Critical Appreciation Of Langston Hughes

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On February 1, 1902, Langston Hughes was born James Mercer Langston Hughes in Joplin, Missouri. He is the son of James and Carrie Hughes, but they would later divorce after his birth. During his parents ' divorce, he was raised by his grandmother. Years later as a teen he would move to Cleveland, Ohio with his mother. One day at school his English teacher introduced him to poets Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, which would be his influence to writing poetry. He would write poems for his school magazine, but would get rejected.

In, 1920, Langston graduated from high school and went to Mexico to live with his father. While living with his father he, wrote the poem " The Negro speaks of Rivers" that was published in The Crisis Magazine. The …show more content…

In the poem he talks about his thoughts on the American Dream. He explains that America should be America again and that it should be the dream it once was. He wants America to be a land of peace and love. He also discusses that he never received his freedom and equality in America.

In the beginning of the poem Langston is praying for America to be America again. He paints a picture of America a negative way. During slavery and oppression they were destroying the land to build settlements. He explains that the ideal America is only a dream. He says " Let America be the dream that dreamers dreamed". Langston explains the difference between his wishes for America to become a better place. He mentions about immigrant coming to America thinking it’s a safe and loving place, but the dreams never come true.

He acknowledges that people come to America for equality, wealth, and acceptance. He applauds the ones who dreamed of a strong and brave dream of America. However the African slaves had no other choice to come to America. Even though they had built the foundation of the free homeland, which remains with the

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