Hughes uses diction to show how the Negro mother was treated and discriminated as a slave. In the poem, the speaker uses diction to elaborate and display an image to future African American Children of today about the way she was treated as a slave. For example, the words “labored”, “slave”, “beaten”, and “mistreated” gives a sense of imagery to her targeted audience about the way African Americans were treated. The reason is because when the speaker stated “I am the one who labored as a slave, Beaten and mistreated for the work that I gave – Children sold away from me, I’m husband sold, too”, each word shows the hardship the Negro mother had to go through in order to survive towards liberty. The words “beaten” and “mistreated” displays how …show more content…
She then stated that her “Children sold away from me, I’m husband sold, too.” The mood of this line is painful because as a mother you cannot conceal your pain as your children and husband are taken away from you and sold to some other place. This shows the true and deep hardships that the speaker had to go through in this overwhelming time of her life. As a result, the speaker stated that there was “no safety, no love, no respect.” You can tell that when this troubling event happened to the speaker, she knew that there was no respect for her as a women and mother. It then goes on to show that as a slave, you were treated as if you had no existence left and that they did not care if they took your most precious belongs that has sentimental values to you as a human being. But towards the middle of the poem, there was a shift in tone to a more encouraging and optimistic tone. In this case, the diction also changes in the poem to words like “torch of tomorrow”, “a road to the light”, and “out of the darkness.” By changing the diction from the beginning to the end, the speaker wants to tell the future African American Children of today that there is hope and
Because of that, his writing seems to manifest a greater meaning. He is part of the African-American race that is expressed in his writing. He writes about how he is currently oppressed, but this does not diminish his hope and will to become the equal man. Because he speaks from the point of view of an oppressed African-American, the poem’s struggles and future changes seem to be of greater importance than they ordinarily would. The point of view of being the oppressed African American is clearly evident in Langston Hughes’s writing.
This poem at first seemed straightforward to me. As I read it more closely and thought about it more I began to put bits and pieces together. I think Hughes has done a wonderful job of describing the slave experience, from the beginning of his narrative to the end, which is when he starts to realize that a brighter future might exist. The way it was written made me really think about what it was Hughes was trying to say. This poem made me realize that a great many people suffered as slaves. These people lived their whole lives in this capacity, most without hope of any change of status. I felt like I was putting together a jigsaw puzzle and it was a good feeling when I finally saw what I believe Hughes wanted me to see.
Harlem, An Analysis of a Langston Hughes Poem. The short but inspirational poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes addresses what happens to aspirations that are postponed or lost. The brief, mind provoking questions posed throughout the poem allow the readers to reflect on the effects of delaying our dreams. In addition, the questions give indications about Hughes' views on deferred dreams.
The human brain is capable of many things, maybe curing cancer, memorizing a number of seconds in a year but, I believe the most incredible thing the brain can do is influence others with simple words and thoughts. Literature is one of the greatest things to ever be created but, my favorite subsection of literature would be Poetry. Poetry is sensual, creative, and diverse, it can be perceived in many ways depending on a person 's thoughts and standpoints. Langston Hughes was and, still is one of the most inspirational poets who has ever lived. Langston’s life has set the standard for many other writers and, poets, his creativity, and life has served it’s purpose in the literature world.
The Poetry of Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was born at the turn of the century in America. Hughes spent a rootless childhood moving from place to place with his mother, who was separated from his father. During one year in high school, Hughes spent time with his father in Mexico, a light-skinned man who found an escape from racism while ranching. With aid from his father, Hughes attended Columbia University, but soon became disgusted with university life and immersed himself in his first love - the poetry and jazz and blues in Harlem. Hughes supported himself in odd jobs such as nightclub doorman and steward while he traveled to places as remote as West Africa, Italy, and Paris.
Revolutions have occurred since the dawn of time - it is common sense that when people do not get what they want, they will try to forcefully obtain it. These revolutions were caused for a multitude of reasons: for example, the longing for freedom, opposition to the current government, or because people were discontent with their current standard of living. Many revolutions did have one aspect in common, though: they were extremely violent and often led to the deaths of thousands of people. However, in the 1900s, a mostly nonviolent revolution appeared: the fight for racial equality. It was fronted mainly by people who fought against oppression through words and art. Although working in different mediums, the three artists and activists Aaron
...angston Hughes writes a short 33-line poem that simply shows the barriers between races in the time period when racism was still practiced through segregation and discrimination. The poem captures the African American tenant’s frustrations towards the landlord as well as the racism shown by the landlord. The poem is a great illustration of the time period, and it shows just how relevant discrimination was in every day life in the nineteen-forties. It is important for the author to use literary devices to help better illustrate his point. Each literary device in the poem helps develop the author’s intent: to increase awareness of the racism in the society in the time period.
Langston Hughes expresses his poems with the connection of jazz blues music and African Americans expressing themselves by dancing and following the beat to the music rhythm describing flashbacks of the past and comparing them to present day using imagery, figurative language describing and punctuation, which makes the reader think about African Americans in the past and how they are treated different today.
Iteshia Goss Pro. Beckham English 102-803 9-16-15 “Theme for English B” “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes is a blank verse that mainly focus on how this young black student, connecting as an individual who struggled with an entire race. In this poem the young black student instructor told them to write a paper and stated “And let that page come out of you”. Stating that you should just write what’s on your mind. The poem is more a critical thinking skill.
His work, “Aunt Sue’s Stories”, about his experiences with his grandmother, Mary Langston, goes to show the deep history Hughes’s family had with racial discrimination and their fight for racial equality and how Hughes’s was instilled with these beliefs as a child. These conversations with Hughes’s grandmother greatly influenced his political views as reflected in “Aunt Sue’s Stories”. After the young boy in the poem (taken as a young Hughes) being told of the slaves, “Singing sorrow songs…” and the child’s response, “And the dark faced child listening, / Knows that Aunt Sue’s stories are real stories. / He knows that Aunt Sue never got her stories / Out of any book at all, / But that they came / Right out of her own life.” (Hughes 722) shown in this work, from an early age, the importance of race in America was instilled in Hughes, and his grandmother’s stories had a lasting effect on him.
After reading the selection of poems by Langston Hughes the one that spoke to me was Mother to Son. This poem has a strong theme of how gruesome life could be in America prior to the Civil Rights Movement. The mother, who is the narrator of the poem, uses the image of a staircase to symbolize her life’s journey. Instead of the perfect staircase that would have been seen in Gatsby’s house, she often refers to the staircase by saying “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Through her words she vividly describes her life experiences and challenges through the illustration of the staircase. The obstacle and challenges are heard in her figurative description of the staircase. She states that the staircase had tacks, splinters, and was lacking carpet. By describing the staircase this way she demonstrates that the staircase is a treacherous and dangerous place with many obstacles.
James Mercer Langston Hughes, commonly known as Langston Hughes, was an influential African American writer during the 1920s, a time marked by pervasive racial discrimination. He is best known for his contributions to the Harlem Renaissance. Despite a difficult childhood, Hughes overcame his struggles and became a renowned poet of the Renaissance, a legacy that will continue to inspire future generations. Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents, James Hughes and Carrie Langston, divorced when he was very young.
Langston Hughes was one of the most prolific writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes was not ashamed of being black and expressed that throughout his life. He was one of the first African American poets. He wrote in a style and rhythm that many other African Americans understood. Langston Hughes used a new form of poetry called “ Jazz Poetry” to express the hardships of African Americans.
Hughes explains the awareness of the black uprising and racial breakdown stories of submission essential to African Americans about the time of slavery. Weakening the traditional idea of what negroes were forced to think their lives were like for the past three hundred years. Hughes’s Harlem Renaissance poetry not only condemns white oppression, but it also disproves the condition of being lower class which was pointed toward black people being left out of human history. After the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes left his trends of poetry to move on to a Marxist art prioritizing social and political narratives that reflected on the interest of his people. Hughes’s shift from folklore poetry to revolutionary poetry in the 1930’s, is explained in his poem “White Man” where racial conflicts between blacks and whites is replaced with class struggle of most economic exploration and capitalism
“On the Road”, by Langston Hughes is a short story that tells of a homeless man (Sargeant) struggling to find shelter from a snowstorm during the Great Depression. Turned away from every relief shelter, Sargeant decides it would be a great ideal to spend the night at a church. However, the church doors are lock. Determined that is the best place for him to sleep he tries to break down the church doors. After much effort, the doors finally break way, but before he could enter, he is pulled back by the police and with the help of by standers. Refusing to give up on his plans to sleep in the church he holds on to a pillar. The police beat him, but Sargeant continue to pull until the church crumbles down on top of them. Sargeant, get out from under