Langston Hughes: An Analysis

Bootleggers counterfeited prescriptions and liquor licenses to gain access to alcohol. The most common was to import liquor from other countries on ships. The river between Detroit and Canada was a great entry point as was the overland method on the long border between the two countries. Bootleggers also evaded authorities by building secret breweries with intricate security systems and lookouts.

A huddle of horns And a tinkle of glass A note Handed down from Marcus to Malcolm To a brother Too bad and too cool to give his name. Sometimes despair Makes the stoops shudder Sometimes there are endless depths of pain Singing a capella on street corners

Another technique used by Hughes is Dialogue to share each character’s honest opinions and feelings. This scene revolves around the dialogue; as there is no music, props or new costumes introduced. The dialogue is straight to the point and each character gets a turn at expressing their opinions. They do not speak over the top of each other at all, even when they are shouting, so that us, as the audience gets a clear idea about what is being said and the message each character is trying to convey. The conversation starts at a slow, tranquil pace. Each character is relatively relaxed and the dialogue reflects that, for example Brian says “I consider you guys my friends”. The dialogue then transitions suddenly into a heated and irrational

Langston Hughes inspired others to reach their true potential in their work by using their own life as a catalyst:

Have you ever stopped to think how many different medications one has to take to be at risk for polypharmacy? Is polypharmacy a matter of too much medications at one time or, can it be a complex medication regimen that is being used to treat side by side health problems? Polypharmacy has many different meanings such as, more than five medications taken by an individual on an everyday basis. Another description may be multiple medications that are taken to treat one or more conditions within an individual. In either case, polypharmacy among the elderly “represent one of the fastest growing segments of the population” (AGBONJINMI, L. A., 2017).

The main theme in most of Langston Hughes’s poems is the idea of a dream and the struggles to achieve that dream as an African American. Langston Hughes focuses his writing on the actual experiences and events of the African American working class during the Harlem Renaissance. He describes the struggles that African Americans have to face in following their dreams because of the discrimination and segregation. His writings were looked down upon by many critics, no matter what race. Langston Hughes was an African American poet who wrote of the racism around him despite the critics judging his work during an era known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Langston Hughes was a large influence on the African-American population of America. Some of the ways he did this was how his poetry influenced Martin Luther King Jr. and the Harlem Renaissance. These caused the civil rights movement that resulted in African-Americans getting the rights that they deserved in the United States. Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was young and his grandmother raised him. She got him into literature and education; she was one of the most important influences on him. He moved around a lot when he was young, due to his parents divorce, but remained a good student and graduated high school. After this he traveled the world and worked in different places, all the things he

     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.

Langston Hughes was one of the first black men to express the spirit of blues and jazz

Please read the following three sources and answer all of the questions. Once you’re finished email the completed document to my email, lwiget@asa.edu.

The “Poet Laureate of Harlem” as they called him was a very influential writer during the Harlem Renaissance (DISCovering Multicultural America, par. 2). He showed what life was like from his eyes and hoped that racial prejudice would stop once people understood what life was like for him. This is the story of Langston Hughes, who stood up for what he believed in and always fought for African American rights. Langston Hughes was an author during the Harlem Renaissance and he believed very strongly that African American people were not treated right, so he chose to write about racism and equal opportunities.

Langston Hughes is widely renowned for his ability to represent the struggle of the African American community through his poetry during the time period around the Harlem Renaissance. As a world traveler and successful African American man, he was able to use his fame to enlighten the world, namely the white population, on the inequality and abuse of African American population in the United States. Despite his own battle with unhappiness and inequality (Royster, 344), Hughes was able to capture and express the truth of the life of African Americans in his emotionally charged and beautifully written poetry. Contrary to many African American writers during this time, Hughes uses his poetry to display the reality of racism against African Americans and to express his desire for peaceful co-existence and change in America (Subhash, n.pag.). A large aspect of the popularity of Hughes poems is due to the passion and emotion he displays in his writing. Not only is Hughes honest in his representations, he also adds the real, personal perspective as someone who is “in the middle of the fire” and truly understands the world he is portraying in his writing. Two of Hughes major themes, which are evident in his poetry and vital to the deep emotional meaning he expresses, are the issue of racism and the importance of music in African American life and culture. “When the Negro Was in Vogue”, “The Weary Blues”, “Song for a Dark Girl”, “Trumpet Player”, “Dream Boogie”, “Motto”, and “I, Too,

“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

According to Biography, James Mercer Langston Hughes is considered to be an African American poet who is college educated and comes from a middle-class family (Langston Hughes Biography). He attended college in New York City and became influential during the Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes Biography). Although Hughes was a talented writer, he faced some challenges early on and it was stated that his “early work was roundly criticized by many black intellectuals for portraying what they thought to be an unattractive view of black life” (Langston Hughes. American Poet). They believed that his work helps the spread the stereotypes of African Americans. “Hughes, more than any other black poet or writer, recorded faithfully the nuances of black life and its frustrations” (Langston Hughes. American Poet). Langston Hughes’s poems “The Negro Mother”, “Let America be America Again” and “The Weary Blues” were influenced by his life during the Harlem Renaissance and the racial inequality experienced in the late 1920s through the 1960s.

them. They are a protection from outside threats. Sometimes people erect emotional walls to protect themselves from the encroachment of others upon their personal space. They are afraid that if someone enters their personal space, that someone might cause harm or dominate them. But if there is no threat from another, there is no need to erect these emotional walls. In fact there is joy in allowing someone to share one's own personal space. Sharing this space in a non-threatening way is called intimacy. It is natural for a rational, free person to long for intimacy and to rejoice in it. Intimacy requires no emotional walls, yet intimacy still implies consideration of personal borders, that is, the point at which one person leaves off and another begins. Recognizing and respecting these boundaries goes to the very heart of a person's sense of identity and self-worth.