...Salvation As, a team we realized that Langston Hughes was bias when it came to his belief in faith. Langston was a young boy who was searching for things in his life and some things he had no understanding of. His father, James Nathanial Hughes, left his family and later divorced [Langston's mother], going to Cuba, and then Mexico, seeking to escape the enduring racism in the United States ("The Biography of Langston Hughes," n.d.). This was the beginning of a young boy who felt lost and confused. Hughes was looking for acceptance from a father who was in and out of his life, with little support of his dreams. “Salvation” has a tone of a young boy who was un-trusting of adults. During a church revival (refreshing, getting rid of sins, and being saved) Langston was surrounded by older members of the church, the congregations, and young lambs, who may have had prior experience of waiting on the Holy Ghost or Jesus to come save them. Langston didn’t get that experience, he felt as if he was being lied to about Jesus and what he does. This brought back memories of not being saved by his family. As, a team we can agree that as children, we are very innocent and trusting and always ready to please the "elders" because we know they are wiser. We want to be seen as good in their eyes. With this in mind, it's not hard to understand why Langston wanted so bad not to disappoint his aunt at church. Something that stuck out was when Langston says, "I'd better lie, too and say that Jesus...
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... Langston Hughes and The Weary Blues Langston Hughes was recognized as a significant literary figure during the 1920s, a period known as the "Harlem Renaissance" because of the number of emerging black writers. After graduating from high school, Hughes went to Mexico to visit his father, in hopes to convince his father that he should pay for his college education at Columbia University in New York City. On his way to Mexico on the train, while thinking about his past and his future, Hughes wrote the famous poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." After arriving in Mexico, the tension between Hughes and his father was strong. Hughes wanted to be a writer; his father wanted him to be an engineer. After Hughes sent some of his poetry to what was known as the “Brownies” Book and “Crisis” magazines, it was accepted. his father was impressed enough to agree to pay for a year at Columbia University. It was there at Columbia University were he begin releasing more poems that he had written. Hughes embraced crafting blues music into his poetry because it expressed the worries of the common man in a simple and direct manner. Blues songs feature heavy repetition, and singers often seem to be laughing and crying at the same time. One of his best works was the poem “The Weary Blues” which came in first place in a section of a literary contest in an Opportunity magazine published in 1925. The title itself gives an example on how Hughes wanted to give the reader an...
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...Paper Langston Hughes was a forerunner of rap music. He writes with a finesse that is a lot similar to a modern day rapper. Growing up during the Harlem Renaissance really set the stage for Langston Hughes writing. He also lived in a time where he African Americans were proud of their roots. Being around all the arts made him more inclined to write the way he did, with a rhythm. From Langston Hughes attitudes towards women, to writing about the streets he grew up on and his struggles, it is very evident that Langston Hughes was a forerunner of rap. Langston Hughes was lucky his hit his peak during the Harlem Renaissance because that gave him the opportunity to perform and publish his work in Black magazines. Langston Hughes mirrors rappers because he wrote his poetry simplistically, so people with no education could read and understand it. Langston Hughes wasn’t just a writer he was also a performer, he would regularly perform in nightclubs to gain exposure. I’m sure that if Langston Hughes were alive today he would be performing spoken word poetry in New York night clubs, or writing lyrics for today’s rappers. Langston Hughes was so drawn to the nightlife that he dropped out of school to travel and perform his poetry, just like a lot of modern rappers chasing their dreams. In the 1923 poem, “Jazzonia”, Langston Hughes sets the poem, “In a Harlem nightclub” (1140) , and is describing the jazz players inside it. Three years later, in “Lenox avenue: midnight”, Hughes continues...
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...Week 4 Assignment 4 Rough Draft James Langston Hughes: A Literary Beacon In this paper my goal is to analyze the writings of Langston Hughes by applying historical critical perspectives. In casual terms, historical criticism means to acknowledge and present the cultural and social influence found in writing based on the era it was written. Many different issues can play a role in influencing a writer’s work such as wars, social upheavals and even one’s personal experiences. I intend to show how much elements are present in Langston Hughes’ literature. Langston Hughes’ life started much differently than most African – American folks of his time. He was not born poor nor was he raised in a poverty ravaged environment, yet his writings contain many references to social struggles and the longing to be treated as equals. In my interpretation of his poetry I gather that most of his influence comes from two different sources. The first of these would be from watching the trials and tribulations of his fellow people. In his poem “Song for a Dark Girl” he writes about the brutal hanging of an African-American woman. This writing was obviously influenced by the civil unrest and violent racism that ran ramped throughout the southern United States during the first half of the twentieth century. Hughes himself most likely never experienced or witnessed such an event, but through family, friends and other sources had been exposed to such treacherous tales. The second source...
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...Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was an American novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, and one of the members of the Harlem Renaissance. In his long career, he wrote an impressive collection of plays, stories, columns, and poems. His writing reflected his childhood and his widely diverse views of the world. While he is praised for his poems, his books and playwrights, though successful, have often been called racist or communist influenced. Langston was born on February 2nd 1902 to a poor family in Joplin Missouri. His ancestors include John Mercer Langston who, in 1855, was the first Black American to be elected to public office. His family also includes several past abolitionists, including his two grandfathers, who were both white men from the north. He once stated that his racial status affected his writing. This can clearly be scene in his successful, yet controversial play, “The Mulatto.” Langston first started writing in the 8th grade, but began taking his writing seriously around his high school years. Hughes attended high school in Cleveland. He was known as the class poet, however his father didn’t encourage him to write. His father’s lack of encouragement may have been because it was very hard for a Negro writer to succeed back then. However, Langston once said, “We younger Negro artists now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame.” Langston initially attended college at Columbia University, however, he later...
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...“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.” This is a quote from the great Langston Hughes, a famous black author and poet in the 20th century. He’s most widely known for his poetry, which has been featured on books such as The Raisin in the Sun. He was a social activist for African-Americans around the world and painted African American life in a positive, colorful life. His legacy still continues today as one of the greatest black poets of all time. Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1st, 1902. He was introduced to poetry at quite a young age and took inspiration from Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman. In the 1920’s he published one of his first poems which...
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...Biography Langston Hughes is an American writer who was born on February 1st, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. He moved to Mexico with his mother when he was a teenager. In 1921 Hughes came back to the United States and enlisted at Columbia College where he concentrated quickly, and amid which time he rapidly turned into a part of Harlem's thriving social development, what is generally known as the Harlem Renaissance. It was amid this time Hughes first started to compose verse, and that one of his educators initially acquainted him with the verse of Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, both whom Hughes would later refer to as essential impacts. Yet, Hughes dropped out of Columbia in 1922 and worked different odd employments around New York for the next year, before marking on as a steward on a vessel that took him to Africa and Spain. (Bioghraphy.com/editors) Setting and summary...
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...Fall 2013 Biographical Research Essay Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri. He was the second child of Caroline Langston and James Hughes. After his parents' divorce his father left the country for Mexico and then Cuba to escape the racism of American society. After his divorce his mother traveled looking for work leaving Langston to be raised by his Grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas. Langston Hughes later lived with his mother again along with his new step-father in Cleveland, Ohio where he attended high school. In high school Hughes was elected to be the class poet. he felt that he was only chosen because he was African-American. "I was the victim of a stereotype. there were only two of us negro kids in the whole class and our English teacher was always stressing the importance of rhythm in poetry well, everyone knows, except us, that all negroes have rhythm, so they elected me as class poet." Hughes grew up and lived in an extremely racist time. he came from a long line of ant-slavery and also very politically active people on his mother's side. Hughes also had his own opinions on politics. like many black writers and artists of this time Hughes was drawn to the idea of communism rather than segregated America and lots of his work reflected that. his poetry was often published in the CPUSA newspaper. he was involved in many communist led organizations though was more of a sympathizer than an active participant. Hughes was accused by many of being a communist on...
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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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...of the themes in the works of Langston Hughes is inclusiveness. Inclusiveness is defined as including all parts of society and treating individuals fairly. Hughes started writing during the Harlem 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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...Langston Hughes: Poet, Activist, Playwright, and Influencer Langston Hughes, a strong contributor to the Harlem Renaissance, was immensely influenced by poets and activists who led him to become one of the most influential poets. During his childhood, Hughes moved from several states within in the South. His upbringing was unstable. In the beginning of his life, his father, nor mother was able to take care of him. As a result, he lived with his grandmother from the age of one to eleven. His grandmother was a lover of activism, and raised Hughes not only with a love of activism, but a sense of racial pride. These beliefs played themes in all of Hughes’ work. In fact, his audience claimed to admire most the pride he felt for his African-American...
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...In the short story Cora Unashamed, Langston Hughes uses food to symbolize Coras personal growth throughout the story. Cora at the beginning is a vulnerable women to the Studevants. Towards the end, she dramatically shapes into becoming an independent strong African American women, reflecting the purpose of the Harlem Renaissance. The writer uses food to symbolise the personal growth of the main character, Cora. At the very beginning of the short story, Langston Hughes shows how vulnerable Cora is to the Studevants. “Cora stinted, and Cora saved, and wore the Studevants’ old clothes, and ate the Studevants’ leftover food¨, (6). Langston Hughes shows us how defenseless Cora is to the Studevants’, by only receiving the leftovers of the Studevants. She is...
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...Rebecca Greene English 1 Ms. Massengill 2 November 2015 Langston Hughes American literature would not be what it is today if it weren’t for the fine work of many poets. Poetry is known for having an extensive amount of symbolism that cuts right to the point. One great poet who was never afraid to say what he felt was Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was a great African American poet who changed the ways of poetry with his sheer authenticity. Langston Hughes wrote many famous pieces of poetry. Some of his most famous poetic pieces are Not Without Laughter and Modern Black Poets: A Collection of Critical Essays.His first poem was published in 1926. He has also written many pieces of prose. Hughes won the Harmon Gold medal for literature for his first novel in 1930. He wrote two children’s poems that express his style in a format that children can understand and enjoy. His main poet influences as a young man were Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman. He edited two anthologies wrote one, too. He wrote Montage of a Dream Deferred, which is inspired by his love for jazz. This poem is the length of a book. He also wrote wrote The Negro...
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...This is significant to the theme of “Harlem,” reinforcing the readers to make bold choices regarding their dreams. Hughes does this first by asking the readers, “What happens to a dream deferred?” (915). This allows the pondering of what dreams one may have and whether or not those aspirations have been postponed or achieved; it leaves the question of why this choice was selected for that specific goal. Hughes continues by saying, “Does it dry up,” further investigating the state of the dream and how it has been handled while adjourned. This is connected to a dried up raisin and is a cue that deferred dreams are often forgotten and ended. Is this by choice or by force? The quote “Or fest like a sore – and then run?” discusses how delayed dreams are managed over time (Hughes 915). The “sore” is the shelving of the ambition and the “run” is the choice made to further extinguish the lost hope. Most of these elapse and continue to fade, a hope lost forever. Hughes continues to question the choices surrounding these dreams to ignite a passion and form of resilience to push forth towards...
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...Langston Hughes had been one of the leading black writers during the time period in which poetry had aided in altering the lives of a nation of African Americans. His works often consisted of racism and prejudice, along with oppression against blacks, the American working class, and since he tended to have traveled quite a bit, the struggle of peoples overseas. [Rose] Hughes is known for having produced many different forms of literature, specifically an original literary form of art known as jazz poetry. One of his more well known poems, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” provided for a solid unity for African Americans in that it responded with issues faced by blacks through a collaboration of music and culture. [Bender] Although some were opposed...
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