The Negro Artist And The Racial Mountain, By Langston Hughes

“Self awareness is a state of being where you deeply understand your thoughts, emotions and behaviours and how they affect people and the world around them. When people are self aware they move beyond simply existing or reacting to their environment to deliberately living a fulfilling and meaningful life. People get to know the real of them and do things that reflect who they are deep inside” (Source: internet).

The short story Volar by Judith Ortiz Cofer, and the poem Harlem by Langston Hughes share a common theme which is the elusive American dream, thus, compared to a pot of gold for migrants. There are several ideas that pertain to elusive American dream of both the short story and the poem. First, in Volar, a family migrated from Puerto Rico to New Jersey to seek opportunities and better life conditions. Similarly, in Harlem, it speaks about African-Americans who migrated from the South to the North for better working conditions. Secondly, in Volar, the reality of how hard to attain the American dream is evident as the story described the living conditions in their tiny apartment. In a like manner, the poem Harlem expresses the devastation in the truth that American dream of African-Americans is unattainable. Lastly, both the short story and the poem have a message of hardship contrary to their expectations once settled in the place of what they thought to be the end of the rainbow.

Langston Hughes remains known as the most impressive, durable Negro writer in America. His tone of voice is as sure, and the manner he speaks with is original. During the twenties when most American poets were turning inward, writing obscure and esoteric poetry, Hughes was turning outward using language and themes, attitudes, and ideas familiar to anyone who had the ability simply to read. He often employs dialect distinctive of the black urban dweller or the rural black peasant. Throughout Langston Hughes career, he was aware of injustice and oppression, and used his poetry as a means of opposing them. James D. Tyms says, “Hughes writes lyric poems. But his “lyric” persona is often able to copy this social convention of the Negro Folk. Their use of the method of the ballad, to tell others how they feel” (191). Hughes lived as an

In Hughes poems, he talks about the dilemma of the difference between black and white from a prejudice state of mind. “Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life. I like a pipe for a Christmas present, or records-Bessie, bop, or Bach. I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races” (Theme for English B, Ln 20-25), Hughes explains in Theme for English B, that his life is no different than his white professor’s life, and his likes, and

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).

Hughes's poem builds on top of Whitman’s poem in more ways than one. Every single person with their described job in Whitman’s poem was said to have been sung loud and strong as to what they were doing when working, meaning that they took pride in how they worked and what kind of work they did. With how there's so many types of people and jobs being talked about in Whitman’s poem, you would think it would include the lives of blacks and how they have dealt with all the racism and stuff at the time (later on too). Hughes’s poem is a type of add-on to Whitman’s poem in the way of including the whole of black people into the mix, with many lines in the poem stating things of which overall say that even if you’re black you should still be allowed to partake in things and be in an area without any prejudice towards your skin color.

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

Hughes also takes the view of culture but he examines it from the view of blacks that are not stuck in the ghetto but have stable backgrounds. Hughes takes the view that blacks are actually hindering themselves. He says that there is a huge obstacle standing in the way of every black person. He actually makes a reference about artist but it can be viewed as any black person. He says the obstacle is, “this urge within the race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible.” (Hughes, Langston) His example is a poet. This poet subconsciously wants to be white because he feels it will make him a better poet. This poet comes from a strong background in the middle class. According to Hughes, they attend church; the father has a steady job; the mother works on occasion; and the children attend mixed schools. However, the problem comes with how the parents treat their children. The mother says things like, “Don’t be like niggers” when the children are bad. In turn the father says things like, “Look how well a white man does things.” So in this home and many others, black is not praised or celebrated it is taught to be ashamed of. They are taught to want to be white. It is staggering what blacks do to themselves because of this. Fist Hughes says the more predominant don’t

Hughes thinks that everyone has rights to be them self and everyone has their own beauty. People can be what ever they want they can be black artist if they want or they can white artist if they want, the only thing he wanted to tell people was that be proud of who you are, don’t try to be someone else who you are not. Langston Hughes gives an example where a young poet says “ I want to be a poet – not a Negro poet” Hughes thinks that the young kid wants to be white. Form my point of view the young poet said he wants to be poet but not Negro because in during 1920’s white people were like superior and they have higher chances to become well known person. So when the young poet said he doesn’t want to be a Negro poet he actually meant that he would become well known poet if

In the poem, “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes, the theme is if you’re a person of color, it doesn’t mean you’re different from somebody who’s not. We’re all human. When Langston began the poem, he gave reasons to why he isn’t any different than a white citizen. He wrote, “Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life. I like a pipe for a Christmas present, or records---Bessie, bop, or Bach.” Though he is a different color, it doesn’t mean that he isn’t a normal human being. A black still includes all the characteristics and interests as a “normal” person, no matter their color. During the middle of the poem, Hughes give the point of view of a non-colored person. He writes, “So will

The Arts, which are creative processes, that is important for many different reasons. Arts are a way for people to connect to one another by sharing their experiences, emotions, and perceptions on certain issues. Music, literature, and art, are all different categories within the arts. Engaging in one of these tasks will help you to express your emotions, relieve stresses, and improve your creativity skills. Art connects us as human beings to each other by sharing experiences, emotions, and perceptions. The meaning behind art is realizing that the artist captured unknown emotions that one feel but cannot express, creatively. The arts are very essential to our lives. Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Aaron Douglass are three significant

“I swear to the Lord I still can 't see Why Democracy means Everybody but me..” This is a quote from a well-known poet by the name of Langston Hughes who served as a prominent figure in African American history and is known for maintaining a significant role in one of the most culturally influential periods for African Americans -The Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance describes a significant era in time where hundreds or artists, writers and musicians living in Harlem came together to form a vibrant, creative community. Hughes along with many other talented and innovative African American creators and politicians such as Marcus Garvey, Zora Neal Hurston and Jean Toomer used their voices, words, instruments and paint brushes from

In Hughes' introduction, he expresses “the best work will please neither the black not the white audience. He believes that such problems are best solved by indifference to all audience- by cultivation an art that is true to itself.” An artist’s work ought to be taken a gander at not by what color the skin of the craftsman is, yet by the importance and the nature of the work. He goes ahead to express that “we younger Negro artists who create now intent to express our individual dark-skinned selves without the fear or shame.” Langston Hughes' is “ashamed for the black poet who says “I want to be a poet, not a Negro

The poem “In Time of Silver Rain” was written by Langston Hughes, an African American poet during the mid 1900’s. It is about new spring, happiness and new life after winter. The big theme of the poem is this silver rain. When Langston Hughes says “silver rain” it is a lot like the saying, a “cloud with silver lining”. Which means that with every sorrow there is joy, so you should never feel hopeless. In this case, the amazing joy of spring where life is new and full of hope comes after a bleak, long winter. Also rain is stereotypically bad, but in order for spring to come there must be rain. It is the reason there are

The time was appropriate for Hughes and other youthful Negro authors. There was a rising enthusiasm for the dark man as a craftsman, a developing peruser dispatch for diaries like The Crisis and Opportunity, and a social complex in New York City that gave a situation in which blacks could meet powerful white analysts and distributers. It was the time alluded to as the Harlem Renaissance or the New Negro Movement. The Negro who composed, sang, or painted was viewed as a representative for the since quite a while ago abused race. The Negro had a legacy from old Africa, he had slave melodies to sing and stories of corruption and savagery to tell. From the perspective of the whites, a portion of the help for the Harlem Renaissance originated from a feeling of blame. From the perspective of the blacks, the renaissance was really a resurrection, an opportunity to make the most of their own way of life out of the blue. In "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" Hughes represented every single dark craftsman when he announced that the youthful Negro scholars, in the soul of Whitman, planned to commend themselves and their way of life without dread or disgrace and without subservience to white or dark commentators. By the age of twenty-four Hughes had set up a lucky record of distribution, won two vital prizes, distributed his initially book, and progress toward becoming companions with compelling analysts and pundits. In surveying the powers at work amid this time, he stated,