“Evaluation of ‘Critical Essay on ‘Theme for English B’’”
“Critical Essay on ‘Theme for English B’”, written by Chris Semansky, is just that: an analytical essay on Langston Hughes’ poem “Theme for English B”. The article is a dissection of the author’s insight on the subject matter. The paper provides a detailed assessment of the content of Langston Hughes’ work by providing the reader with perspective on Hughes’ possible thoughts about people and the way they view themselves as well as others and how it affects their own judgments about themselves. The author strengthens his evaluation with background information about the poet. The writer of the article speculates that the poem is actually self-biographical. Chris Semansky’s
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It certainly can be argued that for every quality there is a sort of opposite, of course in many instances there is an overlap. Considering tradition black and white culture, it’s obvious that some of the things we base these cultural values on are stereotypes at very best. However, the foundation of black culture in America is in slavery, and the opposite in this instance with reference to the white culture is in ownership of the African slaves, a kind of forced inequality. Although the Emancipation Proclamation began a long fight for supposed freedom and equality of all men, there is residual hatred and contempt even now. In the instance of age being a factor, typically we look at our elders and bestow upon them the wisdom of the experience their years on earth have granted them. Age can also lock in old or obsolete ideals. The youth of a society oftentimes is regarded as more open minded and therefore more willing to “roll with the punches” and adapt to the changing times. With reference to the older professor, Hughes makes a subtle implication that the instructor will view the narrator’s assignment as different, as he is the only person of color in the entire class, saying, “So will my page be colored that I write? ... Being me, it will not be white.”(Kennedy and Gioia, 980). In the final segment of Mr. Semansky’s
Buck lives in Judges Millers estate at the beginning of both the book and the movie. He is then kidnapped by Manuel, the gardener. He is sold to dog salesmen heading to Alaska. He is disciplined by the Law of Club and Fang. The man in the red sweater takes Buck out of the cage and repeatedly beats him. Buck continues to try to attack until he is to week to fight. He then learns the law of Club and Fang.
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.
The definition of important is “having serious meaning or worth,” (Merriam- Webster’s Dictionary). Pierre Elliott Trudeau is the representation of this. Trudeau was born in Montreal to Joseph Charles Trudeau and Grace Elliott. Joseph was of French descent and Grace was of Scottish, therefore Trudeau was bilingual. He was appointed Minister of Justice and gained national attention for his social reforms. These include divorce laws, abortion, laws on homosexual marriage and regulations on public lotteries. Afterward, he became the 15th Prime Minister Of Canada. He was the Prime Minister from April 20th, 1968 to June 4th, 1979, and once more from March 3rd, 1980 to June 30th, 1984, obtaining the role after Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. While he was the Prime Minister for 15 years in total where he accomplished many objectives that constructed Canada. Authors Geoff Pevere and Greig Dymond considered him to be “the greatest pop star this country has ever produced,” (O’Malley Martin, 2013.) He was arguably Canada’s best-known politician and was extremely special indeed. Pierre Elliott Trudeau was the most significant post-war Prime Minister because he unified Canada and reshaped the Canadian identity. He did this by establishing the Official Languages Act, stopped terrorism carried out by the Front de libération du Québec and enacted the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, all which are incredibly momentous for Canada.
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.
Hughes, Langston. "Theme for English B". The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. D. . Nina Baym. 7th Ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007.
One of the foremost poets of the Harlem Renaissance was Langston Hughes. Many of Hughes' poems are about the act of writing poetry, justifying African-American poets' right to speak and create verse, which was denied in previous eras. The act of literacy for African-Americans was depicted as a radical, self-conscious act in Hughes' output. This is explicitly seen in Hughes' poem "Theme for English B." The poem very literally portrays a young, African-American man (presumably Hughes himself) being given an assignment by a white teacher to write about himself. The poet is forced into a paradox he is in a white-run institution, using the language of whites, and yet he must speak about himself truthfully:
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.
Langston Hughes is an extremely successful and well known black writer who emerged from the Harlem Renaissance (“Langston Hughes” 792). He is recognized for his poetry and like many other writers from the Harlem Renaissance, lived most of his life outside of Harlem (“Langston Hughes” 792). His personal experiences and opinions inspire his writing intricately. Unlike other writers of his time, Hughes expresses his discontent with black oppression and focuses on the hardships of his people. Hughes’ heartfelt concern for his people’s struggle evokes the reader’s emotion. His appreciation for black music and culture is evident in his work as well. Langston Hughes is a complex poet whose profound works provide insight into all aspects of black
Langston Hughes was one of the great writers of his time. He was named the “most renowned African American poet of the 20th century” (McLaren). Through his writing he made many contributions to following generations by writing about African American issues in creative ways including the use of blues and jazz. Langston Hughes captured the scene of Harlem life in the early 20th century significantly influencing American Literature. He once explained that his writing was an attempt to “explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America” (Daniel 760). To fulfill this task, he wrote 15 volumes of poetry, six novels, three books, 11 plays, and a variety of non-fiction work (Daniel 760). He also edited over 50 books in his time (McKay).
Adolescence is a milestone marking the development of physical, physiological and biological psychology from the children who move transition to develop and maturation stages with significant changes affecting later life. According to the first article "The Brain Name: 6 things to know" by National Institute of Mental Health talks about the size of the brain reaches the maximum size, the adolescent's brain is ready to learn, and the amount of sleeping time the adolescence will need. The second article "Inside the teenager Brain" by Judith Newman mentions that teenagers often forget things quickly, they are not responsible, and are unorganized. The author also talks about the ways to overcome these problems. When asked about their children's adolescence, most parents are both happy and angry because their children are uninterested in and do not worry about their lives.
struggle of the Afro Americans. It is a dream which has not come true and will
In two of his poems, Theme for English B and I Too, Langston Hughes was able to depict the idea that African Americans are no different, but are American just like anyone else. He wanted to show the importance of melding cultures
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
As time has passed humanity still tends to separate each other based on our racial being rather than seeing each other as one human race. Langston Hughes’s, “A New Song,” published in 1938 introduces the idea of a new vision of social relations in American society. Hughes’s original version of this poem written in 1933, does not encompass his growing anger on this subject that is dwelled upon in his published version. However, with Hughes’s powerful tone and word choice throughout his 1938 rendition, his reader is able to understand his urge to transform America into an interracial culture. (Central Idea) His poem voices the importance of transforming society into a multiethnic unity and working-class established through cultural ties between whites and blacks. (Thesis) Hughes voices this crucial need to change through his emphasis on African American’s past struggles as opposed to the new dream, his militant tone, and through expressing the role that the establishment of cultural ties plays in society.
Langston Hughes was the leading voice of African American people in his time, speaking through his poetry to represent blacks. His Influence through his poems are seen widely not just by blacks but by those who enjoy poetry in other races and social classes. Hughes poems, Harlem, The Negro speaks of rivers, Theme for English B, and Negro are great examples of his output for the racial inequality between the blacks and whites. The relationship between whites and blacks are rooted in America's history for the good and the bad. Hughes poems bring the history at large and present them in a proud manner. The injustice that blacks face because of their history of once being in bondage is something they are constantly reminded and ridiculed for but must overcome and bring to light that the thoughts of slavery and inequality will be a lesson and something to remember for a different future where that kind of prejudice is not found so widely.