Analysis Of Mother To Son By Langston Hughes

This paper examines the perspective of Langston Hughes and how his style of writing is. It looks at how several interrelated themes run through the poetry of Langston Hughes, all of which have to do with being black in America and surviving in spite of immense difficulties. Langston Hughes is one of the most influential writers because his style of work not only captured the situation of African Americans; it also grabbed the attention of other races with the use of literary elements and other stylistic qualities. Langston Hughes became well known for his way of interpreting music into his work of writing, which readers love and enjoy today.

Through his poem “Theme for English B”, Langston Hughes expresses his will to exterminate discrimination by proving that despite different skin colors, Americans all share similarities and learn from each other. Langston wrote the poem in 1900, when black Americans were not considered Americans. He talks about a black student being assigned to write a paper about himself. The audience is thus the student’s professor – the representation of the white Americans. Since the professor said: “let that page come out of you---Then, it will be true.”, the student began wondering “if it’s that simple”. He then describes himself to explain why it isn’t simple: he is “twenty-two”, “the only colored in class”, and lives in the poor community Harlem.

Many Americans did not know how and African American’s daily life went. Through Hughes’ writing he portrayed their lives to help show their desire and need for civil rights. In his poem, “Mother to Son”, a mother is talking to her son about how life is much harder for them, but that he must never give up, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair...Don’t you fall now- For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”(Lines 1, 17-20). Hughes has assumed the role of speaking for the black community and the way that they live. Rita Dove and Marilyn Nelson write in their work, “Langston Hughes and Harlem”, how Hughes gives other Americans a glimpse of their lives, “His work offers white readers a glimpse into the social and the personal lives of Black America;”(1152). Hughes uses the simple conversation between a mother and son to show the American people how much different and harder their lives

My background as a tenacious student and a minority has allowed me to connect to the poem in ways that I could very much relate to. I have personally lived through the motions of life that he refers to in “Theme for English b”.Langston Hughes’s poem is more about the differences he knows other people see in him or rather on him, and what they are missing. By doing this, Hughes make it clear that the color of his skin plays a crucial role in the way that people think he is like. He finishes by boldly stating what he had been

Langston Hughes clearly connects with a wide range of audiences through the simplicity that surrounds his poetry. The beauty of this manner in which he wrote his poetry, is that it grasp people by illustrating his narratives of the common lifestyles experienced by the current American generation. His art form expresses certain questionable ideologies of life and exposes to the audience what it takes to fully comprehend what being an American truly means. Each individual poem describes and illustrates the strength and hardships the African American community was experiencing. Through his literature art form of poetry, Hughes was able to convey the common assertions of

together as a class will also reinforce what they have learned and will give the teacher an

Throughout my life I have experienced many trials that are quite different to that of the narrator in “Theme for English B”; however, there are some similarities such as his life experiences, that can be compared to those of the narrator. In this poem Langston Hughes writes of a man who is given an assignment with very abstract and philosophical instructions for writing this paper. Accordingly, the narrator has some difficulties at first because he thinks of how different he and the professor is, saying “It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what I feel and see and hear” (16-18). Consequently, the narrator realizes the difference between his life in Harlem and the life of his white professor. This causes the narrator to be skeptical of how the professor may receive the narrators’ interpretation of the assignment. Though the narrator and I share similar characteristics and experiences it is the differences that make the most impact throughout this paper. Three major differences are his teacher’s assignment, the colleges view of him, and his life in general. While Hughes does provide much background information on the narrator’s past, he gives multiple examples of his life a student and as a citizen living at the YMCA in Harlem.

Each student takes a few minutes to think through an appropriate response on his or her own and then pairs with another student to share their responses. After putting their ideas together, they create a collaborative response to share with the class.

Teacher conducts group conference with the finished group to clarify and extend their learning. As teacher ask questions that provides with evidence of students’ understanding and explore their way of thinking. Teacher asks various questions to each students such as What obstacles did you overcome to resolve this task? what the hardest fraction you encountered? What strategy did you use? How your strategy relates to your classmates’

Langston Hughes uses both Harlem and The Negro Speaks of Rivers to evoke responses from his readers. Both of these poems are profound in and of themselves when simply read given the political and racial tensions at the time, but when read and digested, they can speak to any race, creed, or color. The use of figurative language in both of these poems is what makes them so easy to identify with. He uses blood, deep rivers, rotten meat, and other nouns to allow the reader to process what each of his or her own rotten meat or deep river is. Interestingly enough, when read passionately, the reader could get lost in his or her own story, but it is of upmost importance to remember that Hughes is chronicling the story of African American plight in such a way that allows anyone to identify with it. It is through this identification that allows anyone to develop pride and sensitivity for Hughes and his people.

Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes wrote poems imparting to young people. Brooks encourages her audience to continue to trudge forward even if the situation is grim in the poem entitled “Speech to the Young. . .” The author stated, “Even if you are not ready for the day it cannot always be night.” The author is trying to say that one cannot always just wallow in their problems. Instead, on must overcome their hurdles no matter how high they may be. One must overcome their obstacles sooner or later because time does not stop for anyone. Hughes takes a parental stand in “Mother to Son” encouraging readers to persevere even when faced with adversity. The author advised, “So boy, don’t turn your back. Don’t you set down on the steps.” The author

Langston Hughes is a famous poet known mostly for his contribution to the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote many inspirational poems that are still read and used for educational purposes. Many of his poems were inspired by his life and his story. One of his many poems entitled “Theme for English B” talks about how his teacher instructed him to write a page about himself and it will be true. In a “Theme for English B”, Hughes uses tone, and characterization to display a relationship between race and writing.

When reading poetry, it can often be difficult to interpret the exact meaning of the poem the author was trying to transmit. A reader must learn to construe a poem without getting confused on what the author was trying to convey. We must scrutinize the work so that we may understand it better. In Langston Hughes “Harlem,” to analyze what this poem is trying to interpret we must understand line for line. The poem has eleven lines and all but one is asking a question. In each line except line seven, the last syllable stressed. Six of the seven sentences in the poem are questions. All of the sentences except the first and the last contain similes using like. Line three rhymes with line five; line six rhymes with line eight; line ten rhymes with line eleven. Lines four, seven, and eleven begin with or. Lines three, eight, and ten begin with like. The narrator is asking these questions to have the reader envision the lurid analogies to evoke the illusion of a postponed dream. One must also uncover the hidden meanings that stated in this poem. Written in 1951, Harlem addresses one of the most common themes of the time, inadequacies of the American Dreams of African Americans.

     Langston Hughes’s writing showcases a variety of themes and moods, and his distinguished career led his biographer, Arnold Rampersad, to describe him as “perhaps the most representative black American writer.” Many of his poems illustrate his role as a spokesman for African American society and the working poor. In others, he relates his ideas on the importance of heritage and the past. Hughes accomplishes this with a straightforward, easily understandable writing style that clearly conveys his thoughts and opinions, although he has frequently been criticized for the slightly negative tone to his works.

Perhaps the most basic and essential function of poetry is to evoke a particular response in the reader. The poet,