In Langston Hughes short story, “Why You Reckon?”, Hughes demonstrates how money cannot buy happiness with the plot outline and the characteristics he has given his characters. In this short story, a group of men kidnap a wealthy person. They refer to him as “white boy,” and threaten him as they try to rob him. The story takes place at night in Harlem in the 1930's. Harlem was a predominantly African-American community in the 1930's. Racism was still a big thing, as was segregation, and African-Americans were considered inferior to whites. Because of the Depression, African-Americans in Harlem were hit harder than whites. The story occurs at night, which night is a symbol for dark behavior, or evil action. The setting is mostly shown through description and context. A few streets and places within Harlem are also mentioned, like 133rd Street, Lenox Street, and Dixie Bar, but there is no other physical description of Harlem. …show more content…
As “white boy” is getting himself back together, he tells the kidnapper that stayed that “this is the most fun he had in harlem.” (Hughes, pg. 218) The kidnapper states back “if I had your money, I’d be always having a good time.” (Hughes, pg. 219)
As both of the characters are talking, “white boy” tells one of his kidnappers how the town they live in, Harlem, actually is. The rich man says “everything else has been fake, a show. You know, something that you pay for. But this was real.” (Hughes, pg. 218) When “white boy” said that it showed that he could never be entertained.
As “white boy is walking out of the area, the kidnapper stopped him and tells him he is crazy that he he doesn’t like being wealthy. The rich man tells the kidnapper that he wouldn’t be happy being wealthy. He says this because he believes that money does not bring