How Did Langston Hughes Show Happiness And Pain

Langston Hughes remains known as the most impressive, durable Negro writer in America. His tone of voice is as sure, and the manner he speaks with is original. During the twenties when most American poets were turning inward, writing obscure and esoteric poetry, Hughes was turning outward using language and themes, attitudes, and ideas familiar to anyone who had the ability simply to read. He often employs dialect distinctive of the black urban dweller or the rural black peasant. Throughout Langston Hughes career, he was aware of injustice and oppression, and used his poetry as a means of opposing them. James D. Tyms says, “Hughes writes lyric poems. But his “lyric” persona is often able to copy this social convention of the Negro Folk. Their use of the method of the ballad, to tell others how they feel” (191). Hughes lived as an

     Langston Hughes was one of the most important writers and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes creative intellect was influenced by his life in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. Hughes had a very strong sense of racial pride. Through his works he promoted racial equality and celebrated the African American culture. It was in Lincoln, Illinois that Hughes started to write his poetry. In November 1924, he moved to Washington D.C. where he published his first book of poetry. Hughes is known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America. Langston is also known for his commitment to jazz. Hughes refused to distinguish between his personal and common understandings of black America. He

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

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.

Langston Hughes was a poet with many artistic abilities. His writing and drawings established the lifestyles of many African Americans during this time. In a poem called “I, Too” Hughes express his feelings as an African American, a brother, and someone who deserves to fit in society. He states “I, too sing America” (1039). Hughes saw himself as an individual who has a voice in America even though his skin is a little darker. In a poem called “Democracy” Hughes states: “I have as much right as the other fellow has to stand on my own two feet and own the land” (1043). Hughes was speaking for every African American whom were still dealing with segregation, racism, and freedom.

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).

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

He helped awaken the culture and spirit of African American through a literary view and display the injustices African America through his writings and

brave and determined to get freedom for African Americans. One way was by leading marches like the March on Washington, Selma to Montgomery, and the Montgomery bus boycott. Although he still had taken part of other events these were the biggest reasons that led to the free rights of African Americans. He was brave walking through the crowds yelling how he couldn't, still he kept walking. He was determined to one day that all men would be equal, and he achieved his right to be equal.

Despite his own very liberal beliefs, Hughes defended African American activists who held more conservative views. Langston Hughes was not just a poet but an artist, who used words to express himself, but other forms of art influenced him, and his work crossed over into other mediums. Langston Hughes influenced many other people with his art -- young writers and artists looked up to him. African Americans found in him a voice for their own experiences and culture -- a voice that hadn 't been heard until Langston Hughes. He inspired many other artists of all races to write, draw, play, and sing.

Langston Hughes is a well-known African-American writer who emerged from the Harlem Renaissance, which is also known as the turning point for African-American culture and literature. Because he is identified as such a prominent writer, he became honored as “Shakespeare of Harlem.” At an early age, Hughes wished to voice and represent his African-American culture through writing. Because Hughes had a range of styles and genres, he managed to write and publish sixteen volumes of poetry, ten collections of short fiction, two novels, two volumes of autobiography, nine books for children, and over a dozen works for the stage. His remarkable works are based on the rhythms of African-American music that combine elements from the old and new worlds of America. In his poetry, he expresses racial pride to African-American literature during enslavement, and he reveals the self-respect and inner strengths of blacks during the twentieth century. In his autobiography Hughes states that the folk stories he heard from his mentor and grandmother greatly influenced him as a writer. Hughes was also extremely passionate about the blues, and he was one of the few to take it as achievements and expressions of black culture. His desire for the blues acted as a stimulus to the productive reaction that makes his collections so influential.

“He was the first nationally known african american leader in the U.S. history”.www.encyclopedia.com. He was also known for the first african american ever to be nominated for vice president, But he declined the nomination, which had came from a little known equal rights party. Till the end of his life he had begun lecturing and write for the cause of freedom. He died in Washington D.C. after he just attended a meeting for the national council of women. After he died many people wrote books about him and his amazing escape from slavery and how he survived without getting caught .

Langston Hughes’ style is blues and jazz, he mainly writes poetry and short stories. He’s known for being the voice of African Americans in 1920s, beginning the Harlem Renaissance. He also gives his characters meaning, he uses characters to portray a bigger picture of the story. He also uses a lot of slang in his writing. His writing also provides his readers with a purpose to the story as way to empathize.

     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.

My course at Columbia University included a lecture on the esteemed Langston Hughes. We learned about his impact in the Harlem Renaissance and his lasting importance to the African American community. The poem that affected me the most was Theme for English B, a reflective assignment from Hughes’s English class.