Meaning Of Langston Hughes 'Poem Cross'

He had touched these items day by day, wondering who had been beside her while she had retrieved the pebble from the beach, or who placed the shadow in the photo of her. His mind would race day and night, making it difficult for him to provide adequate attention on the war. Cross “would yell at his men to spread out the column, to keep their eyes open, but then he would slip away into daydreams, just pretending, walking barefoot along the Jersey shore; with Martha, carrying nothing” (396). Cross would hope for nothing more than to be carrying nothing. These physical objects weighed him down terribly after the death of Ted Lavender. He had loved Martha much more than his men, and due to his overpowering love he had lost one of them. The pebble was not only a symbol of importance to Cross as he dealt with the trauma of war, but as the physical weight he carried due to the death of his man. These physical symbols helped to identify a shift in the story when Cross decides to open up and make a change to the way he is coping with the war after Lavender’s death. This “wouldn’t help Lavender, he knew that, but from this point on he would comport himself as an officer” (403).

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was a character with many layers that he never actually showed. He had emotions that he kept inside him, and he was never truly focused on the war. He rarely talked to the other soldiers about how he felt about the war. Cross was burdened with responsibility and guilt. He blamed himself for the death of his soldiers, and he blamed himself for Martha not loving him the way he loved her. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a important character that is seriously affected by the war, and has conflicted

It is the idea of contrast that Hughes imposes on the reader. Hughes not only focuses on the negativity aspects of life, but through the negative elements is one able to see the positive outcomes. It is the over all theme of overcoming these obstacles, that captures the audience. Towards the end of the last stanza of the poem, we, the audience, see a complete transformation of the speaker and his view on life. He now comprehends the extensity of his actions and views his emotions as a blinding element from reality. He does not have the need to commit suicide anymore, and now fully accepts the loss and embraces the lament. "Though you may hear me holler, and you may see me cry- I'll be dogged, sweet baby, If you gonna see me die. Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine! (Conarroe pg 242, 27-33). With the passage, the reader is now aware of the transformation of the speaker.

As well, this signpost is an example of Cross’s obsession with Martha. Possibly his obsession with Martha is a way to remember his life at home and to refuse his present state in the war. 2) “He remembered telling her that one evening. How she nodded and looked away. And how, later, when he kissed her, she received the kiss without returning it, her eyes wide open, not afraid, not a virgin's eyes, just flat and uninvolved.”

The Image of Lieutenant Cross burning Martha’s photograph is a symbol, it is a symbol of the soldiers coming into war. Cross-represents soldiers and the photograph of Martha represent their attachment to the world outside of the war. O’Brien’s use of Imagery and symbols, paints a vivid picture of the Cross’s actions in the readers head while using Cross and his action as a symbol of what soldiers must give up coming into the war. The Imagery engages the reader with its descriptive properties and draws the readers to character by allowing them to better visualize the character in the setting. The symbol, allows the reader to better understand the hardships the soldiers must face in coming to war. Another effective way that O’Brien develops this theme in the novel is through the use of anecdotes and more symbolism. For example In the chapter titled “Speaking of Courage”, As Norman Bowker returns home from the war, he is still affected by one particular issue, the fact that he didn’t get the medal of

By burning his special things of Martha, Lt. Cross is able to break free from the fantasy world and return to the role he was trained to do. “He was now determined to perform his duties firmly and without negligence” (327). With Lavender’s death in mind, he becomes aware of immediate dangers that may arise and begins to “impose strict field discipline” (327) to prevent death. Lt Cross “reminded

Though Cross dwells in idealism and hope for a time, Cross transitions into a realistic mindset after the shocking death of Ted Lavender. O’Brien illustrates the cruel reality of life and its fragility, ending quickly like “boom-down.” With the Lavender’s death, Cross realizes that his responsibilities as a soldier, a leader, and a man are far more important than his futile grasps on romanticism. He recognizes the need for “a new hardness in his stomach” and decides to be “realistic.” He burns Martha’s photographs and, in effect, his hope, feelings of love and emotion, and his childhood. O’Brien reveals Cross’s despondent thoughts about the things men “felt they had to do,” but also his acceptance of society’s expectations. Cross’s resolve to “distance himself” shows his

Racial passing is a struggle not only seen in Hughes poems and during the Harlem Renaissance but, in present day Black America. Passing makes reference to a person who is classified as a certain race or belonging to one racial group whom is also accepted as a apart of another racial group. Passing was especially used to describe someone of a mixed background in America who assimilated to the white majority. The concept of passing is something that tears the black community apart; Langston Hughes not only saw, but experienced passing. Hughes writes about passing in some of his works. In one of his works entitled “Passing” certain lines really stand out and directly speak about passing, not in the literal sense, but passing in a world that puts the fairer skinned above those who are of a darker skin tone. In “Passing” Hughes talks about it being funny that white people don’t like those that are colored and goes on to say that if thy did he wouldn’t have to be “passing” to keep his good job. Hughes goes on to say that he doesn’t mind being “white” and generously thanks his mother

The battle between love and responsibility causes very apparent damage to Cross' mental state. He fights constantly within his head, a battle of loving and hating Martha, "He hated her. Love, too, but it was a hard, hating kind of love." (111). He burns the letters from Martha as well as the photos of her, as if that will right the death of Lavender; a death he had no control over or responsibility for.

Obviously, in the story, Cross hides his fantasy ‘’Martha’’ and does not talk about his girl with any fellow soldiers. However, he spends much time to determine whether Martha is virgin or not. Furthermore, he tries to make it clear about whether Martha loves him or not. Because of this kind of uncertainty, ‘’his mind wanders’’ and ‘’he had difficulty keeping his attention on the war’’ (473). However, at that moment, he still does not show his uncertainty to his fellow soldiers. He thinks about ‘’Martha’’ and his uncertain love so many times that ‘’he does not care about his men’’ (477). As a consequence, his platoon moves as ‘’mules’’ (477) and easily gets exhausted. He does not think about the nervous war situation and talk about his plans of war to his fellow soldiers. Due to lack of communication, Cross does not organize the platoon regularly and frequently and make a specific plan of war. His leadership is gradually worse during the war. Lastly, his fellow soldier Lavender dies early and

As a symbol of the love he has lost, “He burned Martha’s letters” (16). Cross then found “A new hardness in his stomach. No more fantasies. He would shut down the day dreams” (17). O’Brien uses these statements to mark the official change in the mentality of Lieutenant Cross.

Langston Hughes’ dedication to depicting the bona fide aspects of black life leads him to discuss struggle. One of the most omnipresent themes in black life, at the time of Hughes, is the constant struggle they face every

Character growth is also essential to the story. In the beginning Cross fantasized about a girl named Martha. He fantasizes weather or not she is a virgin and subsequently, fantasizes about different ways to take her virginity. This fantasy consumes him until the day his best friend and army compatriot, Lavender, dies. Cross believes Lavenders death to be his fault and decides to put his fantasies to rest and assume, fully, a position of true leadership. This change in character is also marked by Cross’ destruction of the picture.

Hughes said, “I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like the same things other folk who are other races”. The choice of word he uses “being colored” instead of “being black” or “being African American”, shows that he uses terms that white people refer to black people as. The line is saying even though he is “colored” it does not make him anything that's out of the ordinary the only difference is his skin color. He does not allow this to be a barrier that would stop him from enjoying the things he likes.

In exploring the problem of identity in Black literature we find no simple or definite explanation. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that it is rooted in the reality of the discriminatory social system in America with its historic origins in the institution of slavery. One can discern that this slavery system imposes a double burden on the Negro through severe social and economic inequalities and through the heavy psychological consequences suffered by the Negro who is forced to play an inferior role, 1 the latter relates to the low self-estimate, feeling of helplessness and basic identity conflict. Thus, in some form or the other, every Negro American is confronted with the