...African Americans have a dream If people want to learn about the real African-American life during the 1920s, undoubtedly, a good way is to read Langston Hughes’s works. Hughes writes lots of poetry about pursuing an American Spirit which realizes no discrimination, freedom and equality in the entire American society. Hughes hopes all African American can be respected by entire society. African Americans have relatively equal chances to compete with white people and have similar living condition as whites’ families which at least have a house and a car. The two poems of Hughes’ “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” describe Hughes’ desired American Spirit. In these two poems “ I, Too” and Theme for English B”, Hughes shares his experience as African American who lives under basic living condition, in hopes of encouraging more blacks to fight for equal rights. From the poem “I, too”, Hughes writes “I, too, sing America” (ln.1). As a common American people who learn American history and love American culture, although Hughes ’ancestry is African, he was born and grew up in the Unites States. Hughes also writes “I, too, am America” (ln.18). Although white people and black people have different skin color and background in the United States, they are all American. People can learn some idea about equality from Hughes. Hughes says when guests come to their home, white person can eat at the table but darker brother only can eat in the kitchen in the poem “I...
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...was a tumultuous time for African Americans, in that they were fighting for their rights. During and before this time period, Mr. Langston Hughes wrote several poems about the disparity between race in America. Through vivid imagery, Langston Hughes comments on the nuances of being African American in America in the era of the Civil Rights Movement. In “Theme for English B”, Hughes discusses both the differences and similarities between white and black americans. Hughes paints the reader a great physical and figurative picture of the disparities between the two races by describing the speaker’s college experience. The speaker starts off the poem by highlighting the differences between the white professor, his white classmates, and himself. He says that the speaker is the “only colored student in [his college] class” in a college “on the hill above Harlem”. Harlem is a predominately African American community in New York. It is symbolic that this predominately white college is situated on a hill above the predominately black community of Harlem. Even though the Civil Rights Movement had begun, African Americans still had a long way to go to be able to get up to the “college on the hill” where the white...
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...and african American writer took the meaning of the I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman. Langston Hughes decided to write a rebuttal to the poem in which he name I, Too. This poem challenge Whitman's poem basically saying you forgot the Black from your poem. Langston almost puts it as a revised edition or a part that went missing for the original publishing. I, Too was a big statement piece for the African American community and publically reaching out and saying there is a problem in America and it needs to be solve. All men are equal and that what all the founding fathers agreed on yet still Blacks were looked at as lesser. There are two big points made in both Whitman's I Hear America singing, and Hughes I, Too. First is Whitman's poem I Hear America Singing, this is a power piece of the American pride. This displays the hard work all American endure and the struggle they had to go through. It was what makes the America such a great nation. In Whitman's poem it says, " The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his as he makes ready for work. " (lines 5-6). This continues showing examples in which white men pride themselves...
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...Renaissance, which was a new African American movement during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Hughes focused on modern, urban African American lifestyles and ultimately wanted fairness. During the Harlem Renaissance, most writers got inspiration from music and theatre. Some events that happened during this time would include African Americans being honored for their literary works which increasingly made this phase of literature. In result we have Hughes work. Inclusiveness is one of the themes throughout Hughes work, but specifically “I, too”, “Democracy”, and “Theme for English B” stand out strongly for describing how fairness and being included was a huge priority for African American’s during this time. In the poem, I, Too, Hughes portrays the idea of every race being equal. From the poem, Hughes says, “…they send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes…” (3-4), meaning that the African Americans were excluded from the guests of the house because they were not equal. Hughes portrays power and...
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...Jericho Brown is an African American poet born in 1976. Jericho Brown is also from Shreveport, Louisiana, which is in the south of the United States, so it’s safe to say that Brown has more than likely experienced racism. In Brown’s poem “The Tradition”, he reflects on the topic of police brutality against African American males. Throughout the poem Brown uses a series of words and phrases such as “we”, “our”, “us”, “Men like me”, and “my brothers” which offer a sense of inclusiveness; I too experienced this, I too did this, directly revealing the poet’s identity. It’s as though Jericho Brown is the speaker. With using these particular phrases Brown expounds on tribulations African Americans faced from 1619 to present day. It’s clearly shown...
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...Langston Hughes is an american dream poet. Moreover he wrote realistic poetry about important themes in his culture. It affected society. Langston Hughes was born in February 1, 1902 at Joplin, Missouri and died in May 22, 1967 at New York. His parents, James Hughes and Carrie Langston, divorced as soon after his birth, and his father moved to Mexico. Langston Hughes first built to write poetry when his high school teacher showed him a poet named “Carl Sandburg” and “Walt Whitman”. Them both influenced him in poetry. He graduated in 1920 from high school. Langston Hughes was first known as an important poet during the 1920’s, a period known as the “Harlem Renaissance”. Specially Hughes had a lot of famous works. For instance “I Too” is also known as “I, Too, Sing America, it was titled “Epilogue” it appeared in 1926. It’s written in 5 stanzas. The poem symbolises “Racism”. The poem had a lot to do with Imagery, 1st person point of view, Attitude, also Theme. Hughes wrote “I Too” because of African Americans men slaves during...
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...Langston Hughes (1902-1967) Langston Hughes was the first African American writer in the United States to earn a living as a writer. He was born in Joplin, Missouri, and because of his parents’ separation he lived in several places including places in the American mid-west and Mexico. He attended Columbia University, but stopped his studies because of the discrimination he experienced at the hands of his white counterparts. Hughes was a prolific writer and his themes were driven by the racial oppression that he witnessed all around him and that he experienced first hand as well. Hughes was a prominent member of the Harlem Renaissance, which was a time in America when African Americans experienced a flowering of intellectual and cultural activities in the African American communities in Harlem, New York. Alain Locke referred to this era as the New Negro Movement. During this time, Langston Hughes and other African writers’ words were full of protest and great expressions of the social injustices that were bestowed upon African Americans. Langston Hughes often wrote about the second class citizenship status that African Americans experienced, and the ills of segregation were key themes in his writings. His writings not only voiced protest, but the theme of rejection was present in his writings. He wrote about his personal rejection from everywhere when searching for work....
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...(Washington, 458). By utilizing his large influence and press coverage, Booker T. Washington was able to promote his idea that assimilation was the process that would end racial tensions in the United States, regardless of the loss of African American...
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...many famous writers such as Paul Dunbar, and Langston Hughes wrote about what african americans experienced during this time. An influential poem written by Paul Dunbar during the Harlem Renaissance is We Wear the Mask, which talks about disguising our feelings. Langston Hughes also wrote influential poems such as I, Too and Song for a Dark Girl . There were many important things that happened during the Harlem Renaissance, including the creation of influential poems by...
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...great American holiday celebrating what was accomplished by the race. In comparison the poems seem attached, won't you celebrate seems to explain a little less in detail but it's saying won't we come together and celebrate as one. The poems are pretty straight to the point in general saying the people are the same in all ways. Whereas the other poem contributes more to the stronger growing of the race together becoming stronger as one. The start of our nation was based upon slavery and segregation but we came together to end hate and discrimination discrimination between the races. "(line 13) something has tried to kill me and has failed" stating that he had survived the hatred and of the opposing race, both poems...
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...“If We Must Die” was written to illustrate the amount of violence against African-Americans during the Red Summer of 1919, where racial tension lead to blood riots across the country. This poem begins saying that if they must die, let it not be messy and awful but to let them “nobly die.” “In vain; then even the monsters we defy shall be constrained to honor us though dead,” this shows that even the people that don't like the African Americans will be forced to like them in the end when they're dead because they matter too. The author, Claude McKay ends this selection with saying that they (African Americans) must be brave and fight back. The purpose of “ A Black Man Talks of Reaping” was to express the bitterness felt by African...
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...Throughout African-American history, there has been a large numberof influential figures, particularly through literature. These figures remained strong through the struggles and tough times, and was responsible for influencing the hope of many others during their everyday battles as African-Americans. Among these figures are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes. Martin Luther King Jr., made speeches to end segregation, Rosa Parks stood up for her rights as she stayed seated in her seat on a bus, Maya Angelou wrote poems about how beautiful black women are and their strength. Langston Hughes, however, was the most influential leader of them all. He was a leader during the Harlem Renaissance, a leader through his literature, and through his independent thinking in real life situations. On February 1st, 1902, a leader was born. James Mercer ‘Langston Hughes’ was the second of five children and the second child for James Nathaniel Hughes and Caroline Mercer Langston. Soon after his birth, his parents faced many marital differences, which eventually led to their separation.As a result of the separation, his father left the United States and Hughes grew up with little to no contact with his father until his mid-teens and was forced to adjust around different living conditions. Hughes has no permanent place to call home as his mother often traveled, trying to obtain a stable job. The majority of his time and childhood was spent with his grandmother...
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...washerwoman. His mother Matilda was very supportive of Paul’s literacy interest. She encouraged her kids to read and learn about poetry. Inspired by his mother Paul began reciting and writing poetry by the age of 6. In high school he was the only African American in his class. His writing skills opened up ideas for him to be class president, editor of the high school newspaper, class poet and president of the literary society. While establishing his self nationally he also had a job temporarily as an elevator operator. He also gained ideas from the slavery stories that his mother and father occasionally told him. He first published his literature when he was 16 years old. He also created a newspaper based on the black community. After finishing high school he could not go right into college due to his lack of tuition funds. However, some of his work were seen by his teachers other college professors. He also gained friendship from Fredrick Douglass who found him a job and set him up to read some of his work. A lot of his work explained a lot about how he felt about the life of African Americans. The poem “We wear the mask” uses “the mask” to conceal what he says in the poem about the struggle of African Americans for equality. This poem if understood correctly can relate to any type of frustration or hurt. There are three things that help exemplify the...
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...Both Wright and Hughes write about the inequality faced by African Americans but follow two different techniques on showing this to the reader. Wright in his essay “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow” discuss several instances of racism where he was unfairly treated just because of the color of his skin. Wright uses strong and powerful words in order to get his point across, and as a result it stays in the readers’ mind longer. One such example is when he describes with interactions with Pease and Morrie. When asked about work Morris gets angry and asks if he is trying to get smart, and the conversation ends with Wright being called a ‘black bastard’. So by using these kinds of strong words that make the readers uncomfortable Wright gets his point...
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...Gender Roles in African American Literature Authors Gwendolyn Brooks and David Henderson are known as influential African American poets. Each helped the black community with more than just their literary works. Brooks and Henderson were very active in their communities and many times their poems depicted events from their personal lives. Each talented writer uses male and female characters to portray their themes of life, racism, and community. However, Brooks focuses on the need for females to break down perimeters sounding themselves and explore their own communities, while Henderson focuses on the strong male role models that continue to rebuild the communities affected by the strain and damage of racism. Gwendolyn Brooks was a talented American poet and was the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize Award (Poetry Foundation). Many of her early works focus on the theme of ordinary life but in her later work she focuses on politics and racism (Baym). Brooks...
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