James Mercer Langston Hughes: The Negro Speaks Of River

“The history for Blacks in America starts at slavery,” the further I ponder this statement from my friend Joe, a navy veteran, the more I do not believe it to be true. Today many Blacks in America do not remember stories of their African heritage. Although, they may not know their African history, it does exist, and they did originate from Africa. So, their history does not start at slavery. In a recorded interview, Langston Hughes says he wrote the poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” in 1920, after he completed high school. Hughes also credits his source of inspiration to the Mississippi river which he passed, while on the train, to visit his father in Mexico. He acknowledged what the Mississippi symbolized to Negro people and how it was linked

Langston Hughes has made many accomplishments that most people couldn’t make. It was a great challenge for colored people to express their feelings without going through a lot of trouble. Hughes was successful in expressing he feelings. Considering the fact that he was half Caucasian and half African American, he wasn’t treated the way he was supposed to. So he wanted to do something about it and change the course of history.

Langston Hughes was born on February 2, 1902 in Joplin Missouri, and died on May 22, 1967 in New York, New York. Hughes' African American themes helped to contribute to the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, where he was a leader. He attended Columbia University and Lincoln University, published his first poem in 1921 and his first book in 1926. Hughes was a poet, playwright, novelist, and more.

The poem ?The Negro Speaks of Rivers? by Langston Hughes contains many symbolic meanings about the identity of African Americans. Throughout the poem Hughes uses metaphorical statements to suggest to the reader what the soul of the African American has been through. The symbols of the old rivers from which the African American ideal has risen can be interpreted in many different ways. They represent the birth and growth of the African American culture, and some of the most significant moments of their past. The words written in this poem represent the pride and knowledge of a group of outstanding people.

Langston Hughes’ style of poetry renounced the classical style of poetry and sought out a more jazz and folk rhythm style. Most of Hughes’ poems were written during the Harlem Renaissance, named after the cultural activity African Americans participated in, such as: literature, music, art, theatre, and political thinking. William Blake, on the other hand, was a nonconformist who was associated with the leading radical thinkers of his day. Although, considered a lyric poet and a visionary, Blake’s poetry was not read by many, yet he still believed that his poetry could be understood by common people and was determined not to sacrifice his vision to become popular.

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, on February 1, 1902, to James Nathaniel Hughes, a lawyer and businessman, and Carrie Mercer (Langston) Hughes, a teacher. The couple separated shortly thereafter. James Hughes was, by his son’s account, a cold man who hated blacks (and hated himself for being one), feeling that most of them deserved their ill fortune because of what he considered their ignorance and laziness. Langston’s youthful visits to him there, although sometimes for extended periods, were strained and painful. He attended Columbia University in 1921-22, and when he died he, left everything to three elderly women who had cared for him in his last illness,

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.

In Langston Hughes' poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", he examines some of the roles that blacks have played throughout history. Ultimately, the poem asserts that in every one of these aspects the black people have been exploited and made to suffer, mostly at the hands of white people. The poem is written entirely in first person, so there is a very personal tone, even though the speaker symbolizes the entire black race. The examples of each role cited in the poem are very specific, but they allude to greater indignities, relying on the readers' general knowledge of world history. To convey the injustice that has taken place, Hughes utilizes the symbolism of the

Langston Hughes’, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” claimed that African Americans face racial and cultural challenges with finding their own identity in a society mainly influenced by Eurocentric American culture. More specifically, Hughes discussed the challenges of African American artists in embracing their black and remaining successful. Hughes recalled a conversation with a black poet, who stated that "I want to be a poet-not a Negro poet,” (Hughes, 964). Hughes interpreted his statement to mean that subconsciously he wanted to be white. He used this conversation and others to support his beliefs about African American identity and culture. He communicated that African Americans try to blend into the Eurocentric American culture,

The Harlem Renaissance was a period in time after World War 1 where a cultural, social, and artistic expansion of African culture took place in Harlem. It introduced a new perspective on the black cultural identity in the U.S. Artists, dancers, painters, and poets forged this movement to promote an upsurge of identity and equality. Leaders or figures of this movement include writer Zora Neale Hurston. She made use of African-American dialect to create highly regarded female characters in classic literature. Langston Hughes was also a prominent figure in this movement. Hughes, as a self-supported writer, musician, journalist, and novelist, captured the musical qualities of jazz and blues and fused them into his poems. I believe the musical

Langston Hughes is an American poet known as the “Granddaddy” of the Harlem Renaissance literature. He moved around a lot with his mother until they finally settled in Cleveland, Ohio. During this time, he was introduced to poets Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman. In 1925 while working in Washington D.C. he met Vachel Lindsay who helped him promote his poetry.

The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain was a statement of purpose for the Harlem Renaissance, which would outline the magnificence of African American culture and the advancement amid this day and age of African American artists. In the exposition, Hughes reviews a youthful artist he once met that expressed he needed to be "a poet—not a Negro poet". Langston Hughes requests that black artists convey what needs be and be glad for their way of life, rather than impersonating white artists and engrossing their way of life. Hughes attracts to consideration the excellence of black culture, saying “Not 'white is right' but, as we would now say, 'Black is beautiful'".

In Langston Hughes’ “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” used rivers to describe African American people and I agree he described them to be equal, using metaphors, similes, and allusions. Langston Hughes wrote this poem in 1921 when racial issues between Caucasian and African American people were a significant problem. The poem is written in “free verse” and uses anaphora to give the reader the effect that he is the one telling the poem. The poem gives the reader the understanding that African American people have been around for as long as Caucasian people and are equally intelligent. The rivers give us a great meaning to the history of African American people and the narrator has known their struggle. There is a feeling of death towards the end of the poem. This gives the reader the impression that we are still struggling to be equal and it has withered him until his death.

The Negro Speaks Of Rivers” by Langston Hughes argues the fact that rivers are a symbolic representation of Africans enslavement and their freedom, he conveys this message by using literary devices such as repetition, simile, symbolism, and personification. Throughout the poem Langston Hughes conveys his message by demonstrating the freedom and slavery through different forms. The writer demonstrates it by showing that freedom is what Africans have always had, freedom being a part of them, history and their tribulations. All these factors tie to the meaning of the rivers and their purpose in this poem. Langston Hughes uses repetition to demonstrate that freedom is something they have had, but have have been deprived of it.

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.