Langston Hughes Essay

Langston Hughes: A Harlem Renaissance Poet

Langston Hughes, a Harlem Renaissance poet, grew up in a time of discrimination. He battled people telling him that he couldn't make it as an author. He could not keep a job because he was black, and he wasn't allowed to go certain places, but despite everything he became an influential poet. Hughes uses these struggles in his life to write poetry and show the life of a black person during the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes had a difficult childhood because he was constantly moving and his family had financial difficulties. Hughes' parents separated, because his father wanted to move to Cuba to be a profitable lawyer. Langston and his mother,Carrie, moved to Mexico to reunite with his dad and make their marriage work. They eventually returned back to the United States without his father. They lived in downtown Topeka, Kansas. The school Langston wanted to go to wanted to send him to a colored school. His mother fought for him to go to the school because it was their rights of a free person. Later, when speaking about this experience, Hughes said, "They wanted to send me to a colored school, blocks away down across the railroad tracks. ... But my mother, who was always ready to do battle for the rights of a free people, went directly to the school board, and finally got me...show more content... He wanted to leave early in the summer because his father was never home, because he was always traveling for his job. Langston only stayed because his father told him if he came he would pay for his education. Langston's father, James, wanted him to go to a foreign school to get a better education but he didn't want to. The reason he wanted to go to college in New York was because of Harlem For the rest of the summer James refused to pay for his college in the United States. He wanted to experience the culture of black people in Harlem, New York, so he could write better poetry and talk about their

Get more content

Passing By Langston Hughes

L. Hughes' short story 'Passing' is driven by the conflict between the morals of having to behave like a white man and being African American by birth. The main character has a conflicting identity. 'William Faulkner reminds us that in addition to a conflict of wills, fiction also shows "the heart in conflict with itself"' (Burroway, J. 2011 pg. 249). This is particularly evident when the narrator, Jack says, 'that's the kind of thing that makes passing hard, having to deny your own family when you see them...you and I both realise it is all for the best, but anyhow it's terrible' (Hughes 1971 pg. 51). The main character is seen to although understand the privilege he has, also feel guilty about ignoring who he is by birth. David Lodge describes '...The beginning of a novel is a threshold, separating the real world we inhabit from the world the novelist has imagined. It should therefore... "Draw...show more content...

The 'threshold' for this narrative begins as the story opens, as there is evident tension between the husband and wife. The narrator (wife) has short, stilted dialogue whilst the husband is constantly defensive of his actions although still indifferent to the event. It is this opening tension, which engages the reader as they are drawn into wanting to know what the issue is and this sets up how the rest of the story continues. The narrator learns of a new side to her husband, which leaves her wondering if he has dark side. '..."She was dead," he says, "And I'm as sorry as anyone...But she was dead."...I rake my arm across the drain board and send the dishes to the floor. He doesn't move' (Carver, R. 1989 pg. 80). The reader can clearly see the narrative conflict as being the shocking revelation to the narrator of how detached her husband can

Get more content

Langston Hughes was a large influence on the African–American population of America. Some of the ways he did this was how his poetry influenced Martin Luther King Jr. and the Harlem Renaissance. These caused the civil rights movement that resulted in African–Americans getting the rights that they deserved in the United States. Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was young and his grandmother raised him. She got him into literature and education; she was one of the most important influences on him. He moved around a lot when he was young, due to his parents divorce, but remained a good student and graduated high school. After this he traveled the world and worked in different places, all the things he...show more content...

All of these things, subject matter, themes, style, literary devices, and influences play into the way that Hughes writes his poetry and they can all be seen in the poem "Dream Variations". That is why the poem is typical of Hughes' writing. The poem is very typical of Hughes' subject matter and themes. This is because he usually writes about racial subjects such as equality and the average life of an African–American. Going so far as to say that most of his poems are racial in theme and treatment, derived from the life that he knows ("An Introduction to Langston Hughes."). This poem does have the racial topic of equality for a couple of reasons. To begin with, the speaker talks about how people should see the world and the other people in it. Key word, should, because he then goes onto say, "That is my dream!" (Hughes l. 9). This is one reason why "Dream Variations" has a theme centered on how everyone wants to be treated equally. Because the speaker talks about how he wishes he was treated by the world. Along with the theme of equality the poem's subject is the life of an average African–American. This is because he speaks of how he wants to dance "Dance! Whirl! Whirl! Till the white day is done" (Hughes ll. 12–13). Yet he cannot because he has to work, and he tries to make his work seem like dancing but he is still very tired at the end of the day. This shows the average life of an African–American because they had to work very hard in the early

Get more content

Langston Hughes was one of the first black men to express the spirit of blues and jazz into words. An African American Hughes became a well known poet, novelist, journalist, and playwright. Because his father emigrated to Mexico and his mother was often away, Hughes was brought up in Lawrence, Kansas, by his grandmother Mary Langston. Her second husband (Hughes's grandfather) was a fierce abolitionist. She helped Hughes to see the cause of social justice. As a lonely child Hughes turned to reading and writing, publishing his first poems while in high school in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1921 he entered Columbia University, but left after an unhappy year. Even as he worked as a delivery man, a messmate on...show more content... Hughes bought a house in Harlem, where he spent the rest of his life. Hughes still feared for the future of urban blacks. His point of view became immense and included another book of poetry, almost a dozen children's books, several opera libretti, four books translated from French and Spanish, two collections of stories, another novel, a history of the NAACP and another volume of autobiography, I Wonder As I Wander (1956). He also continued his work in the theater, pioneering in the gospel musical play.Blues began in the south and slowly made its way into the great cities of the North. As the great migration began people took what they knew in south to the north. This included music.Langston Hughes living in Harlem was caught up in the new rhythm of music and based many of his poems on it. As a boy he remembers hearing the blues perfomed in Kansas City.

"Hughes was fascinated with black music, tried his hand at writing lyrics, and was taken with the possibilities of performing music and poetry together" 4 "Besides having both a love of this music and the common black folk it was created by and for, one of the reasons that Hughes began to draw on the blues tradition for writing his poetry is that he hoped to capitalize on the blues craze." 5Though the markets for music and poetry were quite different, he thought he could

Get more content

Langston Hughes

Hughes' famous poem, I, Too, was written in the mid 1920's. Similar to most African Americans pioneers in this era, he felt strongly about "racial segregation," (Ilieva and Lennox 1) or racial inequality and used his writings to voice his opinion on the issue. In I, Too, Hughes states that he is the "darker brother" (713) of America, meaning that he is a member of theAfrican Americancommunity. At this particular time, racial inequality was a common issue for African Americans. Jim Crow laws were in effect to keep African Americans from receiving equal treatment as White Americans. Further evaluating stanza two from I, Too, Hughes says "They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes" (713) showing a time of racial inequality. Along

Get more content

An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he must choose." Freedom of creative expression, whether personal or collective, is one of the many legacies of Hughes, who has been called "the architect" of the black poetic tradition. He is certainly one of the world's most universally beloved poets, read by children and teachers, scholars and poets, musicians and historians. Langston Hughes became the voice of black America in the 1920s, when his first published poems brought him more than moderate success. Throughout his lifetime, his work encompassed both popular lyrical poems, and more controversial political work, especially during the thirties. He expressed a direct and sometimes...show more content...

Second, Langston Hughes advises the reader to hold onto dreams, "Dreams" is an extremely short poem written in free verse. It is two stanzas long, and the content dictates the form. Hughes instructs his readers to hold on tightly to their dreams because without them, life is a "broken–winged bird that cannot fly." The broken down bird is a physical symbol of the discrimination and struggles that African Americans faced during Hughes 's time. Dreams, however, have no physical limitations. A person dreams are important for maintaining faith as they provide comfort, solace, and hope in a brutal world. The poem "Dream" is written in a simple, spare style, using primarily verbs, adjectives and monosyllabic words, which are one syllable words The rhythmic patterns of the lines follow more of a musical movement, occupying regular number of beats, that a strictly accentual syllabic pattern. The repetitive vocabulary and repeated themes almost remind the reader of nursery rhymes or early spirituals rather than the aim to break the classical and traditional forms. In "Dreams," though, Hughes implies that even if one 's dreams do not come true, a life without hope is truly sad. Next, the poem "Harlem", sometimes called "A Dream Deferred," explores the consequences of allowing a dream to go unfulfilled. It is a lyric poem with irregular rhyme and an irregular metrical pattern that talks about the white oppression Get more content

Langston Hughes : A Modernist

Michael Davis

AP English Literature and Composition

Mrs. Sappington

13 Apr. 2017

Langston Hughes: A Modernist Credited as being the most recognizable figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes played a vital role in the Modernist literary movement and the movement to revitalize African Americanculture in the early 20th century. Hughes's poems reflect his personal struggle and the collective struggle of African Americans during this cultural revival.Langston Hughes's life contained key influences on his work. As a child, Hughes witnessed a divorce between his parents and the subsequent death of his grandmother, his primary caretaker at the time. Hughes's childhood was also marked by the constant transition of moving from city to...show more content...

The Harlem Renaissance sought to revitalize African American culture with a focus on arts and literature and creating socioeconomic opportunities (Harlem Renaissance). This temporal setting, predominantly the influence of the Harlem Renaissance, of Hughes's life explains the purpose of Hughes's writing: to express the oppression of African Americans and the imperfections of Hughes's America and to heighten African American morale during his life through his writing. In "Let America be America Again," Hughes reflects on the current discrepancy between the promises of justice and equality in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and the current situation that Hughes faces. Anaphorically using the phrase "I am," Hughes mentions the different types of people, including poor whites, Native Americans, and immigrants, that share the same struggle that African Americans face regarding the pursuit of equality and the American Dream. Emphasizing his ideal America with a caesura pause, Hughes writes, "and yet must be the land where every man is free." This line encapsulates Hughe's desire for a America that includes African Americans and other minorities and finally upholding the nation's promise that all Americans were created equal. Hughes also realizes that his ideal America will still require Get more content

The well known poet Langston Hughes was an inspiring character during the Harlem Renaissance to provide a push for the black communities to fight for the rights they deserved. Hughes wrote his poetry to deliver important messages and provide support to the movements. When he was at a young age a teacher introduced him to poets Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, and they inspired him to start his own. Being a "darker brother," as he called blacks, he experienced and wanted his rights, and that inspired him. Although literary critics felt that Langston Hughes portrayed an unattractive view of black life, the poems demonstrate reality. Hughes used the Blues and Jazz to add effect to his work as well as his extravagant word use and literary...show more content...

He signed up to be a steward for cargo ships which would take him to Africa and Spain. Then in 1924 he went to live in Paris where he continued his works. A bit after he got back to America he met poet Vachel Lindsay. After meeting Lindsay, Hughes career as a poet truly took off because when Hughes showed Lindsay his work he was intrigued greatly. Vachel massively broadened Hughes audiences, and in this event his work displayed his purpose to fight segregation and show the ugliness of black life widely.

One of Hughes most famous poems, "Harlem(Dream Deferred)" had a great impact by posing lots of questioning. According to critic Tom Hanson, this poem is just that simple because it gives a bunch of undesirable answers to the same question, "What happens to a dream deferred?" Hanson also says how this poem refers almost completely to an unsolved problem (Hanson, Harlem). The poem gives four rather unpleasant interrogatives and one declarative answer followed by the sixth possibility, "Or does it explode?" which is supposed to be a question to make a reader really think. There are several ways to interpret the meaning of the final line, and the most sensible explanation is, the African American community is "deferring dreams" and in doing so their dreams explode in terms of the chance to act is gone. Some may say Hughes presented an unattractive view

Get more content

Langston Hughes' Salvation

In most people's lives, there comes a point in time where their perception changes abruptly; a single moment in their life when they come to a sudden realization. In Langston Hughes' 'Salvation', contrary to all expectations, a young Hughes is not saved by Jesus, but is saved from his own innocence.

'Salvation' is the story of a young boy who has an experience of revelation. While attending a church revival, he comes to the sudden realization that Jesus will not physically come save him.

In the first three sentences of the essay, thespeaker adopts a very childlike style. He makes use of simple words and keeps the sentences short, similar in style to that of an early aged teenager. But since the text...show more content...

(182) praying at the church, or hear the sound of ?mighty wail of moans and voices? (182). And it is almost impossible not to feel the warmth contained in the ?hot, crowded church? (181). In short, the technique used by Hughes is set to put the reader in the same ambiance the young boy is in, thus giving us a closer look at his innocence.

The innocence shown by the young boy at the beginning of the story can be attributed to many factors, the main reason being his Auntie Reed. She goes on talking for days about the big revival. Just like any other kid would, Hughes listens and believes word–for–word what his aunt tells him: ?She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul.? (181) This naivete is characteristic of youths of that age group. After all, he ?heard a great many old people say the same thing? (181) and it seemed to him ?they ought to know? (181). With all the hype and anticipation surrounding this event, Hughes is certain something is bound to happen. His disappointment is manifested when he does not literally see Jesus. From what he has been told, Hughes is expecting to see a human incarnation of Jesus. He is actually more than just expecting to see him; he badly wants to be saved! Seeing Westley give up so carelessly, triggers an awkward feeling inside of Hughes. The thought that Jesus is not going to show up after all is starting to grow. That leads him to eventually give up and join Westley in lying. It is only at night that he comes

Langston Hughes Research Paper

People always listen to music, watch movies or plays, and even read poetry without once even thinking what is could be that helps and artist eventually create a masterpiece. Often times, it is assumed that artists just have a "gift", and people just do not consider the circumstances and situations that gradually mold a dormant idea into a polished reality. This seems to be the case with nearly every famous actor, writer, painter, or musician; including the ever–famous Langston Hughes.

In order for a person to really understand how Mr. Hughes's life shaped his poetry, one must know all about his background. In this paper, I will write a short biography of Hughes's life and tell how this helped accent his...show more content...

Here, according to Hughes, he wrote his first verse and was named class poet of his eighth grade class. Hughes lived in Lincoln for only a year, and then had to move to Toledo, Ohio because of a new job his stepfather found. Shortly after his move to Toledo, his stepfather and mother moved on, this time to Chicago, but Hughes stayed in Cleveland in order to finish high school. In Ohio, his high school teachers and classmates recognized his writing talent, and Hughes had his first pieces of verse published in the Central High Monthly, a sophisticated school magazine. Soon he was on the staff of the Monthly, and publishing in the magazine regularly. An English teacher introduced him to poets such as Carl Sandburg and Walk Whitman, and these became Hughes' earliest influences. the summer after Hughes's junior year in high school, his father reentered his life. James Hughes was living in Toluca, Mexico, and wanted his son to join him there. Hughes lived in Mexico for the summer but he did not get along with his father. This conflict, though painful, apparently contributed to Hughes's maturity. When Hughes returned to Cleveland to finish high school, his writing had also matured. Consequently, during his senior year of high school, Langston Hughes began writing poetry of distinction.

After graduating from high school, Hughes planned to return to Mexico to visit with his father, in order to

Langston Hughes

The period of the Harlem Renaissance was a time of great change and exploration for African Americans . It was during this point in the early twentieth century that African Americans were exploring their cultural and social roots. With the rapid expansion of a cohesive black community in the area, it was only a matter of time before the finest minds in Black Americaconverged to share their ideas and unleash their creative essences upon a country that had for so long silenced them. In the midst of this bohemian convergence, many notable figures arose who would give a new voice to African Americans. With such great notables asCountee Cullen, Jean Toomer, Zora Neale, and James Johnson, mainstream American now had a unique window into the...show more content...

During the period, there was a progressive movement toward the assimilation of African Americans into the mainstream culture. Many critics expressed their opinion that to believe in the creation of any art with a distinctively black voice was a foolish idea. African Americans of the period did not have a distinct cultural identity and were judged solely upon the expectations of the mainstream white culture. With the occurrence of the Harlem Renaissance, black Americans were attempting to open a door into the previously unknown world of the black experience. While many artists in the past had attempted to create subject matter specifically dealing with the Negro, it failed to lack the quality of the "Negro soul": Created purposely for the delectation of the white folk whose self–aggrandizement they also sought to sustain, these earlier works comprised mainly those Negro elements which experience had proved to be pleasurable to the white ego. They were, essentially, attempts to recreate the white man's concept of the black man.

Get more content

"Mother to Son"

The speaker of the poem "Mother to Son," by Langston Hughes is a mother who is giving advice to her son. Her life has been difficult and hard at times. As readers, we know this because the speaker talks about how life is a staircase and her staircase has had "tacks and splinters in it" (line 3–4). This means that her life has not been perfect and she had many challenges to deal with. Perhaps she was born into poverty, because the images in her poem reveal a ragged, old staircase, like you might find in a decrepit, old building. Further, the speaker's accent reveals that the speaker was not well–educated when she was younger, such as when she says "I'se been a–climbin' on" (line 9) which is not proper English. Since ...show more content...

The speaker's message to readers in "Mother to Son" is that life can be difficult, but you have to keep trying despite these difficulties. I believe this message is directed towards people who are experiencing hardships and poverty, because the speaker is directing her conversation to her "son," who does not have a life that is like "crystal stairs" (line 2). The crystal stairs in the poem represents a wealthy and easy life, as wealthy people have not probably had the same difficulties in life. Her message of not giving up is evident throughout the poem as she demands her son to not give up. She says, "So boy, don't you turn back, don't you set down on the steps, cause you finds it's kinder hard" (lines 14–16). As readers, we know the message for us is that you can't give up, even though you will face challenges–just like you have to keep going on a "staircase" even though the staircase has many obstacles on it. She clearly believes that we need to be fighters in our lives, as life will often be difficult. More importantly, I believe this message was also meant towards African Americans in the early 1900's (whenLangston Hughes was writing poetry), to remind them to never give up on fighting for equal rights, even though it is

Get more content

The Work of Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes is considered by many readers to be the most significant black poet of the twentieth century. He is described as Ві...the beloved author of poems steeped in the richness of African American culture, poems that exude HughesВ№s affection for black Americans across all divisions of region, class, and gender.ВІ (Rampersad 3) His writing was both depressing and uplifting at times. His poetry, spanning five decades from 1926 to 1967, reflected the changing black experience in America, from theHarlem Renaissance to the turbulent sixties. At the beginning of his career, he was surrounded by the Harlem Renaissance. New York City in the 1920В№s was a place of immense growth and richness in African–American...show more content... Jazz was a flourishing art form that Hughes often liked to write about. It is easy to see why most of his poems of this period (1921–1930) would be festive and cheerful. Unfortunately, the party didnВ№t last into the next decade and the country fell into a deep depression. The period between 1931 and 1940 was a dark period for Hughes, and for African–Americans in general. On top of the financial difficulties the depression brought, widespread racism re–surfaced in the North. The celebration in Harlem was replaced by angry whites who were anxious to put blame on someone for their troubles. ВіWhite ManВІ is a direct attack on the white manВ№s violations against the African–Americans. Like the earlier poem ВіHarlem Night Club,ВІ it is a fast–paced, dynamic piece. However, its tone reflects pure anger and frustration. ВіWhite Man! White Man! / Let Louis Armstrong play itВ/ And you copyright it / And make the money. / YouВ№re the smart guy, White Man! / You got everything!В І Its intensity makes the reader frantic just from reading it. The line about Louis Armstrong refers to the great jazz trumpet player, the first black man to be recognized as a successful jazz artist by a white audience. Only now, ten years later, we see that it is the whites who profit from his talent. Hughes is desperate not to forget the accomplishments of the 20В№s, and not to let those accomplishments Get

"

The Life and Works of Langston Hughes

In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone, I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan – Ain't got nobody all in this world, Ain't got nobody but ma self. I's gwine to quit ma frownin' and put ma troubles on the shelf." The above excerpt is from Langston Hughes prize winning poem, "The Weary Blues." Hughes, considered to be one of the world's outstanding authors of the twentieth century (Ruley 148), is a prolific poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, autobiographer, and a writer a of children's books (Andrews, Foster, Harris 368). David Nicholson says of Hughes, "He strove to reflect an American reality ignored or distorted by other American writers (504)." The...show more content...

The "rhapsodist" was a exceedingly well educated man. While in high school, he read the poetry of Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman (Bloom, Bloom's 12). Sandburg was decisive in leading him toward free verse and a radically democratic, modernist aesthetic (Andrews, Foster, Harris 368). Andrews states, "Hughes called Sandburg, his guiding star (368)." After graduating high school, eager to experience New York and especially Harlem, Hughes entered Colombia University in the fall of 1921 (Bloom, Bloom's 12). However, his first encounter with college was unpleasant (Bloom, Bloom's 12). Subsequently, he left his freshman year and became a merchant seamen in Europe and Africa (Rampersad 8). Plagued with money problems, Hughes came back to the United States in 1924 and began to take his writhing seriously (Rampersad 8). In 1926, at the age of twenty–four, Hughes entered himself into Lincoln University in Pennsylvania (Rampersad 8). It was during that time he published his first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, which was grouped according to seven romantic ideas, and sixty–eight poems under seven headings (Bloom, Bloom's 15). The volume earned him a

Get more content

Langston Hughes Essay

James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was very small, and his father (who found American racism made his desires to be a lawyer impossible) left the family and emigrated to Mexico. Hughes' mother moved with her child to Lawrence, Kansas, so she and he could live with his grandmother, Mary Langston.

Langston Hughes' mother moved to Topeka in 1907, leaving the five–year–old with his grandmother. Langston came from a family of African–American activists. His mother's first husband had been killed at Harper's Ferry. Her second husband, Charles Langston (Langston Hughes' grandfather), had taken part in political activism on behalf of a slave. Charles Langston's brother, John Mercer...show more content...

E. B. Dubois, editor of the The Crisis, the journal that published "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"; and Countee Cullen, a young Harlem poet.

In 1922 Hughes left Columbia University after having taken only a few classes. He moved to Harlem, part of upper Manhattan near the Columbia campus, in November 1924. Harlem was becoming famous for its rich environment for the flowering arts. In 1925 Hughes won first prize in a magazine contest with "Weary Blues," which gained him the attention of many of the writers we now think of as members of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes published his first book of poems, The Weary Blues, in 1926. The work, though early, is signature in many ways, including its fusion of blues and jazz rhythms with people, especially the musicality of the ordinary daily speech of the African–American dialects.

In 1926 he enrolled at Lincoln University (in a town called Lincoln University, Pennsylvania), where he graduated in 1929, the same year he finished his first novel. After attempting to come to terms with his father's materialism and leaving Harlem, feeling betrayed and misunderstood, Hughes went first to Haiti and then, back in the United States as the Great Depression began to settle in, the travelled through the American south, reading his poetry to people in churches and schools. Following in the footsteps of his grandmother's family, he took his life in his hands by appearing at the University of North

Get more content

I, Too by Langston Hughes A situation can be interpreted into several different meanings when observed through the world of poetry. A poet can make a person think of several different meanings to a poem when he or she is reading it. Langston Hughes wrote a poem titled "I, Too." In this poem he reveals the Negro heritage and the pride that he has in his heritage and in who he is. Also, Hughes uses very simple terms that allow juvenile interpretations and reading. The poem begins "I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother." From those two lines alone, one can see that he is proud of who he is and introducing himself to the reader. In the line "I, too, sing America" he is explaining that he is an American like everyone else...show more content...

"I, Too" really exhibits the black man and his will to do well even under pressuring conditions to be some one that he is not. This pressure leads to a whole new line of confidence and pride shown in the third stanza. Hughes did not make this poem very long and narrative, instead, he made it quick and to the point. On line three he says, "They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes." In saying those words, he is saying that the people are inferring that because he is of darker color he has been scolded and deprived of his freedom. The people have sent him to the kitchen to eat because they felt that he was not of high enough standards to eat in the kitchen when the company comes. Also, this may mean that the people are afraid of what the company might say when they see a black man in the house. The word formation is simplistic and does not contain words that are hard to understand and read. All poems have different style and line lengths and as a part of this variety "I, Too" consists of lines that are very short and to the point. He does not use much alliteration in the text and his words do not rhyme, but they relate in such ways to keep the readers' attention.When moving toward the end of the poem, one can find out how Hughes tells in bold words how he views himself and reveals his identity. In the final lines, he wrote, "Then, besides, they'll see how beautiful I

Get more content

Seth Kuno

Mrs. Goddard

Accelerated English 10

16 May 2017

Langston Hughes

The "Poet Laureate of Harlem" as they called him was a very influential writer during the Harlem Renaissance (DISCovering Multicultural America, par. 2). He showed what life was like from his eyes and hoped that racial prejudice would stop once people understood what life was like for him. This is the story of Langston Hughes, who stood up for what he believed in and always fought for African Americanrights. Langston Hughes was an author during the Harlem Renaissance and he believed very strongly that African American people were not treated right, so he chose to write about racism and equal opportunities.

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1st, 1902...show more content...

She got him reading books and put a lot of emphasis on getting an education so this got him interested in poems and other literature. Then in the 1930s Hughes went to the Soviet Union and he just loved their government and how Joseph Stalin was running it so when he came back he wrote about politics (EXPLORING Poetry, par. 1). So once he was into writing all he needed now was events to write about. Hughes' main themes to write about were racism and prejudice towards African Americans in urban areas. He did a very good job of showing the racism that occurred in the everyday lives of this group of people. He combined those themes with a swing style of poems. He was one of the first black writers to use informal language and a blues rhythm with a jazzy sound to it (DISCovering Multicultural America, par. 2). Hughes wrote during the Harlem Renaissance and this period of time was a very important in the lives of African Americans around the nation. Since he was one of the first to be writing about these topics during this time, he was very well known to the African American communities and they could relate very well to his style of writing (St. James Encyclopedia, par. 1).

One thing people could relate to the most was a character that Hughes made in his newspaper columns. This character's name was Jesse B. Semple and everyone knew him as, Simple. He was

Langston Hughes

In the poem "As I grew older" by Langston Hughes explains his struggle with his skin color. He describes it living in the shadows and humongous walls coming up all over him. Despite him feeling like he has no way to break free or to get away from the prejudice, Langston uses imagery to explain how he used his bare hands to break the walls of prejudice. With the use of metaphors the author gives us and insight how it felt to have prejudice everywhere he went and how he broke free. In Langston's poem the reader learns what prejudice he faced and how he broke free using imagery and metaphor he explain profoundly. Langston uses imagery to explain many things Hughes gives and image in our minds to make sure we comprehend and we feel the same emotion

Get more content

What Is Langston Hughes

According to Becky Bradley in American Cultural History, Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Growing up, he dealt with some hard times. His parents divorced when he was little and he grew up with neither of his parents. Hughes was raised by his grandmother since his father moved to Mexico after their divorce and his mother moved to Illinois. It was when Hughes was thirteen that he moved out to Lincoln, Illinois to be reunited with his mother. This is where Hughes began writing poetry. However, the family moved again and finally settled in Cleveland, Ohio (Bradley, pars. 1–3).

Author Larry Neal writes that after his high school graduation, he spent a year in Mexico and then spent a year at Columbia...show more content... They made the African Americanvoice respected, heard and a meaningful part to the American culture (Wallace 56–64).

Harold Bloom notes that this movement brought an extraordinary creative activity in not only writing but also art and music. It redefined the expressions of African Americans and their customs. TheHarlem Renaissance affected people then and still affects people today. It gives something to artists to write or even draw about and to show others the struggles they have gone through. Langston Hughes's poem "Harlem" is just one of the thousand outcomes of the Harlem Renaissance. They all, through their poems, art and music had a strong sense of racial pride. They wanted to gain equality, attack racism, and most of all celebrate African American culture (Bloom 113–127).

In Line 1 of "Harlem", we are introduced to what happens to a persons dreams get put on hold for some time. Hughes then asks, "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" (2–3). A raisin at first, is a grape, moist, round and juicy. However, it has shriveled up to become this dried up raisin. This simile is perfect because a dream deferred just shrivels up in our mind; we have let too much time pass to go back to fulfill the dream. The poem continues with "Or fester like a sore–and then run?" (3–4). This simile represents the dream eating at them; constantly an irritation because it has not been obtained. Line 5 is

Langston Hughes inspired others to reach their true potential in their work by using their own life as a catalyst: "You will find the world in your own eyes, if they learn how to see; in your own heart if it learns how to feel; and in your own fingers if they learn how to touch." (Dunham 188).

Langston Hughes was an influential leader toward many African Americanmen, woman, and children in the 1920's and 1930's. Langston Hughes may not be as well–known for the civil rights movement as Martin Luther King Jr. was, but Hughes was capable of placing an everlasting impact on black culture during this period of civil rights unrest in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. was an advocate for allowing the rights of African American people...show more content... She moved Langston around often as a child in search for better work after her and Mr. Hughes divorced early in Langston's childhood. James Nathaniel Hughes abandoned his family when Langston was very young. James Nathaniel Hughes was in search of leaving the United States in order to outrun the racism and civil rights issues occurring during the time period. Hughes' father moved to Cuba at first, and then finally settled in Mexico City, Mexico. Hughes' mother decided to move to Mexico City to reunite their family, but when they had arrived an earthquake had scared Hughes' mother in wanting to move back to Kansas. Soon after being back in Kansas, Hughes' mother decided to place Langston in the care of her mother. Langston then lived with his grandmother for a period of time. Langston's grandmother, Mary, had a huge impact on Langston while he was growing up. Langston had resided with his grandmother for most of his childhood, and into his early teenage years. Langston wrote in his memoir that he remembered often sitting on his grandmother's lap as a child and would listen to her tell him stories that would later be the fuel to his powerful vision over African Americans. Mary often told him stories of slaves who struggled for their freedom, and of abolitionists. These stories gave young Langston the vision for African Americans to be free and gave him a good outlook for his people that would become evident in his writings. Mary Get more content