Cross Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was an African American writer back in the 1920s the story Why You Reckon is based on two men that always going place to place because they do not have a home to live in so they have this one idea that they wanted to held this one stranger for ransom but that did not end well. The stranger helped the two men by giving them food and they can stay in the basement during the night to feed the furnace with

The division between whites and blacks was clearly prevalent and the United States of America was a racially discriminatory society reinforced by its racist laws. Hughes took the initiative to speak his mind via poetry, resulting in his piece “I, Too”. In this poem, Hughes clearly signifies one thing: Just because his skin color is different from whites, does not mean that they get to sing the National Anthem louder. Arguing that all American citizens are the same, disregarding their skin color, Hughes applies in this poem a master-slave relationship. The assumed white master shows disrespect to his servant by sending him away whenever visitors come over, because he is ordered to eat secluded from the company. However he seems to not be faze by this and actually finds it funny, supported by “But I laugh” (5). Furthermore, not only does he find amusement in this unpleasant situation, but the isolation has a positive effect on him “And grow strong” (7), implying that even though he submits to his master, his spirit will not be diminished.

DuBois's quote, "The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line," tells a great deal of how Americans in general felt towards segregation -- each side had suspicions about the goings-ons of the other race. Blacks had a stronger sense of such hesitency because of their history with Whites, and Whites were generally afraid of anything different than themselves, thus the enslavement. Hughes, as a writer, dealt with this problem in a way that few had done, and fewer had done successfully --

Hughes makes this evident in the poem.”As I learn from you, I guess you learn from me— although you’re older—and white— and somewhat more free.”. While it is true that there has been immense change in the civil rights and liberties, there still needs to be more change. Now, its oppression that his affecting minorities. There is still a fight. The fight is because despite the changes that have occurred, that sentence still holds. Because the fundamental problem still exists, I can really understand what Hughes was trying to convey at the end of that poem.

The upper-class blacks shunned the lower class viewing them as being “embarrassingly vulgar” (Dickinson 323). Overcoming African-American prejudice was a major focus in most of Hughes’ writing. For example, he wrote about the joys, sorrows and hopes of the black man in America (Dickinson 321). Not all of his writings were so encouraging however. Other themes Hughes wrote about include lynchings, rapes, discrimination, and Jim Crow Laws. He commented that when he felt bad, he wrote a great deal of poetry; when he was happy, he didn’t write any (Dickinson 321).

Hughes's poem builds on top of Whitman’s poem in more ways than one. Every single person with their described job in Whitman’s poem was said to have been sung loud and strong as to what they were doing when working, meaning that they took pride in how they worked and what kind of work they did. With how there's so many types of people and jobs being talked about in Whitman’s poem, you would think it would include the lives of blacks and how they have dealt with all the racism and stuff at the time (later on too). Hughes’s poem is a type of add-on to Whitman’s poem in the way of including the whole of black people into the mix, with many lines in the poem stating things of which overall say that even if you’re black you should still be allowed to partake in things and be in an area without any prejudice towards your skin color.

Hughes also takes the view of culture but he examines it from the view of blacks that are not stuck in the ghetto but have stable backgrounds. Hughes takes the view that blacks are actually hindering themselves. He says that there is a huge obstacle standing in the way of every black person. He actually makes a reference about artist but it can be viewed as any black person. He says the obstacle is, “this urge within the race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible.” (Hughes, Langston) His example is a poet. This poet subconsciously wants to be white because he feels it will make him a better poet. This poet comes from a strong background in the middle class. According to Hughes, they attend church; the father has a steady job; the mother works on occasion; and the children attend mixed schools. However, the problem comes with how the parents treat their children. The mother says things like, “Don’t be like niggers” when the children are bad. In turn the father says things like, “Look how well a white man does things.” So in this home and many others, black is not praised or celebrated it is taught to be ashamed of. They are taught to want to be white. It is staggering what blacks do to themselves because of this. Fist Hughes says the more predominant don’t

Hughes thinks that everyone has rights to be them self and everyone has their own beauty. People can be what ever they want they can be black artist if they want or they can white artist if they want, the only thing he wanted to tell people was that be proud of who you are, don’t try to be someone else who you are not. Langston Hughes gives an example where a young poet says “ I want to be a poet – not a Negro poet” Hughes thinks that the young kid wants to be white. Form my point of view the young poet said he wants to be poet but not Negro because in during 1920’s white people were like superior and they have higher chances to become well known person. So when the young poet said he doesn’t want to be a Negro poet he actually meant that he would become well known poet if

In the post-war period, Latvia was compelled to embrace Soviet cultivating techniques and the financial base created in the and was killed. Country territories were constrained into collectivisation. The enormous deluge of workers, managers, military staff and their wards from Russia and other Soviet republics began. By about persons touched base from other Soviet republics and the ethnic Latvian populace had tumbled to . A broad system to force bilingualism was started in Latvia, constraining the utilization of Latvian dialect for Russian. The greater part of the minority schools were shut down leaving just two dialects of guidelines in the schools-Latvian and Russian. The Russian dialects were taught outstandingly, and additionally Russian

In Hughes’ poem, “Mother to son,” a mother explains to her son how her life was never easy. She tells her son that even though she has come across many hardships, she kept on pushing. The mother advises her son to never turn back, no matter how hard the obstacle is to overcome because she hasn’t given up in her old age. This poem is a free verse written in the vernacular. “The Little Black Boy” by William Blake is about a black child telling the story of how he began to find himself and know God. He explains how his skin is black and his soul is white as that of an English child. His mother introduces him to God who lives in the East and gives light and life to all creation, and comfort and joy to men. The mother in this poem is a loving character who wants the best for her child. The little black boy passes on

Langston Hughes is one the most renowned and respected authors of twentieth century America not simply one of the most respected African-American authors, though he is certainly this as well, but one of the most respected authors of the period overall. A large part of the respect and admiration that the man and his work have garnered is due to the richness an complexity of Hughes' writing, both his poetry and his prose and even his non-fictions. In almost all of his texts, Hughes manages at once to develop and explore the many intricacies and interactions of the human condition and specifically of the experience growing up and living as a black individual in a white-dominated and explicitly anti-Black society while at the same time, while at the same time rendering his human characters and their emotions in a simple, straightforward, and immensely accessible fashion. Reading the complexity behind the surface simplicity of his works is at once enjoyable and edifying.

Hughes said, “I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like the same things other folk who are other races”. The choice of word he uses “being colored” instead of “being black” or “being African American”, shows that he uses terms that white people refer to black people as. The line is saying even though he is “colored” it does not make him anything that's out of the ordinary the only difference is his skin color. He does not allow this to be a barrier that would stop him from enjoying the things he likes.

Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” or “Dream Deferred” is about what could happen when one lets their dreams go, if even just temporarily. The poem starts, and is mostly comprised of, a question. This invites the reader in and makes a connection; what does the reader think? Hughes gives a series of ideas, all plausible, but never tells us for sure. One could say that different dreams have different consequences.

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.

     Hughes frequently addresses the notion of heritage and the importance of remembering the past in his writing. He elaborates specifically on his own understanding of African American culture and ancestry. In his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Hughes compares his knowledge of his people’s past with the depth of a river. The lines “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the/ flow of human blood in human veins” convey the extreme age and richness of human society, including his own culture. Hughes writes that his “soul has grown deep like the rivers,” indicating that he has learned to respect and admire the customs, beliefs, and history of African Americans and their forbears. His belief in the importance of respect for one’s culture and its past seems especially significant when considered alongside his role as an advocate for African American rights.