Theme For English B By Langston Hughes

The Big Question In an age of technology, accessibility, and individualism we often find ourselves at the end of the question; who am I? This is the case in Langston Hughes Poem “Theme for English B”. The poem starts off with an assignment to write a page about yourself and as the writer goes through the page you see these different pieces of him fall into place. He addresses different parts of himself down to his race and how that defines him.

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.

James Mercer Langston Hughes, who is known by Langston Hughes, was born February 1, 1902 and passed May 22, 1967. Hughes was an American poet that was a public figure in the Harlem Renaissance. He was one of the earliest innovators, the flowering of African-American literature and artistic forms in Manhattan during the 1920s, especially of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry. Hughes writing promoted African-American culture, as well as bringing attention to the bad and unfortunate situations of African-Americans suffering injustice. His poems "I, Too" and "Theme for English B" both portrayed his views of equal civil rights and treatment for African-Americans and both poems are written in first-person in which the speaker is trying to show that they are worth more; however, the "I" is different for each poem, in order to fulfill Hughes` purpose.

In “Theme for English B”, the writer (Langston Hughes) is assigned to write a page about himself. The instructor wanted him to do this because he thought whatever the student chose to write about would be

The persona in “Theme for English B” written by Langston Hughes is a young, 22 years old, African-American student, “I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.” He’s someone who’s wondering about his existence,

The reader believed Langston Hughes knew the mother in “Mother to Son,” and the college student in “Theme for English B,” And the servant in “I, Too,” They were Him; they were all African Americans that had to endure the early 1920’s. In each of these poems were hopes for a better tomorrow, despite life’s hardship’s living as a “colored person” (980), Langston Hughes loved America and that was evident in the endings of “I, Too” and “Theme for English B.” The poems of Langston Hughes will live forever as part of American Civil Rights Poetry.

The poem is about a student’s process of writing a page that will “come out of you,” and helps represent who they truly are and how they are depict themselves (172). The speaker expresses his feelings that is it hard to understand what is true when he still has much of his life to live and experience. The speaker establishes that he is in fact very different from the others in his class due to him being colored. As the poem begins to go deeper into meaning and more philosophical, he starts to wonder if “my page will be colored that I write?” knowing that his perspective will not be like the others in the class (173). Comparing the similarities that the narrator has with the instructor, he observes that they are related whether they would like to accept it or not. He recognizes that they both are similar through his writing and also due to the fact that they are both Americans. The major key defenses between the instructor and the narrator is that he is “somewhat more free” because the narrator is colored and faced with the struggle of being segregated in society (173). Langston Hughes purpose of this poem was not only to depict the struggle of African Americans trying to achieve the American Dream, but also to show that there are many types of Americans

Imagine the year 1949 and you are the only colored student in the class. Some would say you are beyond fortunate to be in a room full of white students with a white instructor. How would you feel? Furthermore, what thoughts would flow through your mind? Possibly, you may wonder if you shall quit the class. Given the timeframe in history, you would likely feel at a disadvantage. After all, the laws of segregation were not dismissed yet. This is the scenario the speaker in Langston Hughes, “Theme for English B”, is experiencing. While expressing his thoughts, the speaker portrays resentment, but an understanding towards the instructor.

In “Montage of a Dream Deferred”, Langston Hughes uses a recurring theme of covering his experiences as an African American man during the Harlem Renaissance with artificial happiness, especially in music, to show how Caucasian people will only tolerate African American people as long as the latter pretends to be happy under societal oppression. Popular white culture was often willing to embrace Harlem culture to the extent that African Americans were passive and satisfied with their inferior social status. Hughes’ poems “Dream Boogie” and “Lady’s Boogie” describe the hidden painful undertones that were thus characteristic of seemingly upbeat jazz music: “Listen closely: / You’ll hear their feet / Beating out and beating out a- // You think / It’s a happy beat?

Knowledge and Individual power Knowledge gives individual power to a people not a race, gender, or disability. No matter what walk of life a person comes from we are still the same. I feel as if knowledge can be obtained in many different ways and anybody is capable of education someone else. Being educated and knowledgeable opens doors, which in turn allows you to become powerful in so many ways. Everyone has the ability to gain knowledge and individual power as well as share the two with other people.

Langston Hughes, author of ¨Theme for English B,¨ utilizes his poem to explore how an individual’s ethnicity plays a large role in their life. To do so, Hughes uses an African-American speaker who appears to reflect on his experiences in an all-white classroom during an era that was riddled with racism. Throughout the poem, the speaker explores how his ethnicity both assists and hinders him in the discovery of his identity and how he fits within society. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker is tasked with a seemingly simple assignment; to write a page from his own personal views and beliefs.

In Langston Hughes’ poem “Theme for English B” Langston Hughes writes from a young African American student attending college in Harlem’s perspective. Hughes utilizes a rhetorical question to convey the theme of race. He’s told to write a paper and in his paper the student states “So will my page be colored that I write?” implying that because he is colored, should his page be colored too? This is a very powerful question because it shows that because he is different he is treated different.

Since the birth of America racial minorities have struggled to achieve the American Dream. Cultures have struggled to break their stereotypical identities and have the equal opportunities in American society. United in their goal to create a lasting impact on American culture, these cultures have demonstrated the dedication to reach their endeavors to create a bright future for themselves. All cultures living in American share the same core values of the American identity such as the Protestant Work Ethic. The Protestant Work Ethic is the determination and the hard work that motivates Americans to achieve their goals despite the obstacles.

In Langston Hughes’ poem “Theme for English B,” he presents how unobtainable the American Dream is for a twenty-two year old African American male. Hughes illuminates upon the hardship an oppressed African American male faces daily. The American Dream is a traditional principle where freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success. The speaker presents his truth and the struggles he encounters.

In Langston Hughes poem “Theme for English B”, the setting begins as the student is instructed to “go home and write a page tonight”, which raises a question for him: who am I? In contrast to this ordinary assignment, the main character doubts “I wonder if it’s that simple?” which confuses the readers. Only when the detailed background information of the protagonist is provided does this confusion be removed, “I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem. I went to school there, then Durham, then here to this college on the hill above Harlem. I am the only colored student in my class.” This is also the rising action of the plot, by describing how a colored youth perceived the