Paper #8 langston hughes’s dream
- 1. Sandy Cash Professor Bouchard ENG 132 Langston Hughes’s Dream April 1, 2012 Langston Hughes’s Dream In Langston Hughes’ poems, a common theme is racism. This is because during his life he had to deal with this. Looking at the time when Hughes lived, and how he himself was treated, helps to understand why he wrote on racism. Hughes wrote plenty on racism to the point where he was called the “unchallenged spokesman of the American Negro” (LibraryOfCongress). One can see this in his poetry, like “My People,” and “I Too.” He also, played an important part in the Harlem Renaissance and in a model for other African American writers. ("Langston Hughes") Langston Hughes was born in Joplin Missouri in 1902, and died on May 22, 1967 (DiYanni 704). Langston Hughes lived during the time when Martin Luther King Jr. was alive and fighting against segregation. This was the time of Jim Crow Laws, where it was legalized segregation between blacks and whites ("Jim Crow laws"). Railways, busses, restaurants, neighborhoods, boardinghouses, and public parks were segregated; separate schools, and hospitals, generally of inferior quality, were chosen for blacks (“Jim Crow laws”). By World War I, even places of employment were segregated, and it was not until after World War II that a fight on Jim Crow in the South began to develop (“Jim Crow”). Langston Hughes lived in Kansas and Ohio before he began studying at Columbia University in New York and then later going on to Lincoln University in Pennsylvania (DiYanni 701). He worked many odd jobs, from a seaman, to a newspaper correspondent, to
- 2. an editor, and a busboy (DiYanni 701). While doing these odd jobs, he visited every continent, except Australia, and Antarctica (LibraryOfCongress). It was while he was working as a busboy in a hotel in Washington D.C. that he slipped a couple of his poems to the poet Vachel Lindsay, who recognized how well they were written, and this began Hughes’s writing career (LibraryOfCongress). Before Martin Luther King Jr. started leading people against segregation, Langston Hughes was already wishing for a time when his people would have equal rights with whites. This is shown in his poem “I Too,” in which he talks about how he is also an America, even if his skin is darker, and yet right now the whites can not see this, for they have them eat in a different place. He goes on to say, one day whites will not dare discriminate against him, for they will actually see him for who he is and they will be ashamed of how they treated him before. This poem, is almost like a prophecy, for this is what happens as shown in history. Another example, of how Hughes wishes for equality are his poems “My People.” In “My People,” he compares the beauty of the night, stars and sun to his people, saying they are beautiful people too. Another issue Hughes shows in racism is how the landlords and rent men discriminate against African Americans, in his poems “Ballad of the Landlord,” and in “Madam and the Rent Man.” First, in “Ballad of the Landlord,” Hughes talks about how the house has a leak, and the steps are broken, but the landlord will not fix them, he just wants his rent. When the resident refuses to pay until the landlord fixes these issues, the landlord says he will get eviction orders and turn off the heat; but when the resident also threatens him, the landlord calls the police. The next day the headlines in the press are “Man Threatens Landlord/Tenant Held No Bail/Judge Gives Negro 90 Days In Country Jail” (Hughes 716-717). In the second poem, there are similarities to “Ballad of the Landlord,” but instead
- 3. the tenant is a woman, and the ending leaves it open: we do not know what happens, if she is evicted or goes to jail. During his lifetime, he wrote a few children books, such as The First Book for Negroes, documentary works, historical works, dramatic pieces, which included plays, musicals, and operettas, his own autobiography, edited books, poetry books, radio and television scripts, translated other poetry books, and had a weekly column in the Chicago Defender called “Simple ” (LibraryOfCongress) (DiYanni 701). It was for his versatile ability in writing that made him a great model for writers, not just for Africa Americans. Hughes was also an important influence in the Harlem Renaissance, which he basically defined in his essay, "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" ("Langston Hughes"). This term is used to describe a blossoming of African-American literature, music, dance and art in the 1920s, mainly in the Harlem district of New York City (DiYanni 700). The Harlem Renaissance was portraits of black life in America, Black American culture, and racial pride among African Americans (“Harlem Renaissance”). This is where jazz and the blues came from. Hughes used these influences to write some of his poetry, such as in the stanza form of the blues (DiYanni 702). An example of this would be in “Trumpet Player,” and in “Same in Blues.” Langston Hughes played an important role in the Harlem Renaissance, which portrays of black life in America, Black American culture, and racial pride among African Americans (“Harlem Renaissance”). He also was a good model for Africa American writers and other writers too, for he was very versatile writer, he could write poetry, children’s books, and documentaries. His poetry has a common theme about racism, and the discrimination against African Americans, because this is what was happening in his life.
- 4. Works Cited DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Second. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008. 700-725. Print. "Harlem Renaissance." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. © 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease.© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. 01 Apr. 2012 <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0822748.html>. Hughes, Langston. "Ballad of the Landlord" DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008. 716-717. Hughes, Langston. "Madam and the Rent Man" DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008. 716-717. "Jim Crow laws." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.© 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease. © 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. 01 Apr. 2012 <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0826301.html>. "Langston Hughes." 2012. Biography.com 31 Mar 2012, 10:19 <http://www.biography.com/people/langston-hughes-9346313> LibraryOfCongress. “Langston Hughes and His Poetry.” 1 April 2012. Online video clip. YouTube. 10 February 2009. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnpItYHdP8Q&feature=youtu.be>