Far From Being Truthful To My Own Self The subject of religion has always been a subject of contradiction against people because of the diverse religion that exists in the world. Everyone will then have an agreement on the fact that religion is having faith and believing on what is above a human being. “Salvation”, “The Veil”, and “What God Got to Do with It” respectively written by Langston Hughes, Marjane Satrapi and Karen Armstrong, revealed an interesting experience during a time of their life on religion. Those authors by their writings expressed how somebody should lead his road through God beside the handiness of judgment that people and society have about it. Politics and the action of people in society are the main issues encountered regarding religion in the different essays. By relating the same idea through their writing, each author presents different paths to line the subject using a claim of solution. Any child growing up has the belief that their elders are their God, so they will definitely believe anything they said because for the child, the elders know everything and they never lie. In general, children are known to be angel souls and deep believers. But believing in the elder 's words never drive them to questioning; they just understand everything the way they hear it. At twelve years old, Hughes faced a moment of resurrection concerning his way to be saved by Jesus. “When you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And
In the poem, Blues at Dawn, Langston Hughes talks about how he does not think in the morning. He states, “I don’t dare start thing in the morning.” When he states this, he is talking about how he can’t think about what is going on in the world when he wakes up. In the fourth line of the poem, Hughes writes, “Them thoughts would bust my head.” In this line, it brings the reader into reality that the thoughts and world around are very chaotic.
The innocence shown by the young boy at the beginning of the story can be attributed to many factors, the main reason being his Auntie Reed. She goes on talking for days about the big revival. Just like any other kid would, Hughes listens and believes word-for-word what his aunt tells him: ?She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul.? (181) This naivete is characteristic of youths of that age group. After all, he ?heard a great many old people say the same thing? (181) and it seemed to him ?they ought to know? (181). With all the hype and anticipation surrounding this event, Hughes is certain something is bound to happen. His disappointment is manifested when he does not literally see Jesus. From what he has been told, Hughes is expecting to see a human incarnation of Jesus. He is actually more than just expecting to see him; he badly wants to be saved! Seeing Westley give up so carelessly, triggers an awkward feeling inside of Hughes. The thought that Jesus is not going to show up after all is starting to grow. That leads him to eventually give up and join Westley in lying. It is only at night that he comes
At school when the teacher say one plus one equal two, he will not doubt his words. She is the teacher, so she is telling the truth. It goes the same at home. They respect their parents not because they share the same blood but because they are the only one they know and trust. They listen to adults, they believe in their wisdom. However believing in adults’ words do not necessary mean that they understand. The language sounds the same but it is different like homonyms. When Hughes’s aunt said that “When you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! And God was with you from now on!” (Hughes549) ; he believed her. He was ready to see the light and
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.
“I too” by Langston Hughes and “Dreams” by Nikki Giovanni are poems concerning conformity and rebellion. I too was published in the 1926 volume of poetry by Langston Hughes. It is about an African American man, who is “either a slave, a free man in the Jim Crow South, or even a domestic servant”, that conforms to the ideas and traditions between black and white people. He does this, while quietly waiting for the day that he will not have to conform or “stay in the kitchen” anymore. Dreams is about a black girl who dreams to be famous singer when she is a child. However, as she grows older, and starts to understand the labels and roles black girls are put in in society at the time, she conforms to the idea of settling down and letting her
Sojourner Truth is an ex-slave and fiery abolitionist who dazzles listeners with her wit and originality. She is straight talking and unsentimental, Truth became a national symbol for strong black woman. Like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, she is regarded as a radical of immense and enduring influence; however, she is more remembered more for her myths than her personality. In the book, Sojourner Truth A Life, A Symbol, the author Nell Irvin Painter, goes beyond the myths, words, and photographs to uncover the life of a complex woman who was born into slavery and died a legend. Inspired by religion, Truth transforms herself from a domestic servant named Isabella into a nomadic preacher named Sojourner. Her words of empowerment have inspired black women and poor people of the world over to this day.
When Hughes was brought to the revival to be saved, he was only twelve years old. At this young age, he was intensely confronted by a complex decision of whether or not to be saved. His account is very detailed, describing as if were yesterday “old women with jet-black faces and braided hair, old men with work-gnarled hands” (947). Hughes seriously and honestly came to this event with an open heart and a bright mind. It is never to be assumed that a child is not capable of grasping religion; it is their unique intelligence that actually gives them a chance at divine understanding that most adults cannot seem to communicate.
How does it feel like to be a problem? Many would answer this question in different ways. Everyone has experienced “being the problem” in different ways. However, in terms of race, the answer to this question was similar among most African Americans. Living like they are a problem, consists of a majority of their lives. Different documents ranging from 1903 to our present day in 2015 mirror this same ideology. People such as W.E.B DuBois, Anne Moody, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama, expressed the same concern. Many people in our society, past and present, see being African American as a sign of inferiority. Race shouldn’t be the distinguishing factor between people. Moody, King, Obama, and DuBois all show that the fixation on race was a debilitating problem and appealed to their audiences for action to break free of these prejudices by trying to identify the problems and recommending courses of action.
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.
“Seek the good in others and the best you will find.” In the short story, “Thank You, Ma'am” by Langston Hughes, Mrs.Jones lives by this quote. When a raggedy boy runs up behind you and steals your pocketbook you naturally would think,”he is not a good boy.” Well when this happened to Mrs. Jones one night she had a different approach. She sought the good in others by looking past the bad, giving second chances and kindness. She shows this when she took Roger in and taught him a lesson. From this story, we can all learn the important lesson of seeking the good in others.
L. Hughes’ short story ‘Passing’ is driven by the conflict between the morals of having to behave like a white man and being African American by birth. The main character has a conflicting identity. ‘William Faulkner reminds us that in addition to a conflict of wills, fiction also shows “the heart in conflict with itself”’ (Burroway, J. 2011 pg. 249). This is particularly evident when the narrator, Jack says, ‘that’s the kind of thing that makes passing hard, having to deny your own family when you see them…you and I both realise it is all for the best, but anyhow it’s terrible’ (Hughes 1971 pg. 51). The main character is seen to although understand the privilege he has, also feel guilty about ignoring who he is by birth. David Lodge describes ‘…The beginning of a novel is a threshold, separating the real world we inhabit from the world the novelist has imagined. It should therefore… “Draw
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.
Not all poems fall into the category of epic poetry or ballads. Some pieces are short and concise rather than lengthy and elegant. A shorter poem may focus more thoroughly on diction, or the author’s specific choice of words, rather than things such as rhyme scheme or meter. Langston Hughes poem “Suicide’s Note” is a perfect example of this. Because it is only twelve words long, every single word is important and chosen carefully. This poem uses many literary techniques, none more than diction, to achieve its purpose. which is to focus on the split-second decision that is suicide.
In the Corner Miss Ella dedicates her time and energy to running the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center. She is able to make connections with children of all ages, ranging as old as high school. The children who come are able to participate in productive after school activities, rather than spending their time on the Corner. Ultimately, Miss Ella feels that by providing opportunities at the recreation center, she is able to keep kids from being involved in the Corner, for as long as possible. While her efforts are genuine and work to some extent, the center itself is not merely enough to keep the wild-hearted boys of the C.M.B. crew off the streets. The children of the Corner lack motivation to go to school, finding gallivanting on the streets and stirring up trouble to be much more enticing. If a preventative program was implemented that focused on both prevention and the promotion of positive behaviors, such as completing high school, the potential benefits to society could include a few less criminals on the streets or tangled up in the justice system.