Personal Identity Is A Choice Not Dna

The two poems by Langston Hughes “Theme for English B” and “ I, Too” both identify racism that permeates all stations of life. In both texts, Hughes represents the two speakers as African Americans and identifies how one tries to elevate himself through education and the other individual remains trapped at a lower station. In the poem “Theme for English B” skin colour and all that it represents emerges when the speaker searches for his identity as well as what is the truth about his abilities. The speaker expresses his view in how he deals with his white counterparts (the instructor). “I, Too” centers on the idea of racial oppression, looking at how whites do not recognize blacks as equals and how this affects the individual. Yet the texts attempt to show the basic human similarities between African Americans and white people despite their perceived differences and societal segregation. The two speakers within the poems struggle with their own self-worth in relation to their colour. The similarity between the two speakers is that they approach their issues confident in their capabilities and futures. The two speakers differ in that they appear to have different stations in life; servitude versus achieving higher education, yet both struggle with self-worth.

This paper examines the perspective of Langston Hughes and how his style of writing is. It looks at how several interrelated themes run through the poetry of Langston Hughes, all of which have to do with being black in America and surviving in spite of immense difficulties. Langston Hughes is one of the most influential writers because his style of work not only captured the situation of African Americans; it also grabbed the attention of other races with the use of literary elements and other stylistic qualities. Langston Hughes became well known for his way of interpreting music into his work of writing, which readers love and enjoy today.

Through his poem “Theme for English B”, Langston Hughes expresses his will to exterminate discrimination by proving that despite different skin colors, Americans all share similarities and learn from each other. Langston wrote the poem in 1900, when black Americans were not considered Americans. He talks about a black student being assigned to write a paper about himself. The audience is thus the student’s professor – the representation of the white Americans. Since the professor said: “let that page come out of you---Then, it will be true.”, the student began wondering “if it’s that simple”. He then describes himself to explain why it isn’t simple: he is “twenty-two”, “the only colored in class”, and lives in the poor community Harlem.

Langston Hughes and I have many things in common.. In “Theme for English B” Hughes talks about his truth, how he is very aware that he has a different skin color, but that is not what he thinks he should be identified by. What identifies him are the accumulation of the things in his life. I can relate with this because although I do not feel like I am discriminated for my race, I do feel like I'm discriminated against for not being like those of my race. I also know that certain points of one’s life shapes it. It is difficult to know what you are suppose to be when you are a the first born generation in a country. Much like Hughes at the time that he wrote the piece, I too am young and am eager to grow, while also being oblivious to what come

As time has passed humanity still tends to separate each other based on our racial being rather than seeing each other as one human race. Langston Hughes’s, “A New Song,” published in 1938 introduces the idea of a new vision of social relations in American society. Hughes’s original version of this poem written in 1933, does not encompass his growing anger on this subject that is dwelled upon in his published version. However, with Hughes’s powerful tone and word choice throughout his 1938 rendition, his reader is able to understand his urge to transform America into an interracial culture. (Central Idea) His poem voices the importance of transforming society into a multiethnic unity and working-class established through cultural ties between whites and blacks. (Thesis) Hughes voices this crucial need to change through his emphasis on African American’s past struggles as opposed to the new dream, his militant tone, and through expressing the role that the establishment of cultural ties plays in society.

Throughout my life I have experienced many trials that are quite different to that of the narrator in “Theme for English B”; however, there are some similarities such as his life experiences, that can be compared to those of the narrator. In this poem Langston Hughes writes of a man who is given an assignment with very abstract and philosophical instructions for writing this paper. Accordingly, the narrator has some difficulties at first because he thinks of how different he and the professor is, saying “It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what I feel and see and hear” (16-18). Consequently, the narrator realizes the difference between his life in Harlem and the life of his white professor. This causes the narrator to be skeptical of how the professor may receive the narrators’ interpretation of the assignment. Though the narrator and I share similar characteristics and experiences it is the differences that make the most impact throughout this paper. Three major differences are his teacher’s assignment, the colleges view of him, and his life in general. While Hughes does provide much background information on the narrator’s past, he gives multiple examples of his life a student and as a citizen living at the YMCA in Harlem.

One of the most disturbing things in today’s culture is a loss of originality and nationality. People are no longer proud to be Americans and instead of pushing for new heights people follow in the footsteps of others. People today need heir sense of self back and need to start taking pride in what they do and where they’re from. In “One Song, America, Before I Go” by Walt Whitman and “I Too” by Langston Hughes, the speakers celebrated the concepts of individuality, originality, and nationality.

Langston Hughes is famous for his many great poems and was a very talented man. He wrote a poem in college called “Theme for English B”. In Langston Hughes’s poem, he uses imagery of racial differences and a bold tone to undermine the teacher’s authority. He also to expresses the universal idea that intolerance often comes out of individual assumption. Langston’s confusion of the topic of the paper causes him to write the entire paper about the paper.

The idea Double Consciousness has been the overarching struggle in many Afro-Hispanic and Latin X literature. Double Consciousness is a term coined by W. E. B. Du Bois to describe an individual whose identity is divided into several facets. Double Consciousness complicates the feeling of belonging because it makes it difficult for one to develop a sense of self. In the autobiography Down These Mean Streets, written by Peri Thomas, the reader gets to experience the authors struggles with Double Consciousness of being both Hispanic and Black. In a similar fashion, Langston Hughes’ autobiography, Big Sea, gives the reader understanding of the shortcoming of dealing with Double consciousness with class and economic status. In this essay, I will be exploring how movement and location has a strong impact on identity, while simultaneously highlighting the importance to the journey that help develops a sense of self.

My response to Langston Hughes ' in Theme for English B is we have a variety of interests that are relatable to both of us. We encountered and conquered the greatest battles in our lives. We confronted segregation and rejection in view of the color of our skin and identity. After reading his poem, I was reminded of how I experienced discrimination and rejection throughout public school and I was labeled an outsider. I was discriminated and rejected not only just the color of my skin, it’s because of my disability. Langston Hughes’ Theme for English B made me feel the same way at public school. I wonder, precisely who am I? Where do I fit on this Earth? Indeed, these are a couple of questions that Hughes struggles with, aside from the world in which he was posing these questions. I was lost, but now I found my identity and build great character. My identity, which includes my race, disability, and my values are either accepted or not in this broken world. These three things affect how I read Langston Hughes’ poem because I was faced with deep ambivalence toward the prevailing society, but now I feel that I’m open and positive about society and my place in it.

The poem is about an African student receiving an assignment to write a paper from the self, making sure that the paper is true. The student questions the assignment, he wonders if something could really be considered true if written under the pretense of being from ones self. He debates what is considered true for Americans, black or white. While the poem gives little description of the speakers life, we find he is a 22

In “Theme for English B” Langston Hughes dramatizes race and self-identity. Hughes is struggling to relate himself to his teacher and everyone around him, so he starts off by telling readers about his background such as his age and where he has lived. “I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston- Salem” (2). Through the first stanza of the poem we know that Hughes is living through a time where race is a big issue and not too many African American adolescents are in school like he is. He is learning more and more about himself by asking questions about the society he lives in and if and how he fits in it. He is trying to discover truths about his self-identity by comparing himself and his white teacher several times. “You are white- yet a

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.

In the fight for equality, people of color often feel isolated and separated from those whose privilege reinforces their oppression. However, there are and always have been white people who see the inequalities that are practiced in society and speak out against them in hopes of reaching equality for all. Langston Hughes used his voice in poetry to express his experience as a black man in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement, and his is a household name. There is no doubt that his words have power. The reader expects to feel his experience and gain empathy and understanding through his poetry. In his poem, “Let America Be America Again,” Hughes presents his experience of American life in a powerful contrast to the experience

It is a powerful poem that exposes readers to a new paradigm (Michael 4). The author also expresses what mentality women have, in wanting to be in several cultures simultaneously. In the first line of the poem, Anzaldúa, clearly states that a woman can not be defined as belonging to one race or another. The poem talks about how different people see their own racial identity. Identity is important and relevant because of how we view today’s notion of “real Americans.”