The Importance Of Color In The Works Of Langston Hughes

In, “ I too”, by Langston Hughes wrote in 1922 is about a presumably young black man is stating that he too is an American and one day everyone will treat him as such. “I am the dark brother, they send me to eat in the kitchen but I laugh, and eat well and grow strong.” (Hughes, 1922). This work shows how even through diversity, enslavement, discrimination, and torture the black man one day will prevail, and has held onto the hope that his reliance on God will bring him and his people through that one say they will be treated as equal. “Besides they’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed- I too, am America.” (Hughes, 1922). This fight is still prevalent today because the “presumably” a black man is considered dangerous because of his neighborhood, upbringing, or because of the past told to them from long ago. When in all actuality that black man is just one that was raised in a rough neighborhood just trying to find a way to climb up the economic ladder so that he and his family will not have to same life he did. But though all of that black Americans still cling to God in hope that one day he will truly be seen as equal.

    There is a very powerful message in Langston Hughes poem I, Too, that message is we are all Americans no matter what differences we have. During the Harlem Renaissance, African Americans were treated just like Africans, even though they were born in America. All of them at that time were born and raised in America, that should make them American. Hughes says in his poem “I, too, sing America”(1). Hughes says he is American just like

A huddle of horns And a tinkle of glass A note Handed down from Marcus to Malcolm To a brother Too bad and too cool to give his name. Sometimes despair Makes the stoops shudder Sometimes there are endless depths of pain Singing a capella on street corners

magine America with no rules, government, or any type of structure . This is thanks to Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers for creating , The Declaration Of Independence . Although the Jefferson and the founding fathers anticipated a better country after the creation of the Declaration Of Independence , America has not fully fulfilled these hopeful ideals. However America has come a long way since then , we still have work to do as a nation .

Langston Hughes is an extremely successful and well known black writer who emerged from the Harlem Renaissance (“Langston Hughes” 792). He is recognized for his poetry and like many other writers from the Harlem Renaissance, lived most of his life outside of Harlem (“Langston Hughes” 792). His personal experiences and opinions inspire his writing intricately. Unlike other writers of his time, Hughes expresses his discontent with black oppression and focuses on the hardships of his people. Hughes’ heartfelt concern for his people’s struggle evokes the reader’s emotion. His appreciation for black music and culture is evident in his work as well. Langston Hughes is a complex poet whose profound works provide insight into all aspects of black

In the poem “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes, he envisions a greater America, a more inclusive America where all the races can proudly represent themselves as American citizens. Hughes was a leader of Harlem Renaissance, and had tremendous pride of his race as an African American. However, during that time period, African Americans were being considered as second-class race, and they were being segregated in every aspect throughout the country. Hughes could not tolerate seeing his fellow brothers and sisters being treated unequally because of their skin color, he knew that he had to do something to bring a change, and he was determined to make that change become the reality. Hughes published the poem in the year of 1945, about ten years before the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It was the time where racism and prejudice were still prevalent, and segregation laws were being implemented in many places throughout the country. People needed encouragement to stand up in order to fight for their rights, and this poem perfectly empowers people’s courage and spirit. In “I, Too, Sing America,” Langston Hughes uses sound, diction, and symbolism hoping to awaken people’s dilapidated spirits and that one day people would embrace each other in which African Americans are truly classified as equal Americans.

American writer and social activist Langston Hughes is known for his insightful and colorful portrayals of the black community. He was one of the founders of Jazz poetry and his work really stood out during the Harlem Renaissance, which began shortly after World War I. During this time a lot of African-Americans moved to the north especially to huge cities like New York. The Harlem Renaissance was a hub for artistic expression for African-Americans. Langston Hughes, although not the first but a strong leader that stood out in front of all the creativity making him very significant to American literary history.

As an artist, or literature, music or visual art, there is power in creating pieces that move the masses. For an African American artist in the 1920’s, that power was fought for harder and dimmed due the racial inequalities across America. Being acknowledged as a credible artist was equated to being acknowledged as an American during a time where African American citizens were not considered an equal under the law. The Harlem Renaissance, spanning from the mid 1920’s to the late 1930’s, shed light on the excellence within the African American Community. The heart of the movement, Harlem, New York, encompassed visual art, music, literature and

The first African American to earn a living through writing, also known as Langston Hughes, is a significant figure in both the Harlem Renaissance and the poetry community. His post-school and childhood experiences influenced his writing. Hughes wrote about the lives of lower-class African Americans and racial injustice to increase awareness of the issue. Langston Hughes impacted the lives of many black communities through his writing; influenced by his childhood and experiences in New York, the places he grew up, and overseas.

Langston Hughes was born on February 1st 1902 in Joplin Missouri (“Langston Hughes” par. 1). His divorced parents resulted in being raised by his grandmother until his pre teen years. Following many relocations over America, he also explored “Africa and Europe as a seaman”, eventually settling in Washington D.C. Langston created his first poetry book, The Weary Blues, which was published in 1926 by Alfred A. Knopf. He completed post secondary in the following three years at “University of Pennsylvania” . Following his graduation, he had written and published his first novel, Not Without Laughter, which, “won the Harmon gold medal for literature”. Langston was known for his “insightful and colourful portrayal of black life in America through the twenties to the sixties”. His work expressed cultural struggles of black individuals with engaging and entertaining forms of literature, such as; plays, novels, short stories, and poetry. Hughes, unlike other black artists who “were turning inward”, wanted to “tell stories that reflected their [black] actual culture [...] including their suffering and their love of music”.

The writing of Langston Hughes in “I too” is considerably dependent on his point of view. The activities that arise in the poem are as accurate as they can get because Langston Hughes is writing from the heart. Hughes went through the Harlem Renaissance and faced constant skirmishes with racism. Because of that, his writing seems to show a greater meaning. He is part of the African-American race that is used in his writing. He writes about how he is presently troubled, but this does not reduce his faith and motivation to become an equal man. Because he speaks from the point of view of an oppressed African-American the poem’s free-for-alls and forthcoming changes seem to be of greater

Langston Hughes, a poem writer, of “ I, Too”, “Democracy”, and “Theme for English B” portray the themes of race, identity, and the belief of what it means to be an American. In the poem “I, Too” the speaker of the poem is a black male slave. The poet states, “I am the darker brother” thus implying that his black or has dark skin. The title “I, Too” is an allusion signifying I am one with you.

Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in the small town of Joplin, Missouri. A while after he was born, his parents separated. He was a famous poet. When he was living with his mother, he developed an interest in poetry. His first famous poem was The Negro Speaks Of Rivers, which was published in The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP. In the 1920’s, he lived with his father in Mexico. He was influenced by Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman. One of the things he wrote about was the life of an African American. He wrote an article for the Chicago defender which gave African Americans a voice in America. He wrote most of his poetry in Paris, France. His most famous poem is Still Here. He died of prostate cancer on May 22, 1967. After

According to Biography, James Mercer Langston Hughes is considered to be an African American poet who is college educated and comes from a middle-class family (Langston Hughes Biography). He attended college in New York City and became influential during the Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes Biography). Although Hughes was a talented writer, he faced some challenges early on and it was stated that his “early work was roundly criticized by many black intellectuals for portraying what they thought to be an unattractive view of black life” (Langston Hughes. American Poet). They believed that his work helps the spread the stereotypes of African Americans. “Hughes, more than any other black poet or writer, recorded faithfully the nuances of black life and its frustrations” (Langston Hughes. American Poet). Langston Hughes’s poems “The Negro Mother”, “Let America be America Again” and “The Weary Blues” were influenced by his life during the Harlem Renaissance and the racial inequality experienced in the late 1920s through the 1960s.

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement and the enlightenment of black minds as a whole. This movement sparked the minds of many leaders such as Marcus Garvey, W.E.B Dubois, and Langston Hughes, these men would also come to be known as the earliest Civil Rights activists. While Garvey and Dubois expressed their views in speeches and rallies Hughes had a different approach and chose to articulate his thoughts and views through literature more specifically poetry. Through his poetry, Hughes became a world renown poet for such works as “Let America Be America Again”, “Harlem” and “I Too” taken from his first book “The Weary Blues.” These poems while written and inspired by the everyday struggles of being an African-American were arguably targeted at white Americans. Hughes wrote a majority of his work during the Harlem Renaissance and as a result focused on “injustice” and “change” in the hopes that society would recognize their mistake and reconcile, but in order for this to happen he would have to target the right audience.