Langston Hughes

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.

The upper-class blacks shunned the lower class viewing them as being “embarrassingly vulgar” (Dickinson 323). Overcoming African-American prejudice was a major focus in most of Hughes’ writing. For example, he wrote about the joys, sorrows and hopes of the black man in America (Dickinson 321). Not all of his writings were so encouraging however. Other themes Hughes wrote about include lynchings, rapes, discrimination, and Jim Crow Laws. He commented that when he felt bad, he wrote a great deal of poetry; when he was happy, he didn’t write any (Dickinson 321).

and for, one of the reasons that Hughes began to draw on the blues tradition for writing his

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

Langston Hughes was known for his poems of black activity in America since the 1920’s to the 1960’s, which was the time of the Harlem Renaissance. “My writing has been largely concerned with the depicting of Negro life in America.” Throughout Langston’s life he has seen and experienced racism. He used these experiences to give him ideas of things he could write about. Back then white people were the majority in Harlem, but then once the blacks started to come they dispersed. “We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased, we are glad. If they are not, it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too.” Langston knew that blacks should express themselves no matter what color they are and not be ashamed of it. Some white people may like that they are expressing themselves, on the other hand, some white people may not accept that the

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.

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.

Langston Hughes, like all poets, wrote poems. His poems, like all poems, had words that described a situation in life. What made him different? His poems sent one clear message that most Americans needed to hear. That message was to see past the skin of a man, see past what society believed and to see a future where Jim Crow was destroyed. Hughes didn’t want others to forget Jim Crow towns, he wanted people to learn from them. People died; they were dragged off the streets after sunset and were hung for all to see. These people were not meant to be forgotten. Hughes understood that, and he needed others to understand it, in order to end it. Langston Hughes focused on dreams in his poetry in hopes of bringing harmonious relations between different races to reality. The three poems that best show this are “I, Too”,

Anywhere that Blacks were seen, they were immediately looked down upon and accused. It did not matter about what happened, they were always at fault. Hughes wrote many poems similar to this over his whole career in an attempt to fix this prominent issue of discrimination. Intended to inspire African-Americans, many Blacks critics were enraged at how poorly Hughes portrayed them in his works, “claiming that his focus furthered the unfavorable image of his race” (Gale, 1).

Langston Hughes, as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance, he used his own works to convince people the beauty of being Negro. When reading Hughes’s works, he had never used any metaphor and hint to hide that he was proud of being a Negro. On the contrary, he used a direct and strong expression to emphasize the love of his race. In order to respond to racial injustice in America, he used an objective perspective to describe the facts of reality and strongly criticize the injustice by using a direct way to express his dissatisfaction. His poems also reflect the love of his race and he had never hidden his spirituals.

One of the most difficult tasks I encountered in writing this paper was trying to get into Hughes's mindset, especially since this poem was written shortly after he graduated high school. It is interesting to see how mature he was at the time, which could indicate that external factors forced him to become a mature young man at an early age. Additionally, I struggled with figuring out what Hughes meant, and how he used symbolism to enhance his poetic vision.

     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.

There were multiple great points that Langston Hughes presented in his essay. The points I will refer to in this essay are that Most Black Americans are not confident in theirselves to be original and be theirselves. Mr. Hughes starts the essay of by writing of a young Black American Poet being interviewed. The young poet wishes that he could write more like American poet. When he was called a Negro Poet, he quickly denounced the name and tried to give credit to the Caucasian Poets. He did not want to be known as a Negro Poet, but as a "White Poet". This is what Hughes was tying to point to in his essay. He wanted the Black Americans to be confident in theirselves. He did not want the Black Americans to hide and just be passive. He wanted

Langston hughes, one of the greatest poets of all time had a very amazing yet difficult life. His challenges in society made him a brilliant poet and a great contributor to the harlem renaissance which was a movement in the 1920s where african americans played music and wrote literature.