During the Harlem Renaissance period in the early 20th century, African Americans explored their cultural identity and created art that expressed the black experience. Langston Hughes was a notable figure of this time who gave voice to African Americans through his poetry. His background and experiences with racism and traveling influenced the themes in his poetry, like his poem "Dream Variations" which discusses the desire for equality and the reality of hard work for the average African American.

1. Langston Hughes Essay
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 asCountee 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.
Get more content on HelpWriting.net

2. 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
Get more content on HelpWriting.net

3. Langston Hughes Essay
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
Get more content on HelpWriting.net