...The Evolution of Langston Hughes In the 1900s America was constantly evolving. Langston Hughes, an African American poet, wrote poems about civil rights, hope, and the American dream that inspired other African Americans to fight for equality in the 1900s. Hughes wrote during a time period that African Americans were not treated equally. In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was signed creating equality and ending segregation for African Americans. As America changed, Hughes perspective on America and equality evolved affecting his writing. In the beginning of Hughes’s writing career he was critical of America, but was inspiring to the lower class. For example, In “Let America Be America Again”, by Langston Hughes, he states, “There’s never been equality...
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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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...TO YOUNG, GIFTED, & BLACK Lorraine Hansberry Introduction When we think of role models, we think of people we call mom, dad, auntie, uncle, teacher, counselor or it could even be a politician or a celebrity or somebody of that sort, but somehow they become are role models. The dictionaries definition of a role model is a person imitated by others, but my definition of a role model is somebody you admire and look up to, learn from their mistakes, watch as they become successful, you see there downfalls, but there still become your role model. Years ago when I was in 7th grade it was black history month and we were having our annual black history month project. And again I was going to do something simple and just do Martin Luther King Jr., But my teacher assigned me a different black history activist. “Lorraine Hansberry” and I remember saying to myself “Who is Lorraine Hansberry??”… Later on that day when I arrived that day home I told my mom who my black history project was and we enjoyed doing the project with me. I learned so much about her. Not only was she an activist she also was a playwright, and an author. So when I received this...
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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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...The Harlem Renaissance, also known as the New Negro Movement started at the end of World War I, but only began to get recognized around 1924. The Harlem Renaissance was made up of chiefly writers and was considered a phenomenon. This movement started at a time when racism was still at large. African Americans had to deal with the KKK and other racial prejudices in society. The Harlem Renaissance was significant because it was the first time African Americans expressed their views on racism and their self-love for one another, using lyrical styles that was never seen before in African American writing. Two of the most prominent poets of the time were Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes. The Harlem Renaissance happened fifty seven years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Previously, African Americans didn’t have much education or a chance to make their mark in the literary world. They didn’t have much of a chance because they were still looked upon as inferior. They were also thought not to have a distinct cultural heritage. The United States got involved in World War I in the year 1917. At that time, race riots were happening and lynchings were frequent. After World War I ended in 1918, African Americans started coming to the North hoping to escape the racist treatment in the South. Unfortunately, life in the North wasn’t that much greater. In the South, more and more race riots occurred and many black people were beaten and killed-- this was known as “Red Summer” (Anderson...
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...Salvation", Langston Hughes Langston Hughes paints a picture of himself as a little boy whose decisions at a church revival directly reflect mans own instinctive behavioral tendencies for obedience. A young Langston whose congregation wants him to go up and get saved, gives into obedience and ventures to the altar as if he has seen the light of the Holy Spirit. Hughes goes on to say: " So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I'd rather lie, too, and say that Jesus had come ,and get up and be saved ." In saying this, Langston has obviously overlooked his personal belief to meet the level of obedience laid out by the congregation. It leads us to fact that people may believe strongly in an idea or thought but will overlook that belief to be obedient. One can make a justified assumption that everyone in society has at one time or another overlooked his or her personal feelings to conform this occurrence whether it is instinctive or judgmental is one that each individual deals with a personal level. He was a young boy who wanted to see Jesus, who wanted to earn salvation, but when he couldn't see Jesus, when everyone else saw,he found himself in the terrible position of disappointing not only himself but everyone in his community.He finally "saved" himself by pretending to see Jesus . He was saved not by love of Jesus as a congregation or preacher intended but by pretending to be other that who he was. One wanders what would have happened if he didn't stepped forward...
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...“…Although the play takes place within the Black community, the themes of alcoholism, parental abuse, and self abuse are universal themes and that is the author’s intent— to show universality. -Dael Orlandersmith, Playwright of “Yellowman” In Mikell Pinkney’s On the Historical Development of African American Dramatic Theory; or, The Roots of Black Theatre Aesthetics, the reader is introduced to the dramaturgical criteria for “serious” African American theatre which is that it is: about us, by us, for us, and near us. These four tenants were introduced by W.E.B. Dubois and used to assess dramatic pageants of his time and have steadily been used as a basis for African American modern text. Dael Orlandersmith’s Yellowman, a two person play which investigates the corrosive prejudices within the Black community, lends itself to universal understanding of Black Americans who are conscious of their African existence before they were deemed African-Americans. Through Orlandersmith’s expressive telling of the South Carolina Gullah/Geechie culture, the play adheres to W.E.B DuBois criteria of African American drama while also offering the viewer a full understanding of prejudices understood universally no matter their race or creed. According to Pinkney, “From the earliest portrayals of Blacks in American theatre (ca. late 18th Century) through the development and institutionalization of the minstrel show (ca. early 20th Century), the Negro image was given little if any...
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...as prominent figures—Langston Hughes ( The most prolific writer of the Harlem Renaissance. He casted off the influences of white poets and wrote with the rhythmic meter of blues and jazz), Claude McKay (urged African Americans to stand up for their rights in his powerful verses),Billie Holiday (Billie Holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time. She had a thriving career for many years before she lost her battle with addiction), and Jean Toomer wrote plays and short stories, as well as poems, to capture the spirit of his times), to name a few—pushed art to its limit as a form of expression and representation. These are some of the famous African Americans who shaped the influential movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. During this period Harlem was a cultural center, drawing black writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars. In November 1924, Langston Hughes returned to the United States and worked various jobs. In 1925, he was working as a busboy in a Washington, D.C. hotel restaurant when he met American poet Vachel Lindsay. Hughes showed some of his poems to Lindsay, who was impressed enough to use his connections to promote Hughes’s poetry and ultimately bring it to a wider audience. In 1925, Hughes’s poem “The Weary Blues” won first prize in the Opportunity magazine literary competition, and Hughes also received a scholarship to attend Lincoln University, in Pennsylvania. While studying at Lincoln, Hughes poetry came to the attention...
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...Fall 2013 Biographical Research Essay Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri. He was the second child of Caroline Langston and James Hughes. After his parents' divorce his father left the country for Mexico and then Cuba to escape the racism of American society. After his divorce his mother traveled looking for work leaving Langston to be raised by his Grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas. Langston Hughes later lived with his mother again along with his new step-father in Cleveland, Ohio where he attended high school. In high school Hughes was elected to be the class poet. he felt that he was only chosen because he was African-American. "I was the victim of a stereotype. there were only two of us negro kids in the whole class and our English teacher was always stressing the importance of rhythm in poetry well, everyone knows, except us, that all negroes have rhythm, so they elected me as class poet." Hughes grew up and lived in an extremely racist time. he came from a long line of ant-slavery and also very politically active people on his mother's side. Hughes also had his own opinions on politics. like many black writers and artists of this time Hughes was drawn to the idea of communism rather than segregated America and lots of his work reflected that. his poetry was often published in the CPUSA newspaper. he was involved in many communist led organizations though was more of a sympathizer than an active participant. Hughes was accused by many of being a communist on...
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...Orchestrated by Langston Hughes, “Harlem” refers to dreams that have been put on hold or when their dreams fail to become reality. “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore and then run?” The Younger family have the dream of transcending the “American Dream.” They continually need to water and nurture their dream lest it dries up and shrivels up like “A Raisin in the Sun.” Through the manipulation of dialogue, argument and cynicism, Lorraine Hansberry fluently describes the drams of the Younger family and how their dreams became “deferred.” Initially by way of example, Mama’s dreams were the first deferred when she moved into the cramped apartment complex, becoming too busy having to deal with the constant bickering of Walter and his sister and trying to think of a proper environment of Ruth’s unborn child. that she couldn’t accomplish her dream and not being able to have sufficient funds to do so it seems as if her dreams where shattered the most by the death of her husband. However, once receiving the insurance money from her husband’s death her dreams became reality again. Finally Travis will be able to run around in a garden and have his own room but can’t fulfill that since they lived in the ghetto. Likewise, Beneatha, Walter’s sister had aspired to become a doctor but in those times women of color weren’t considered of obtaining such high positions to where the usual standpoint is becoming a nurse. Hansberry’s use...
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...Mrs. Doody English 113 November 11, 2011 The Harlem Renaissance changed America in many ways. It is a time where African-American culture was able to express themselves through different ways in the arts. The Harlem Renaissance took place during the 1920's and 1930's. Langston Hughes is one many great writers that came about during this time. Hughes poetry was a reflection of the African-American culture and Harlem. He spoke about the struggles that he and other African-Americans faced everyday. In a time when America was still known for being “separate but equal” Langston hughes poem “Ballad of the Landlord” shows the treatment and struggle African-Americans faces through the voices of The tenant, landlord then police and the newspaper. “Ballad of the Landlord” is a rhythmic poem written by one of the pioneers of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes. The poem is about a frustrated African-American tenant who lives in a Harlem apartment which is owned by an Caucasian landlord. The reason the African-American tenant is upset, is because he is lives and paying rent in an apartment that is slowly breaking down. He seeks to his landlord to fix his the issues in his apartment but they are ignored. The tenant becomes further frustrated when his landlord claims that he owes 10 dollars in rent. When he refuses to pay the balance until the apartment is repaired, the landlord threatens to evict him. The tenant who is already upset, threatens physical violence, which the landlord...
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...This is significant to the theme of “Harlem,” reinforcing the readers to make bold choices regarding their dreams. Hughes does this first by asking the readers, “What happens to a dream deferred?” (915). This allows the pondering of what dreams one may have and whether or not those aspirations have been postponed or achieved; it leaves the question of why this choice was selected for that specific goal. Hughes continues by saying, “Does it dry up,” further investigating the state of the dream and how it has been handled while adjourned. This is connected to a dried up raisin and is a cue that deferred dreams are often forgotten and ended. Is this by choice or by force? The quote “Or fest like a sore – and then run?” discusses how delayed dreams are managed over time (Hughes 915). The “sore” is the shelving of the ambition and the “run” is the choice made to further extinguish the lost hope. Most of these elapse and continue to fade, a hope lost forever. Hughes continues to question the choices surrounding these dreams to ignite a passion and form of resilience to push forth towards...
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...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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