Mulato By Langston Hughes

Nothing is more fascinating nor more compelling than the study of our own human condition. Often the most enthralling and alluring way of expressing the human condition can be found within the very literature we read, in particular, poetry. Poems are an expression of art; a way to simultaneously condense

In the story of “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes, a big lady named Mrs. Jones was walking in the middle of the night, when a boy sneaked up on her. Mrs. Jones who’s purse got stolen by a boy named Roger, managed to get him in time. Mrs. Jones then takes Roger to her house.

Millions of acts of kindness occur every day, like how Mrs. Jones acted towards Roger. “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes shows that forgiveness comes with trust and understanding. This short story has multiple themes; trust is earned, trust comes with kindness, and generosity leads to happiness. But the most important theme that the author indicates is that forgiving the wrongdoer comes with trusting and understanding them. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is upset with the boy in the story, Roger. Luella learns to forgive him; he’s only a kid and deserves a second chance. Roger explains that he only wanted money for blue suede shoes. Luella leaves him alone with her purse for awhile which implies that she trusts him. When Mrs. Jones discovers that he didn’t steal her money, she is glad that she trusted him and generously gives him money to purchase the shoes.

Langston Hughes connects with his audience throughout his poetry by focusing on life's matters. He brings out the significance of life by talking about obstacles that many people encounter in their lives. As Ellen Bailey states, "His work as a poet, novelist, dramatist, short-story writer, essayist, editor, and lyricist focused on the lives of lower class black Americans," which is recalled in "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", "and he often spoke out against racial injustice." But this poem is about all of humanity. "Life is Fine" by Langston Hughes is about staying optimistic when being challenged in life because it talks about many scenarios where the narrator wants to give up on life but never follows through because life is too good.

“50-50” by Langston Hughes In the poem “50-50” by Langston Hughes, the theme is about a lonely woman seeking love. She might be a young woman who left her family in the South and moved North during the Great Migration for better opportunities, and that might be the reason why she feels she is all alone in this world. Or, she might be a widow or someone who has lost a partner, or boyfriend. She feels she is all alone because she has no man in her life.

Land of the Free Langston Hughes’s “Let America Be America Again” is a poem that could be endlessly applied to where America stands today. This poem illustrates the morals, ideas, and visions set forth by those who found this country and how America has begun straying from those principles. The poem expresses that America is made up of all walks of people and that no man should be crushed by those above him, but rather be given the same opportunity as those above him. Hughes desire to make America great again can be shared in some way or another by most Americans making this poem everlasting. “Let America Be America Again” has the personalization, the language, the connection shared by every American, and the rhyme to allow readers of every race, gender, or religious belief to be brought together as not only people but as Americans.

The two poems “White Lies” by Natasha Trethewey and “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes were written to express racial dilemmas that the authors went through. Thematically, they represent the American Dream. In “White Lies” we see that Trethewey went through some racial identity issues. She felt as if she had to lie to blend in with the rest of the whites, which was easy for her because she was mixed. To understand the full meaning of this poem, one assumes that Trethewey was the product of an interracial marriage. This type of thing was frowned upon during the time she grew up. In the poem “Theme for English B” Hughes seems to accept the fact that he is different. Hughes does not seem to have a problem with expressing his difference. He looks at as his individuality and strives to let everyone know that he is proud of who he is. The two poems have many similarities and differences.

Throughout Langston Hughes' novel, Not Without Laughter, the author introduces multiple characters that reveal their notions of prejudice. The novel explores that prejudice in one form or another is in every aspect of one's life. Prejudice can be defined as an opinion for or against a person's look, race, class, or religion, which is usually formed by a hasty generalization. Most of the main characters, Aunt Hager, Sister Johnson, Jimboy, Harriet, and Tempy contain different accounts of prejudice in the world, which stimulate many of Sandy's thoughts of life as he comes of age. Aunt Hager, Annjee, Harriet, and Sandy, are a multi-generation poor African American family that live in a small home together but are eventually divided by multiple circumstances. The story takes place during the 1910s in the small town of Stanton, Kansas.

“Merry-Go-Round” is a poem about a little colored child that goes to the carnival. The child wants to ride the merry-go-round, but has a problem finding the back. From where the child comes from, Jim Crow laws segregate the blacks from the whites. This poem has a lot of depth and meaning, although it sounds very simple. It also tells us the mindset of most blacks in the South in the days of segregation. I chose this poem because the boy’s innocence was touching and its deep meaning was very powerful.

“Let America Be America Again” focuses on the idea of the American dream and how for many wanting freedom, equality and happiness which the dream itself to begin impossible to attain

Langston Hughes has a type of cynical view on America that seems to change its taste as he gets older. The first to look at is “I,Too” where he seems to have a hopeful view of his country and separates the citizens from the country. He says things such as “They’ll see how beautiful I am” which shows that he feels good about his future and the future of racial tension. Which he then transitions into “Let America be America again” where he is crtizieing the American people for saying that they are about liberty and freedom when they are his oppressors. It’s more of a call to action than his last few poems he is more so pointing out the injustices than just stating that there are some. And by the tone of the poem you can tell that he has lost

Have you ever help someone that try to do you wrong? ¨Thank You, M'am.¨ by Langston Hughes is about a woman that helps out a young man. ¨ A Victim Treats His Mugger Right¨ by Michael Garofalo is about a man that helps the guy that try to steal from him. Julio Diaz and Mrs. Jones both help this young boys in many ways when they try to do something bad to them.Mrs. Jones and Julio Diaz have many things in common.

Metaphor and Symbolism in Langston Hughes’s My People My people is one of Langston Hughes’ poems which is about working class black African American people. In this poem, he compared the beauty of nature to the beauty of his people. My people is a very short poem, built in three stanzas which consist of two lines in each stanza. This poem was written in simple language, therefore, the readers can easily understand what he is trying to convey. I believe, beneath its simple words, this poem depicts the beauty of working class black African American people that go beyond the beauty of physical appearance.

Supremacist and predicaments in Hughes’s childhood clouded his envisioned proficient future while molding him for the better. Racial experiences in his earlier years would stick with him forever by shaping him into a confident artist determined to expose the nation to his exquisite persona. Since Hughes lived during racially hostile America, it is no surprise he had some memorable experiences. In The Big Sea Hughes points out a situation when he was having trouble being admitted into a school since no other black families were there (14). Likewise, in his stories Hughes creates scenarios demonstrating the prejudice and racially orthodox issues seen in America. Not only are these problems caused by non-ethnics, but in his writing he attacks

In the poem “ Madam and her Madam “ by Langston Hughes, a woman with the name Alberta works as a servant and tells her story about the duties performed and how tired it makes her. In the poem it states that Alberta must clean the 12-room house, cook three meals a day, take care of the children, walk the dog, and do the laundry. She complains to her employer that she's been given too much work asking her whether she is trying to make a "pack-horse" out of her or not. This is showing that Alberta’s employer is taking advantage of her and making her do way more work than she's supposed too.