Comparing Harlem And Langston Hughes 'His Thank You Ma' Am

The beginning of the 20th century many African Americans migrated from the south to the north in what we call today, the Great Migration. Many African Americans found themselves in a district of New York City called Harlem. The area known as Harlem matured into the hideaway of jazz and the blues where the African American artist emerged calling themselves the “New Negro.” The New Negro was the cornerstone for an era known today as the Harlem Renaissance (Barksdale 23). The Harlem Renaissance warranted the expression of the double consciousness of the African Americans, which was exposed by artists such as Langston Hughes. James Mercer Langston Hughes was an African American poet, journalist, playwright, and novelist whose works were

while the first story related to only a slim few. Although these stories related to one another, they did not reach out to the same audience. There are only a few readers who can relate to both at the same time.

In some ways both short stories were written with some similarities in mind. In both of the short stories that were told there was a death taken place which is a sad thing in stories that could affect the mood of the reader. After the death there is someone to clean it up and keep it secret so no one would know In both of the stories there is unique writing styles used to add effect to the story. These are some of the things that were used in both stories that kind of put them together as

Thesis statement: Hughes wrote this when Jim Crow laws were still imposing an bitter segregated society in the South. There were still lynchings of innocent African Americans, there was no Civil Rights Movement, there was no Civil Rights legislation yet, and Blacks couldn't eat at lunch counters in the South. Harlem, however, was not at all like the South in terms of blatant, legal segregation. However, racism was very much in place in many places in America. Blacks were second class citizens, their children attended schools that were ill-equipped, and the dreams of Black citizens were not being realized in this period.

Harlem Renaissance was undoubtedly a cultural and social-political movement for the African American race. The Renaissance was many things to people, but it is best described as a cultural movement in which the high level of black artistic cultural production, demanded and received recognition. Many African American writers, musicians, poets, and leaders were able to express their creativity in many ways in response to their social condition. Until the Harlem Renaissance, poetry and literature were dominated by the white people and were all about the white culture. One writer in particular, Langston Hughes, broke through those barriers that very few African-American artists had done before this

The similarity and connection existing between the two stories is the point of view in the two essays. The stories are both written in the first person perspective and that

In our era today, as you proceed through life, there is discrimination against races. As much as we would like to witness things change for the better we won’t due to some people not taking the chance to rewire their hatred. But in the early 1900’s, some black middle-class families immigrated to Harlem, New York, which at the time was an upper-class white neighborhood. The White’s tried to kick the African Americans out, but ultimately failed. In 1910-1930 African Americans in Harlem have changed what the city was like back then, now it is known for its African American culture. They also created a period called the Harlem Renaissance that is considered a golden age in African American culture. This was a time when they had an artistic explosion,

The underlying themes of the stories are while less forthright, are still valid contrasts between the works. In some portions the themes are of the same facet such as how in both books two men have a direct conflict between one another, but in the end the most prominent themes are; Man vs. Nature in The Interlopers, as in the end even as man has petty struggles amongst his kind, nature dictates his end, and Man vs. Himself in The Most Dangerous Game, as the life or death conflict between the two hunters throws the story like a ragdoll. This theme dissimilarity, while subtle, is a major difference.

these stories is very similar because it explores many of the same themes, but they

“An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.”

In Harlem, where majority of black people resided, a culture of art and music and writing flourished, despite the treacherous obstacles they still had to overcome. One thing they did

during this time he quickly became a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Four years later,

“The Harlem Renaissance was a time where the Afro-American came of age; he became self-assertive and racially conscious… he proclaimed himself to be a man and deserving respect. Those Afro-Americans who were part of that time period saw themselves as principals in that moment of transformation from old to new” (Huggins 3). African Americans migrated to the North in great numbers to seek better lives than in the South as the northern economy was booming and industrial jobs were numerous. This movement brought new ideas and talents that shifted the culture forever. Black writers, such as Langston Hughes, used their work to claim a place for themselves and to demand self-respect in society. Poems that Langston Hughes wrote captured the essence of the complexity of a life that mixes joy and frustration of black American life through the incorporation of jazz and blues in order to examine the paradox of being black in mostly white America, the land of the not quite free.

“Harlem” by Langston Hughes embodies the thoughts and feelings of a historic time period. A surge of artistic expression among African-Americans led the way to a movement that is now known as the Harlem Renaissance. Creative works depicting the social forecast of the day began to emerge. “Harlem” was written during this fascinating time and flawlessly incorporates this renaissance thinking into each line. In essence, the poem conveys a sense of grievance, yet also provides a hope to break the bonds that hinder the black community. By using a varying meter and rhyme scheme and also employing the use of simile and repetition, Hughes expertly portrays the attitudes of an entire social class.

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement and the enlightenment of black minds as a whole. This movement sparked the minds of many leaders such as Marcus Garvey, W.E.B Dubois, and Langston Hughes, these men would also come to be known as the earliest Civil Rights activists. While Garvey and Dubois expressed their views in speeches and rallies Hughes had a different approach and chose to articulate his thoughts and views through literature more specifically poetry. Through his poetry, Hughes became a world renown poet for such works as “Let America Be America Again”, “Harlem” and “I Too” taken from his first book “The Weary Blues.” These poems while written and inspired by the everyday struggles of being an African-American were arguably targeted at white Americans. Hughes wrote a majority of his work during the Harlem Renaissance and as a result focused on “injustice” and “change” in the hopes that society would recognize their mistake and reconcile, but in order for this to happen he would have to target the right audience.