Prejudice in Langston Hughes' Novel, Not Without Laughter

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Throughout Langston Hughes' novel, Not Without Laughter, the author introduces multiple characters that reveal their notions of prejudice. The novel explores that prejudice in one form or another is in every aspect of one's life. Prejudice can be defined as an opinion for or against a person's look, race, class, or religion, which is usually formed by a hasty generalization. Most of the main characters, Aunt Hager, Sister Johnson, Jimboy, Harriet, and Tempy contain different accounts of prejudice in the world, which stimulate many of Sandy's thoughts of life as he comes of age. Aunt Hager, Annjee, Harriet, and Sandy, are a multi-generation poor African American family that live in a small home together but are eventually divided by multiple circumstances. The story takes place in the 1910s in the small town of Stanton, Kansas. The first main character in the novel is Aunt Hager, an older Christian Baptist woman who was once a slave. She is the grandmother and advocate of one boy named, Sandy and mother of three girls named: Tempy, Annjee, and Harriet. Aunt Hager, even though she was once a slave, throughout the book she shows sympathetic tendencies toward white people. On many different occasions she defends how white people treat African Americans, explaining that they just don't understand or comprehend their horrendous treatment toward people of color. Although she defends white people, she has no problem in forming prejudice against her son-in-law Jimboy. Jimboy is married to Annjee, Annjee is also Sandy's mother. Aunt Hager's disposition towards Jimboy at times is intolerable to her daughter Annjee. Annjee loves Jimboy and they have been married eight years. Over the eight years, Aunt Hager has formed strong opinions of Jim... ... middle of paper ... ...onclussion on the path Sandy may eventually choose. In conclusion, the author produces prejudices that surround each one of the characters in the novel. Each of the characters constructs their own internal turmoil dealing with the times and the race they were born into. The novel shows prejudices towards looks, class, race, and religious beliefs. In my opinion, the author shows that prejudice encompasses everyone's life in one form or another. Nobody can fully be excluded from the prejudices that are formed in this world. While the authors' sometimes-exuberant description of prejudice is narrated throughout the novel, he also describes through the use of the character Sandy, life is "Not Without Laughter" (p.249) Works Cited Hughes, Langston. Not Without Laughter. 1930. Introd. Maya Angelou. Foreword Arna Bontemps. New York:Simon and Schuster, 1995. Print.

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