Langston Hughes' On the Road Essay

Thesis statement: Hughes wrote this when Jim Crow laws were still imposing an bitter segregated society in the South. There were still lynchings of innocent African Americans, there was no Civil Rights Movement, there was no Civil Rights legislation yet, and Blacks couldn't eat at lunch counters in the South. Harlem, however, was not at all like the South in terms of blatant, legal segregation. However, racism was very much in place in many places in America. Blacks were second class citizens, their children attended schools that were ill-equipped, and the dreams of Black citizens were not being realized in this period.

This use of ethos here should appeal to the clergymen since they are in fact believers in Jesus and claim to know Him. King tells of the “racial nightmare” bound to happen if the white brothers keep overlooking the nonviolent direct actions which would cause the activists to resort to searching for solace in black nationalist groups. Therefore, like most people in society, they all claim to be Christians but they cannot show that same Christianly love to negroes and when Martin Luther King wants to fight for what is right, he is criticized and called and “extremist.”

Why do you think McCarthy has chosen not to give his characters names? How do the generic labels of “the man” and “the boy” affect the way you /readers relate to them?

Prometheus, a Titan in ancient Greek mythology, stole the fire from Zeus, the ruler of all Gods, and gave it to humanity, even when Zeus strictly told him not to. As punishment, Prometheus is bound to a rock. Every day, an eagle swoops in to eat his liver, but Prometheus does not die. His liver regenerates only to be eaten again the following day. Because Prometheus “carried the fire” to humanity, his days are forever filled with torture. Similar to the situation that appears in the Cormac McCarthy’s novel, The Road, the main characters, a man and his son also “carry the fire” for the sake of mankind. “Carrying the fire”, a motif that Cormac McCarthy portrays throughout his novel, The Road, can be used to explain the reasoning behind why

George concludes his admonishment of the clergy, “By all means let us be kind, generous and helpful to Negroes and all men, but let us rid ourselves of the delusion that Christianity requires us to sacrifice our children and our children’s children to the cause of integration.” [Contrary to the teachings of the integrationist clergy, God does not demand the sacrifice of our children. He abhors such sacrifice.]

Although they “understand” where the Negro community is coming from, they believe their reasoning is a matter of fact, and should not be questioned. They do attempt to appeal to logos when they urge the Negro community to withdraw support, and leave the decisions for the court system, in order to unite locally for ‘peace’ in Birmingham. What the clergymen choose to exclude is however, the fact that the court system would most likely be in favor of them, at the time this public statement was posted.

“Liberating Christ” is a critique of Langston Hughes, “On the Road” by Carolyn P. Walker. Hughes uses barely over 1000 words to narrate his story. His great skills of using metaphor, symbolism and imagery are some of few techniques of his great work. Hughes uses nature to express Sargeant’s refusal to participate in life. In Liberating Christ, Walker’s says Hughes has done serious criticism of racial discrimination. There were few other points we will be looking into oppression, anger and hardship and how all of those are put together to overcome racial barriers. To describe Racism between black and white, Hughes uses snow, dark, two doors, dark and light. All these to describe how Sargeant is discriminated and

To begin, Langston Hughes uses nature to demonstrate a distinct relationship amongst blacks and whites. The writing shows the relationship between the different races amongst the men and women. Langston Hughes use of snow and night express a point simple enough, but through the use of these metaphors, he enables the story to be less invasive and more appealing. Langston Hughes ' main character, Sargeant, is left doubting the goodness of life. Hughes wrote, "Sargeant didn 't see the snow, not even under the bright lights of the main street, falling white and flaky against the night. He was too hungry, too sleepy, too tired". Langston Hughes

St. Luke Presbyterian Church was a relaxed church. Presbyterian churches abide by the sovereignty of God, the scriptures, and grace through faith. The Presbyterian Church members that attended the service were dressed from casual pants to dresses and suits. The church setting was considered to be a small, local church with roughly about 30 rows of pews. The choir included 15 women and a teenage boy. The members were very welcoming and seemed eager to get to know the guests that were new that Sunday morning. The preacher was an older man, in about his late 60’s or early 70’s. This was mainly a diverse family church with a few college students. At the beginning of the sermon they had children’s church, which is when they relate the word of God to the younger kids so they can understand what the

Langston Hughes was an author and poet born on February 1, 1902. Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri and grew up with his mother and grandmother. Langston’s biological mother and father separated shortly after he was born. When he finished elementary school Hughes and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he graduated in 1920. While he was in high school, he was known as an active kid. He received “an athletic letter in track and held offices in the student council and [as well as the] American Civic Association.” (Hugo, Victor. “Langston Hughes Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2008, www.notablebiographies.com/Ho-Jo/Hughes-Langston.html.) While in high school his passion for poetry started to grow. He was inspired by the poet

What do you wait for? We all get stuck. No matter who we are or where we hail from. Everyone has that moment where you get on the wrong bus. What I mean to say is, every man, woman, and non-binary person has been caught in a sticky situation. It could be that you promised someone you would meet them somewhere but you’ve been grounded. Or maybe as a person you have a hard time saying no and then you get into a bad place with bad people. Perhaps you are still trapped in a sticky situation. The question is what are you going to do about it? Are you just going to sit on the bleachers completing the point of existence or will you do something? Time isn 't going to stop for you so what are you doing to pull across the finish line? When looking

As I walked into St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church, I was welcomed by everyone I passed by. There was a pleasant odor filling the halls that a fresh cooked meal was being prepared making me feel like I was at home. As I walked into the hall members of all ages were there to attend the Wednesday Night Recharge ranging from cute little infants, to

Some churches handle on racism was disappointing but it was also people in the church who stepped up to advocate for the abolition of slavery.

Langston Hughes uses beautiful symbolism and imagery in his literary work “On the Road”. Hughes offers up the idea that if one is to open ones heart; life will provide unlimited abundance. In this literary work, Langston Hughes uses nature to demonstrate and symbolize the unwillingness of his main character, Sargeant, to participate in life. Hughes also demonstrates the use of a person’s anger and instinct to survive and how they both can be used as powerful forces in breaking down racial barriers. Another more impacting symbol Hughes uses is Jesus Christ as a metaphor. Hughes uses this to show how people experience life and how the traditional church values contradict each other when it comes to the acceptance of human beings. Therefore

Hughes' description of the church and the presence of Christ were meant to illustrate the religious dependence many African Americans embraced during that time. Many African-Americans enjoyed their religious freedoms and depended on religion to see them through the hard times. African-Americans traditionally considered religion important in their everyday lives ("Black American"). In an article entitled "Henry McNeal Turner," the author states