The Work Of Langston Hughes Essay

The Work of Langston Hughes Essay
The Work of Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes is considered by many readers to be the most significant black poet of the twentieth century. He is described as Ві...the beloved
author of poems steeped in the richness of African American culture, poems that exude HughesВ№s affection for black Americans across all divisions
of region, class, and gender.ВІ (Rampersad 3) His writing was both depressing and uplifting at times. His poetry, spanning five decades from 1926 to
1967, reflected the changing black experience in America, from the Harlem Renaissance to the turbulent sixties. At the beginning of his career, he was
surrounded by the Harlem Renaissance. New York City in the 1920В№s was a place of immense growth and richness in African–American...show more
content...
Jazz was a flourishing art form that Hughes often liked to write about. It is easy to see why most of his poems of this period (1921–1930) would be
festive and cheerful. Unfortunately, the party didnВ№t last into the next decade and the country fell into a deep depression. The period between 1931
and 1940 was a dark period for Hughes, and for African–Americans in general. On top of the financial difficulties the depression brought, widespread
racism re–surfaced in the North. The celebration in Harlem was replaced by angry whites who were anxious to put blame on someone for their
troubles. ВіWhite ManВІ is a direct attack on the white manВ№s violations against the African–Americans. Like the earlier poem ВіHarlem Night
Club,ВІ it is a fast–paced, dynamic piece. However, its tone reflects pure anger and frustration. ВіWhite Man! White Man! / Let Louis Armstrong play
itВ / And you copyright it / And make the money. / YouВ№re the smart guy, White Man! / You got everything!В
І Its intensity makes the reader frantic
just from reading it. The line about Louis Armstrong refers to the great jazz trumpet player, the first black man to be recognized as a successful jazz
artist by a white audience. Only now, ten years later, we see that it is the whites who profit from his talent. Hughes is desperate not to forget the
accomplishments of the 20В№s, and not to let those accomplishments
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Langston Hughes Essay
James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was very small, and his father (who found
American racism made his desires to be a lawyer impossible) left the family and emigrated to Mexico. Hughes' mother moved with her child to
Lawrence, Kansas, so she and he could live with his grandmother, Mary Langston.
Langston Hughes' mother moved to Topeka in 1907, leaving the five–year–old with his grandmother. Langston came from a family of
African–American activists. His mother's first husband had been killed at Harper's Ferry. Her second husband, Charles Langston (Langston Hughes'
grandfather), had taken part in political activism on behalf of a slave. Charles Langston's brother, John Mercer...show more content...
E. B. Dubois, editor of the The Crisis, the journal that published "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"; and Countee Cullen, a young Harlem poet.
In 1922 Hughes left Columbia University after having taken only a few classes. He moved to Harlem, part of upper Manhattan near the Columbia
campus, in November 1924. Harlem was becoming famous for its rich environment for the flowering arts. In 1925 Hughes won first prize in a
magazine contest with "Weary Blues," which gained him the attention of many of the writers we now think of as members of the Harlem
Renaissance. Hughes published his first book of poems, The Weary Blues, in 1926. The work, though early, is signature in many ways, including its
fusion of blues and jazz rhythms with people, especially the musicality of the ordinary daily speech of the African–American dialects.
In 1926 he enrolled at Lincoln University (in a town called Lincoln University, Pennsylvania), where he graduated in 1929, the same year he finished
his first novel. After attempting to come to terms with his father's materialism and leaving Harlem, feeling betrayed and misunderstood, Hughes went
first to Haiti and then, back in the United States as the Great Depression began to settle in, the travelled through the American south, reading his poetry
to people in churches and schools. Following in the footsteps of his grandmother's family, he took his life in his hands by appearing at the University
of North

Biography of Langston Hughes Essay
The well known poet Langston Hughes was an inspiring character during the Harlem Renaissance to provide a push for the black communities to fight
for the rights they deserved. Hughes wrote his poetry to deliver important messages and provide support to the movements. When he was at a young
age a teacher introduced him to poets Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, and they inspired him to start his own. Being a "darker brother," as he called
blacks, he experienced and wanted his rights, and that inspired him. Although literary critics felt that Langston Hughes portrayed an unattractive view
of black life, the poems demonstrate reality. Hughes used the Blues and Jazz to add effect to his work as well as his extravagant word use and literary
...show more content...
He signed up to be a steward for cargo ships which would take him to Africa and Spain. Then in 1924 he went to live in Paris where he continued
his works. A bit after he got back to America he met poet Vachel Lindsay. After meeting Lindsay, Hughes career as a poet truly took off because when
Hughes showed Lindsay his work he was intrigued greatly. Vachel massively broadened Hughes audiences, and in this event his work displayed his
purpose to fight segregation and show the ugliness of black life widely.
One of Hughes most famous poems, "Harlem(Dream Deferred)" had a great impact by posing lots of questioning. According to critic Tom Hanson,
this poem is just that simple because it gives a bunch of undesirable answers to the same question, "What happens to a dream deferred?" Hanson also
says how this poem refers almost completely to an unsolved problem (Hanson, Harlem). The poem gives four rather unpleasant interrogatives and
one declarative answer followed by the sixth possibility, "Or does it explode?" which is supposed to be a question to make a reader really think.
There are several ways to interpret the meaning of the final line, and the most sensible explanation is, the African American community is "deferring
dreams" and in doing so their dreams explode in terms of the chance to act is gone. Some may say Hughes presented an unattractive view

Langston Hughes : A Modernist
Michael Davis
AP English Literature and Composition
Mrs. Sappington
13 Apr. 2017
Langston Hughes: A Modernist Credited as being the most recognizable figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes played a vital role in the
Modernist literary movement and the movement to revitalize African American culture in the early 20th century. Hughes's poems reflect his personal
struggle and the collective struggle of African Americans during this cultural revival.Langston Hughes's life contained key influences on his work. As a
child, Hughes witnessed a divorce between his parents and the subsequent death of his grandmother, his primary caretaker at the time. Hughes's
childhood was also marked by the constant transition of moving from city to...show more content...
The Harlem Renaissance sought to revitalize African American culture with a focus on arts and literature and creating socioeconomic opportunities
(Harlem Renaissance). This temporal setting, predominantly the influence of the Harlem Renaissance, of Hughes's life explains the purpose of
Hughes's writing: to express the oppression of African Americans and the imperfections of Hughes's America and to heighten African American morale
during his life through his writing. In "Let America be America Again," Hughes reflects on the current discrepancy between the promises of justice and
equality in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and the current situation that Hughes faces. Anaphorically using the phrase "I am,"
Hughes mentions the different types of people, including poor whites, Native Americans, and immigrants, that share the same struggle that African
Americans face regarding the pursuit of equality and the American Dream. Emphasizing his ideal America with a caesura pause, Hughes writes, "and
yet must be––the land where every man is free." This line encapsulates Hughe's desire for a America that includes African Americans and other
minorities and finally upholding the nation's promise that all Americans were created equal. Hughes also realizes that his ideal America will still require

Analysis Of The Poem ' Langston Hughes '
Seth Kuno
Mrs. Goddard
Accelerated English 10
16 May 2017
Langston Hughes
The "Poet Laureate of Harlem" as they called him was a very influential writer during the Harlem Renaissance (DISCovering Multicultural America,
par. 2). He showed what life was like from his eyes and hoped that racial prejudice would stop once people understood what life was like for him. This
is the story of Langston Hughes, who stood up for what he believed in and always fought for African American rights. Langston Hughes was an author
during the Harlem Renaissance and he believed very strongly that African American people were not treated right, so he chose to write about racism
and equal opportunities.
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1st, 1902...show more content...
She got him reading books and put a lot of emphasis on getting an education so this got him interested in poems and other literature. Then in the
1930s Hughes went to the Soviet Union and he just loved their government and how Joseph Stalin was running it so when he came back he wrote
about politics (EXPLORING Poetry, par. 1). So once he was into writing all he needed now was events to write about.
Hughes' main themes to write about were racism and prejudice towards African Americans in urban areas. He did a very good job of showing the
racism that occurred in the everyday lives of this group of people. He combined those themes with a swing style of poems. He was one of the first
black writers to use informal language and a blues rhythm with a jazzy sound to it (DISCovering Multicultural America, par. 2). Hughes wrote during
the Harlem Renaissance and this period of time was a very important in the lives of African Americans around the nation. Since he was one of the first
to be writing about these topics during this time, he was very well known to the African American communities and they could relate very well to his
style of writing (St. James Encyclopedia, par. 1).
One thing people could relate to the most was a character that Hughes made in his newspaper columns. This character's name was Jesse B. Semple and
everyone knew him as, Simple. He was

Passing By Langston Hughes
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...show more content...
The 'threshold' for this narrative begins as the story opens, as there is evident tension between the husband and wife. The narrator (wife) has short,
stilted dialogue whilst the husband is constantly defensive of his actions although still indifferent to the event. It is this opening tension, which
engages the reader as they are drawn into wanting to know what the issue is and this sets up how the rest of the story continues. The narrator
learns of a new side to her husband, which leaves her wondering if he has dark side. '..."She was dead," he says, "And I'm as sorry as anyone...But
she was dead."...I rake my arm across the drain board and send the dishes to the floor. He doesn't move' (Carver, R. 1989 pg. 80). The reader can
clearly see the narrative conflict as being the shocking revelation to the narrator of how detached her husband can

Langston Hughes Research Paper
Langston Hughes
People always listen to music, watch movies or plays, and even read poetry without once even thinking what is could be that helps and artist eventually
create a masterpiece. Often times, it is assumed that artists just have a "gift", and people just do not consider the circumstances and situations that
gradually mold a dormant idea into a polished reality. This seems to be the case with nearly every famous actor, writer, painter, or musician; including
the ever–famous Langston Hughes.
In order for a person to really understand how Mr. Hughes's life shaped his poetry, one must know all about his background. In this paper, I will write a
short biography of Hughes's life and tell how this helped accent his...show more content...
Here, according to Hughes, he wrote his first verse and was named class poet of his eighth grade class. Hughes lived in Lincoln for only a year, and
then had to move to Toledo, Ohio because of a new job his stepfather found. Shortly after his move to Toledo, his stepfather and mother moved on, this
time to Chicago, but Hughes stayed in Cleveland in order to finish high school. In Ohio, his high school teachers and classmates recognized his writing
talent, and Hughes had his first pieces of verse published in the Central High Monthly, a sophisticated school magazine. Soon he was on the staff of the
Monthly, and publishing in the magazine regularly. An English teacher introduced him to poets such as Carl Sandburg and Walk Whitman, and these
became Hughes' earliest influences. the summer after Hughes's junior year in high school, his father reentered his life. James Hughes was living in
Toluca, Mexico, and wanted his son to join him there. Hughes lived in Mexico for the summer but he did not get along with his father. This conflict,
though painful, apparently contributed to Hughes's maturity. When Hughes returned to Cleveland to finish high school, his writing had also matured.
Consequently, during his senior year of high school, Langston Hughes began writing poetry of distinction.
After graduating from high school, Hughes planned to return to Mexico to visit with his father, in order to

What Is Langston HughesГ‚Вґs Harlem Renaissance?
According to Becky Bradley in American Cultural History, Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Growing up, he dealt
with some hard times. His parents divorced when he was little and he grew up with neither of his parents. Hughes was raised by his grandmother
since his father moved to Mexico after their divorce and his mother moved to Illinois. It was when Hughes was thirteen that he moved out to Lincoln,
Illinois to be reunited with his mother. This is where Hughes began writing poetry. However, the family moved again and finally settled in Cleveland,
Ohio (Bradley, pars. 1–3).
Author Larry Neal writes that after his high school graduation, he spent a year in Mexico and then spent a year at Columbia...show more content...
They made the African American voice respected, heard and a meaningful part to the American culture (Wallace 56–64).
Harold Bloom notes that this movement brought an extraordinary creative activity in not only writing but also art and music. It redefined the
expressions of African Americans and their customs. TheHarlem Renaissance affected people then and still affects people today. It gives something to
artists to write or even draw about and to show others the struggles they have gone through. Langston Hughes's poem "Harlem" is just one of the
thousand outcomes of the Harlem Renaissance. They all, through their poems, art and music had a strong sense of racial pride. They wanted to gain
equality, attack racism, and most of all celebrate African American culture (Bloom 113
–127).
In Line 1 of "Harlem", we are introduced to what happens to a persons dreams get put on hold for some time. Hughes then asks, "Does it dry up like a
raisin in the sun?" (2–3). A raisin at first, is a grape, moist, round and juicy. However, it has shriveled up to become this dried up raisin. This simile is
perfect because a dream deferred just shrivels up in our mind; we have let too much time pass to go back to fulfill the dream. The poem continues
with "Or fester like a sore–and then run?" (3–4). This simile represents the dream eating at them; constantly an irritation because it has not been
obtained. Line 5 is

Essay on Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes was one of the first black men to express the spirit of blues and jazz into words. An African American Hughes became a well known
poet, novelist, journalist, and playwright. Because his father emigrated to Mexico and his mother was often away, Hughes was brought up in
Lawrence, Kansas, by his grandmother Mary Langston. Her second husband
(Hughes's grandfather) was a fierce abolitionist. She helped Hughes to see the cause of social justice. As a lonely child Hughes turned to reading and
writing, publishing his first poems while in high school in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1921 he entered Columbia University, but left after an unhappy year.
Even as he worked as a delivery man, a messmate on...show more content...
Hughes bought a house in Harlem, where he spent the rest of his life. Hughes still feared for the future of urban blacks. His point of view became
immense and included another book of poetry, almost a dozen children's books, several opera libretti, four books translated from French and Spanish,
two collections of stories, another novel, a history of the NAACP and another volume of autobiography, I Wonder As I Wander (1956). He also
continued his work in the theater, pioneering in the gospel musical play.Blues began in the south and slowly made its way into the great cities of the
North. As the great migration began people took what they knew in south to the north. This included music. Langston Hughes living in Harlem was
caught up in the new rhythm of music and based many of his poems on it. As a boy he remembers hearing the blues perfomed in Kansas City.
"Hughes was fascinated with black music, tried his hand at writing lyrics, and was taken with the possibilities of performing music and poetry
together" 4 "Besides having both a love of this music and the common black folk it was created by and for, one of the reasons that Hughes began to
draw on the blues tradition for writing his poetry is that he hoped to capitalize on the blues craze." 5Though the markets for music and poetry were
quite different, he thought he could

Langston Hughes was a large influence on the African–American population of America. Some of the ways he did this was how his poetry influenced
Martin Luther King Jr. and the Harlem Renaissance. These caused the civil rights movement that resulted in African–Americans getting the rights that
they deserved in the United States. Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was young and his grandmother raised
him. She got him into literature and education; she was one of the most important influences on him. He moved around a lot when he was young, due
to his parents divorce, but remained a good student and graduated high school. After this he traveled the world and worked in different places, all the
things he...show more content...
All of these things, subject matter, themes, style, literary devices, and influences play into the way that Hughes writes his poetry and they can all be
seen in the poem "Dream Variations". That is why the poem is typical of Hughes' writing.
The poem is very typical of Hughes' subject matter and themes. This is because he usually writes about racial subjects such as equality and the average
life of an African–American. Going so far as to say that most of his poems are racial in theme and treatment, derived from the life that he knows ("An
Introduction to Langston Hughes."). This poem does have the racial topic of equality for a couple of reasons. To begin with, the speaker talks about
how people should see the world and the other people in it. Key word, should, because he then goes onto say, "That is my dream!" (Hughes l. 9).
This is one reason why "Dream Variations" has a theme centered on how everyone wants to be treated equally. Because the speaker talks about how
he wishes he was treated by the world. Along with the theme of equality the poem's subject is the life of an average African–American. This is because
he speaks of how he wants to dance "Dance! Whirl! Whirl! Till the white day is done" (Hughes ll. 12–13). Yet he cannot because he has to work, and
he tries to make his work seem like dancing but he is still very tired at the end of the day. This shows the average life of an African–American because
they had to work very hard in the early

Langston Hughes inspired others to reach their true potential in their work by using their own life as a catalyst:
"You will find the world in your own eyes, if they learn how to see; in your own heart if it learns how to feel; and in your own fingers if they learn
how to touch." (Dunham 188).
Langston Hughes was an influential leader toward many African American men, woman, and children in the 1920's and 1930's. Langston Hughes may
not be as well–known for the civil rights movement as Martin Luther King Jr. was, but Hughes was capable of placing an everlasting impact on black
culture during this period of civil rights unrest in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. was an advocate for allowing the rights of African American
people...show more content...
She moved Langston around often as a child in search for better work after her and Mr. Hughes divorced early in Langston's childhood. James
Nathaniel Hughes abandoned his family when Langston was very young. James Nathaniel Hughes was in search of leaving the United States in
order to outrun the racism and civil rights issues occurring during the time period. Hughes' father moved to Cuba at first, and then finally settled in
Mexico City, Mexico. Hughes' mother decided to move to Mexico City to reunite their family, but when they had arrived an earthquake had scared
Hughes' mother in wanting to move back to Kansas. Soon after being back in Kansas, Hughes' mother decided to place Langston in the care of her
mother. Langston then lived with his grandmother for a period of time. Langston's grandmother, Mary, had a huge impact on Langston while he was
growing up. Langston had resided with his grandmother for most of his childhood, and into his early teenage years. Langston wrote in his memoir
that he remembered often sitting on his grandmother's lap as a child and would listen to her tell him stories that would later be the fuel to his
powerful vision over African Americans. Mary often told him stories of slaves who struggled for their freedom, and of abolitionists. These stories
gave young Langston the vision for African Americans to be free and gave him a good outlook for his people that would become evident in his
writings. Mary

The period of the Harlem Renaissance was a time of great change and exploration for African Americans . It was during this point in the early twentieth
century that African Americans were exploring their cultural and social roots. With the rapid expansion of a cohesive black community in the area, it
was only a matter of time before the finest minds in Black America converged to share their ideas and unleash their creative essences upon a country
that had for so long silenced them. In the midst of this bohemian convergence, many notable figures arose who would give a new voice to African
Americans. With such great notables as Countee Cullen, Jean Toomer, Zora Neale, and James Johnson, mainstream American now had a unique window
into the...show more content...
During the period, there was a progressive movement toward the assimilation of African Americans into the mainstream culture. Many critics expressed
their opinion that to believe in the creation of any art with a distinctively black voice was a foolish idea. African Americans of the period did not have a
distinct cultural identity and were judged solely upon the expectations of the mainstream white culture. With the occurrence of the Harlem
Renaissance, black Americans were attempting to open a door into the previously unknown world of the black experience. While many artists in the
past had attempted to create subject matter specifically dealing with the Negro, it failed to lack the quality of the "Negro soul":
Created purposely for the delectation of the white folk whose self–aggrandizement they also sought to sustain, these earlier works comprised mainly
those Negro elements which experience had proved to be pleasurable to the white ego. They were, essentially, attempts to recreate the white man's
concept of the black man.

The Writing Style Of Langston Hughes
An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he must choose." Freedom of creative
expression, whether personal or collective, is one of the many legacies of Hughes, who has been called "the architect" of the black poetic tradition. He
is certainly one of the world's most universally beloved poets, read by children and teachers, scholars and poets, musicians and historians. Langston
Hughes became the voice of black America in the 1920s, when his first published poems brought him more than moderate success. Throughout his
lifetime, his work encompassed both popular lyrical poems, and more controversial political work, especially during the thirties. He expressed a direct
and sometimes...show more content...
Second, Langston Hughes advises the reader to hold onto dreams, "Dreams" is an extremely short poem written in free verse. It is two stanzas long,
and the content dictates the form. Hughes instructs his readers to hold on tightly to their dreams because without them, life is a "broken–winged bird
that cannot fly." The broken down bird is a physical symbol of the discrimination and struggles that African Americans faced during Hughes 's time.
Dreams, however, have no physical limitations. A person dreams are important for maintaining faith as they provide comfort, solace, and hope in a
brutal world. The poem "Dream" is written in a simple, spare style, using primarily verbs, adjectives and monosyllabic words, which are one syllable
words The rhythmic patterns of the lines follow more of a musical movement, occupying regular number of beats, that a strictly accentual syllabic
pattern. The repetitive vocabulary and repeated themes almost remind the reader of nursery rhymes or early spirituals rather than the aim to break the
classical and traditional forms. In "Dreams," though, Hughes implies that even if one 's dreams do not come true, a life without hope is truly sad.
Next, the poem "Harlem", sometimes called "A Dream Deferred," explores the consequences of allowing a dream to go unfulfilled. It is a lyric poem
with irregular rhyme and an irregular metrical pattern that talks about the white oppression

Langston Hughes I Too Essay
Hughes' famous poem, I, Too, was written in the mid 1920's. Similar to most African Americans pioneers in this era, he felt strongly about "racial
segregation," (Ilieva and Lennox 1) or racial inequality and used his writings to voice his opinion on the issue. In I, Too, Hughes states that he is the
"darker brother" (713) of America, meaning that he is a member of the African American community. At this particular time, racial inequality was a
common issue for African Americans. Jim Crow laws were in effect to keep African Americans from receiving equal treatment as White Americans.
Further evaluating stanza two from I, Too, Hughes says "They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes" (713) showing a time of racial
inequality. Along

Langston Hughes
In the poem "As I grew older" by Langston Hughes explains his struggle with his skin color. He describes it living in the shadows and humongous
walls coming up all over him. Despite him feeling like he has no way to break free or to get away from the prejudice, Langston uses imagery to
explain how he used his bare hands to break the walls of prejudice. With the use of metaphors the author gives us and insight how it felt to have
prejudice everywhere he went and how he broke free. In Langston's poem the reader learns what prejudice he faced and how he broke free using
imagery and metaphor he explain profoundly. Langston uses imagery to explain many things Hughes gives and image in our minds to make sure we
comprehend and we feel the same emotion

"Mother to Son" Analysis Essay
"Mother to Son"
The speaker of the poem "Mother to Son," by Langston Hughes is a mother who is giving advice to her son. Her life has been difficult and hard at
times. As readers, we know this because the speaker talks about how life is a staircase and her staircase has had "tacks and splinters in it" (line 3–4).
This means that her life has not been perfect and she had many challenges to deal with. Perhaps she was born into poverty, because the images in her
poem reveal a ragged, old staircase, like you might find in a decrepit, old building. Further, the speaker's accent reveals that the speaker was not
well–educated when she was younger, such as when she says "I'se been a–climbin' on" (line 9) which is not proper English. Since...show more content...
The speaker's message to readers in "Mother to Son" is that life can be difficult, but you have to keep trying despite these difficulties. I believe this
message is directed towards people who are experiencing hardships and poverty, because the speaker is directing her conversation to her "son,"
who does not have a life that is like "crystal stairs" (line 2). The crystal stairs in the poem represents a wealthy and easy life, as wealthy people have
not probably had the same difficulties in life. Her message of not giving up is evident throughout the poem as she demands her son to not give up.
She says, "So boy, don't you turn back, don't you set down on the steps, cause you finds it's kinder hard" (lines 14–16). As readers, we know the
message for us is that you can't give up, even though you will face challenges–just like you have to keep going on a "staircase" even though the
staircase has many obstacles on it. She clearly believes that we need to be fighters in our lives, as life will often be difficult. More importantly, I
believe this message was also meant towards African Americans in the early 1900's (whenLangston Hughes was writing poetry), to remind them to
never give up on fighting for equal rights, even though it is

Langston Hughes' Salvation Essay example
Langston Hughes' Salvation
In most people's lives, there comes a point in time where their perception changes abruptly; a single moment in their life when they come to a sudden
realization. In Langston Hughes' 'Salvation', contrary to all expectations, a young Hughes is not saved by Jesus, but is saved from his own innocence.
'Salvation' is the story of a young boy who has an experience of revelation. While attending a church revival, he comes to the sudden realization that
Jesus will not physically come save him.
In the first three sentences of the essay, the speaker adopts a very childlike style. He makes use of simple words and keeps the sentences short, similar
in style to that of an early aged teenager. But since the text...show more content...
(182) praying at the church, or hear the sound of ?mighty wail of moans and voices? (182). And it is almost impossible not to feel the warmth
contained in the ?hot, crowded church? (181). In short, the technique used by Hughes is set to put the reader in the same ambiance the young boy is
in, thus giving us a closer look at his innocence.
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

The Life and Works of Langston Hughes Essay
The Life and Works of Langston Hughes
" In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone, I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan – Ain't got nobody all in this world, Ain't got nobody but
ma self. I's gwine to quit ma frownin' and put ma troubles on the shelf." The above excerpt is from Langston Hughes prize winning poem, "The Weary
Blues." Hughes, considered to be one of the world's outstanding authors of the twentieth century (Ruley 148), is a prolific poet, novelist, essayist,
playwright, autobiographer, and a writer a of children's books (Andrews, Foster, Harris 368). David Nicholson says of Hughes, "He strove to reflect
an American reality ignored or distorted by other American writers (504)." The...show more content...
The "rhapsodist" was a exceedingly well educated man. While in high school, he read the poetry of Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman (Bloom,
Bloom's 12). Sandburg was decisive in leading him toward free verse and a radically democratic, modernist aesthetic (Andrews, Foster, Harris 368).
Andrews states, "Hughes called Sandburg, his guiding star (368)." After graduating high school, eager to experience New York and especially
Harlem, Hughes entered Colombia University in the fall of 1921 (Bloom, Bloom's 12). However, his first encounter with college was unpleasant
(Bloom, Bloom's 12). Subsequently, he left his freshman year and became a merchant seamen in Europe and Africa (Rampersad 8). Plagued with
money problems, Hughes came back to the United States in 1924 and began to take his writhing seriously (Rampersad 8). In 1926, at the age of
twenty–four, Hughes entered himself into Lincoln University in Pennsylvania (Rampersad 8). It was during that time he published his first book of
poetry, The Weary Blues, which was grouped according to seven romantic ideas, and sixty–eight poems under seven headings (Bloom, Bloom's 15).
The volume earned him a

I, Too by Langston Hughes Essay
I, Too by Langston Hughes A situation can be interpreted into several different meanings when observed through the world of poetry. A poet can
make a person think of several different meanings to a poem when he or she is reading it. Langston Hughes wrote a poem titled "I, Too." In this
poem he reveals the Negro heritage and the pride that he has in his heritage and in who he is. Also, Hughes uses very simple terms that allow
juvenile interpretations and reading. The poem begins "I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother." From those two lines alone, one can see that he
is proud of who he is and introducing himself to the reader. In the line "I, too, sing America" he is explaining that he is an American like everyone else
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"I, Too" really exhibits the black man and his will to do well even under pressuring conditions to be some one that he is not. This pressure leads to
a whole new line of confidence and pride shown in the third stanza. Hughes did not make this poem very long and narrative, instead, he made it
quick and to the point. On line three he says, "They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes." In saying those words, he is saying that
the people are inferring that because he is of darker color he has been scolded and deprived of his freedom. The people have sent him to the
kitchen to eat because they felt that he was not of high enough standards to eat in the kitchen when the company comes. Also, this may mean that
the people are afraid of what the company might say when they see a black man in the house. The word formation is simplistic and does not contain
words that are hard to understand and read. All poems have different style and line lengths and as a part of this variety "I, Too" consists of lines that
are very short and to the point. He does not use much alliteration in the text and his words do not rhyme, but they relate in such ways to keep the
readers' attention.When moving toward the end of the poem, one can find out how Hughes tells in bold words how he views himself and reveals his
identity. In the final lines, he wrote, "Then, besides, they'll see how beautiful I

The Work Of Langston Hughes Essay

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