...Sarah Huber 2/11/2015 English 9 4AC 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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...Americans, in that they were fighting for their rights. During and before this time period, Mr. Langston Hughes wrote several poems about the disparity between race in America. Through vivid imagery, Langston Hughes comments on the nuances of being African American in America in the era of the Civil Rights Movement. In “Theme for English B”, Hughes discusses both the differences and similarities between white and black americans. Hughes paints the reader a great physical and figurative picture of the disparities between the two races by describing the speaker’s college experience. The speaker starts off the poem by highlighting the differences between the white professor, his white classmates, and himself. He says that the speaker is the “only colored student in [his college] class” in a college “on the hill above Harlem”. Harlem is a predominately African American community in New York. It is symbolic that this predominately white college is situated on a hill above the predominately black community of Harlem. Even though the Civil Rights Movement had begun, African Americans still had a long way to go to be able to get up to the “college on the hill” where the white...
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...way is to read Langston Hughes’s works. Hughes writes lots of poetry about pursuing an American Spirit which realizes no discrimination, freedom and equality in the entire American society. Hughes hopes all African American can be respected by entire society. African Americans have relatively equal chances to compete with white people and have similar living condition as whites’ families which at least have a house and a car. The two poems of Hughes’ “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” describe Hughes’ desired American Spirit. In these two poems “ I, Too” and Theme for English B”, Hughes shares his experience as African American who lives under basic living condition, in hopes of encouraging more blacks to fight for equal rights. From the poem “I, too”, Hughes writes “I, too, sing America” (ln.1). As a common American people who learn American history and love American culture, although Hughes ’ancestry is African, he was born and grew up in the Unites States. Hughes also writes “I, too, am America” (ln.18). Although white people and black people have different skin color and background in the United States, they are all American. People can learn some idea about equality from Hughes. Hughes says when guests come to their home, white person can eat at the table but darker brother only can eat in the kitchen in the poem “I, Too”. From the poem “Theme for English B”, Hughes writes “Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me” (li.29). Hughes states that a white...
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...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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...Having been born in 1902, Langston Hughes’ America was struggling to heal the wounds from the Civil War and reconstruction while facing the struggles of racism and desegregation. Hughes’ personal struggles began very early in life with the divorce of his parents. His father relocated to Mexico because he, as a black man, was not allowed to take the Bar Exam in America. His mother was a teacher and political activist who moved frequently with her husband to find work. As a result of financial struggles, Langston was primarily raised by his maternal grandmother after the divorce of his parents. Not understanding why he was not allowed to live with either of his parents was a source of much hurt for him. “These feelings of rejection caused him to grow up very insecure and unsure of himself” (www.kansasheritage.org). Following the death of his grandmother, he lived briefly with his mother and step-father but did not move with them when they relocated again to find work. As a child, his circle of support was often the small group of blacks living in his community. As a young African-America adult, he found a kinship in Harlem, New York’s New Negro Movement (Harlem Renaissance). While the poem “Theme for English B” is not autobiographical, the insecurity Hughes felt as a young man is echoed in the struggle of the poem’s unnamed protagonist to find himself, his truth, while enduring the racism and struggle for social equality that all blacks were struggling with in America...
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...Compare and Contrast Langston Hughes’ ‘Theme for English B’ with Countee Cullen’s ‘Yet Do I Marvel’ The following essay will examine two poems: Langston Hughes’ ‘Theme for English B’ and Countee Cullen’s ‘Yet Do I Marvel’, with particular focus on the poetic conventions used and themes that appear within each poem. Both poems deal with issues related to race, and were both published in 1925 during The Harlem Renaissance, which was a period of growth within Literature for African American writers. Within both poems, there seems to be a questioning of authority, with the instructor in Hughes’ ‘Theme for English B’ and a questioning of God within Cullen’s ‘Yet Do I Marvel’. The speaker, a twenty two year old Black student, begins the poem ‘Theme for English B’ by explaining what he has been instructed to do for his assignment ‘The instructor said, Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page...
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...Knowledge and Individual Power When someone hears the words “Knowledge and Individual Power” what might come to mind is the well-said and overused quote “ Knowledge is Power”. With these different poems is it is important to notice that although they might share a common theme of knowledge gaining and personal and individual empowerment within ones self, they are just that, representations of individuals own power. The three poems I am choosing to make examples of because after reading them they have stood out to me in concern with the topic of Knowledge and Individual Power, are “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes, “Much Madness is Divine Sense” by Emily Dickinson and “Crazy Courage” by Alma Villanueva. These poems all in my opinion convey knowledge that helps can help and can also be essential to growth and a persons individual power. With the same topics or themes being portrayed they are simply just portrayed in different ways. In the poem by Langston Hughes “Theme for English B”, you can discover that personal experience and knowledge are things that people acquire in different ways, for each person and happen sometimes unusually. In this work of writing he makes a point for everyone to know that he is basically the only colored student in his class. He uses the classroom almost like a baseline and uses it to show that they are all separate parts that come together as whole, therefore making these “parts” all equal no matter race, age, size or other characteristics...
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...Theme for English B The path to wisdom is a winding road that often digresses from a sole reliability on schooling, which allows for individuals to be shaped by a vast array of influences, such as social interactions and cultural environments. In his “Theme for English B,” poet Langston Hughes speaks on the ethnical and cultural differences that appear to divide us, while on the contrary these discrepancies are nominal and all of mankind is interconnected through an inseparable bond. While a racial disparity in the classroom creates a sense of remoteness for Hughes initially, he later finds that as humans there is an inalienable connection between all humans. Although individuals may be disjointed due to skin tone or age, these hindrances should not prevent an exchange of knowledge and an incorporation of others into oneself. Hughes utilizes first person in order to immerse the reader into a personal experience where it is effortless for the reader to become absorbed into the environment that the speaker is portraying. Due to Hughes’ ethnicity he is able to provide a unique point of view, which provides a glimpse into the perspective of a young African-American man as he transitions into university in Harlem. The foundational qualities of the speaker that will influence his angle are established through aspects such as “I am the only colored student in my class” and “I’m what I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you”. The most resounding and physical of the previous remarks...
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...Langston Hughes : “Theme for English B” Fatbardha Mamudi English Composition 2 Miraim Klein South University Langston Hughes was raised by his grandmother. He started writing poems at a young age. His grandmother was very passionate about reading and writing and infused Hughes with her passion. Hughes studied at Columbia for a year, but dropped out because of the racism he experienced. He traveled to Africa and Europe. Later, Hughes settled in Harlem, New York in the 1920’s. He joined the literary movement named the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes focused on educating the world about the mistreatment of African Americans from the 1920’s-1960’s. The poem I chose to write my thesis on is “Theme For English B”. “Theme for English B” is the journey of a young student trying to discover who they are at a time when who they were was stripped from them. At the end, through a realization process, they like who they are. The poems speaker is the student. The poem started with a teacher assigning the students an English assignment to write about themselves. The student questions the professor’s assignment. On the contrary, it is easy for the professor to assign the writing assignment about who the students are because the professor knows who he is and he is white. On the other hand, the student doesn’t really know who he or she is because they are black. The writer raises the question of being unsure of who they are. They state things that they concretely know about themselves...
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... ANALYZING AND COMPARING PHILLIS WHEATLEY AND LANGSTON HUGHES February 25, 2012 ANALYZING AND COMPARING PHILLIS WHEATLEY AND LANGSTON HUGHES Abstract: The aim of this text is to analyze two completely different poets (Phillis Wheatley and Langston Hughes) who lived in several times, however who shared constant theme in the analyzed works. Our intention is to indicate how society has not developed when it concerns the position of negroes: either as voters or persons. Through two selected poems and their analyses, it's supposed to indicate how the tones may change, however the theme remains the same. 1. Introduction Many things may inspire somebody to write down – be it poetry or prose. it has been like this since communication established itself, through generations and throughout time the writings have had a very important role. for some folks writing is also solely how to establish communication, as newspapers and magazines. For some others, it's an inner pleasure to share feelings and concepts, like in journals and theories. However, for others it is an instrument for additional definite purposes, like awareness regarding movements or a personal catharsis – Sylvia Plath’s poetry, for example. Therefore, the power of words helped mankind to change the globe. Bearing in mind this concept that literature may renew and reinforce a belief or an idea, the theme of the analysis supposed in this work comparing...
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...roles in the assertion of an independent African American identity. One of the most notable figures in the movement was poet and writer James Mercer Langston Hughes. “Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, and playwright whose African American themes made him a primary contributor to the Harlem Renaissance.” Hughes addressed his poetry to the people, specifically black people. His topics and use of language were familiar to anyone who had the ability to read, not just the elite. His poems usually reflected the idea that while African American culture was very different than that of whites, they were still one people and had many things in common. In his analytical poem “Theme for English B,” Hughes says, “Being me, it will not be white. But it will be a part of you, instructor. You are white— yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That’s American. ” Hughes pushed the idea of a common ground that surpassed the cultural division between blacks and whites. Hughes idea’s were recognized by the public and white Americans slowly began to recognize African Americans as equals. Though Langston Hughes was one of the most influential figures of the Harlem Renaissance, his intentions were never political. “Any benefit a burgeoning black contribution to literature might have in defraying racial prejudice was secondary to, as Langston Hughes put it, the ‘expression of our individual dark-skinned selves.’” Another key influence in the Harlem Renaissance was anthropologist and novelist...
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...As we all know, America is a country that value freedom so much that people can do whatever they like and whatever they want if they doesn’t destroy others’ rights and interests. In this so free and libertarian country, everyone has his or her American dream since everyone’s wants and desires is different. From my personal perspective, the American dream is different from the past to the present, because what people require is diverse. What’s more, the American dream is different from one person to another. So, it depends. Some may want more freedom, some may want more equality and some may want more personal rights. In my opinion, the basis of the American dream was in the dreams and the ideas of those who wanted to immigrate to America and in their though about what the future of America was and what America would be. America is a country full of immigrants where thousands of people immigrated to America in the past. People who desired to immigrate to America had their own thoughts and dreams of what American would become in the future and what their life would be in the future. Was it better than the situation nowadays or even worse? “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I life my lamp beside the golden door!” (Lazarus,online). As we known, there were lots of wars in Europe which resulted in many people not wanting to suffer from tyranny...
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...yMacmillan Study Companions Sharon R. Wilson-Strann POETRY FOR THE CSEC® ENGLISH B EXAMINATION Second edition Prescribed list for 2012–2017 CSEC® is a registered trademark of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) POETRY FOR THE CSEC® ENGLISH B EXAMINATION is an independent publication and has not been authorised, sponsored, or otherwise approved by CXC. CSEC Study Comp Poetry 2nd Ed_2011.indd i 9/6/11 4:31 PM Macmillan Education Between Towns Road, Oxford OX4 3PP A division of Macmillan Publishers Limited Companies and representatives throughout the world www.macmillan-caribbean.com ISBN: 978-0-230-41802-8 Text © Sharon R. Wilson-Strann 2011 Design and illustration © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011 First published 2008 This edition published 2011 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. These materials may contain links for third party websites. We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the contents of such third party websites. Please use care when accessing them. Designed by Mike Brain Graphic Design Ltd Typeset by E Clicks Enterprise, Malaysia Cover design by Clare Webber Cover photo by Jenny Palmer The author and publishers are grateful for permission to reprint the following copyright material: Bloodaxe Books for the poem...
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...Langston Hughes’s Theme for English B and Sherman Alexie’s On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City LTRE 421 July 13, 2016 The subject in Theme for English B a 22-year-old man who is trying to find out exactly who he is. The teacher tells him to go home and write a page tonight; this page should come from himself and be true. The speaker wonders if it is that simple. Is something true simply because it comes out of one person's self? Is truth the same thing for a black youth like him as it is for the white professor? In the poem On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City the author introduces two characters from different walks of life, which are brought together on an Amtrak from Boston to New York. Even though these two characters are on the same Amtrak, their cultural perspectives and differences separate them. The poem also offers commentary on the history of Native Americans versus the history of white Americans. Both of these poems contain historical context relating to race in America. In Theme for English B, wrapped up in the speaker's search for his identity is the idea of his race. He's black, born in the South, but now lives in Harlem. As this man is trying to find out who he is, America is full of racial tension, and hasn't really reached a stable identity itself. He's the only black person in his class, and that includes his instructor. When he sits down to write a page that's supposed to be true, he can't help but feel that, when people aren't equally...
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...you to address your experiences and what you've gained. The reflective essay consists of your individual views on the matter and an explanation of your stance. The goal of this essay is to successfully relay your own beliefs, attitudes and observations. In some reflective essays, you'll be required to support your conclusions by citing materials such as books, journals, articles and other resources. A reflective essay should reflect your own thoughts on the subject matter, not those of others. The poem by Langston Hughes, “Theme for English B”, brought back memories of myself growing up during the times where it was truly a white only and black only world. It was not college that I had to endure the color barriers but it was going to elementary through high school. I went to an all black school until I entered high school. The plot seems to take on a very structured, by providing detailed background information. The plot is clearly connected to the setting as Hughes states “I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem. I went to school there, then Durham, then here to this college on the hill above Harlem.” It sets an indicator of the time period and growth. The setting begins as the student is instructed to “go home and write”, “Then, it will be true.” The setting seems to give indication, of a young college student experiencing the world through a colored man’s eyes. The setting takes you to a time before or during...
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