deceived most of his church members about being salvaged, or in other words, saved, and he should be supported for his actions. The author of “Salvation” is Langston Hughes, and he is also the main character himself. Hughes was born in Joplin Missouri on February 1, 1902. Soon after his birth, his parents split and his mother moved around, so Hughes was mainly raised by his maternal grandmother. After moving to several different cities, he eventually settled in Cleveland which is where he began to write poetry. Poetry was not the only type of writing that Hughes partook in. He wrote novels and short stories along with his poetry. In the short story “Salvation” Langston is a twelve year old boy going on thirteen attending a revival at his Auntie Reeds church. Towards the end of the revival, all of the “sinner children” were brought upon the mourners’ bench. The reason for this? To find Jesus and to let him into the children’s lives. One by one the children...
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