Theme For English B Langston Hughes

Poetry Analysis for the Theme for English B Langston Hughes the speaker and author of the poem “Theme for English B” uses figurative language, imagery, and tone to develop the theme of racial discrimination. The poem focuses on how he is different from a racial standpoint but is similar in the way he lives and is an American. Langston Hughes uses figurative language throughout his poem. “I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you.”

In the closing lines of Theme for English B, Hughes communicates a tonal shift through the speaker’s confliction with his own identity. The tonal shift begins with the question, “So will my page be colored that I write?” (Ln 27). Hughes’ wordplay describes black ink hitting a white page, hinting at “black” being a category within writing, and creates doubt from the speaker as the speaker is unsure whether or not his writing will be supported by the instructor. When the speaker says, “ Being me, it will not be white,” he is admitting defeat and accepts his fate as being ostracized for being a black author.

Langston Hughes was an American poet, community worker, author, playwright, newspaper man, and inspiration from Joplin, Missouri. He was a protégé for many African Americans, despite the times he lived in.

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.

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 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

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.

children will be treated the same for being a mixed race just as they were. Anzaluda was afraid herself that being a “mestiza” complicated her chances by cause of the mix with white culture and mexican culture, which had two different cultural beliefs.

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.

One of the foremost poets of the Harlem Renaissance was Langston Hughes. Many of Hughes' poems are about the act of writing poetry, justifying African-American poets' right to speak and create verse, which was denied in previous eras. The act of literacy for African-Americans was depicted as a radical, self-conscious act in Hughes' output. This is explicitly seen in Hughes' poem "Theme for English B." The poem very literally portrays a young, African-American man (presumably Hughes himself) being given an assignment by a white teacher to write about himself. The poet is forced into a paradox he is in a white-run institution, using the language of whites, and yet he must speak about himself truthfully:

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 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

Langston Hughes was one of the first black men to express the spirit of blues and jazz

In two of his poems, Theme for English B and I Too, Langston Hughes was able to depict the idea that African Americans are no different, but are American just like anyone else. He wanted to show the importance of melding cultures

My background as a tenacious student and a minority has allowed me to connect to the poem in ways that I could very much relate to. I have personally lived through the motions of life that he refers to in “Theme for English b”.Langston Hughes’s poem is more about the differences he knows other people see in him or rather on him, and what they are missing. By doing this, Hughes make it clear that the color of his skin plays a crucial role in the way that people think he is like. He finishes by boldly stating what he had been