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Symbolism in langston hughes poetry
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Langston hughes impact on civil rights movement
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Langston Hughes' Poem The Weary Blues
I. Introduction
Langston Hughes was deemed the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race," a fitting title which the man who fueled the Harlem Renaissance deserved. But what if looking at Hughes within the narrow confines of the perspective that he was a "black poet" does not fully give him credit or fully explain his works? What if one actually stereotypes Hughes and his works by these over-general definitions that cause readers to look at his poetry expecting to see "blackness?" Any person's unique experiences in life and the sense of personal identity this forms most definitely affects the way he or she views the world. This molded view of the world can, in turn, be communicated by the person through artistic expression. Taking this logic into account, to more fully comprehend the message and force of Hughes' poetry one must look, not just to his work, but also at the experiences in his life that constructed his ideas about society and his own identity. In looking at Hughes' biography, one studies his struggle to form a self-identity that reflected both his African American and mainstream white cultural influence; consequently, this mixing of black and white identity that occurred throughout Hughes' life is reflected in his poem "The Weary Blues."
II. Biographical Information
Hughes' racial identity was formed from both a myriad of influences that accumulated over his life and also by the shadows of events that happened before his birth. Hughes' young life was segmented into distinctly different times with distinctly different influence. Which relative he lived with and which city, state, or country he was residing in all seemed to be constantly changing and constantly dividing up his li...
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Hughes, Langston. "Theme for English B." The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry. Editor: Jay Parini. Columbia University Press, 1995. 481.
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Jemie, Onwuchekwa. Langston Hughes: An Introduction to the Poetry. Columbia University Press, Columbia, 1976.
Locke, Alain. Critical Essays of Langston Hughes. Editor: Edward J. Mullen. G.K. Hall & Co., Boston. 44-45.
"Poet Laureate of Harlem." Online Posting. Accessed 31 October 2001. <http://www.ukans.edu/~afs/lhrc.html>.
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Rampersad, Arnold. The Life of Langston Hughes. Volume 1: 1902-1941. Oxford University Press, New York, 1986.
In his poems, Langston Hughes treats racism not just a historical fact but a “fact” that is both personal and real. Hughes often wrote poems that reflect the aspirations of black poets, their desire to free themselves from the shackles of street life, poverty, and hopelessness. He also deliberately pushes for artistic independence and race pride that embody the values and aspirations of the common man. Racism is real, and the fact that many African-Americans are suffering from a feeling of extreme rejection and loneliness demonstrate this claim. The tone is optimistic but irritated. The same case can be said about Wright’s short stories. Wright’s tone is overtly irritated and miserable. But this is on the literary level. In his short stories, he portrays the African-American as a suffering individual, devoid of hope and optimism. He equates racism to oppression, arguing that the African-American experience was and is characterized by oppression, prejudice, and injustice. To a certain degree, both authors are keen to presenting the African-American experience as a painful and excruciating experience – an experience that is historically, culturally, and politically rooted. The desire to be free again, the call for redemption, and the path toward true racial justice are some of the themes in their
Of the few short stories penned by Hughes, one that stands out the most was his series of weekly writings from the Chicago Defender in the 1940’s about a middle aged black man and a narrator who would speak on a variety of issu...
During the Renaissance period, males were seen as the leaders of society who were supposed to be the decision makers and breadwinners for their families. Men were regarded as the biologically, physically, mentally, economically, and politically superior gender compared to women. Because he abandoned his male friends and more importantly challenges the traditional gender roles, Benedick would be considered a womanish man in his time. Shakespearean society was clearly a patriarchal one in which women were expected to be subordinate to men not the reverse. However, Benedick goes against the ideologies of his own era when he repeatedly believed the women over the men in the play and obeyed the orders of women. For example, he stayed at Hero’s wedding and believed her protes...
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.
The "Langston Hughes" Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
Todar, K. (2003). Streptococcus pneumoniae and Pneumococcal pneumonia. Todar's Online Textbook of Bacteriology. Retrieved from http://textbookofbacteriology.net/S.pneumoniae.html (Accessed December 12, 2013).
Dunham, Montrew, and Robert Doremus. Langston Hughes: Young Black Poet. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1995. Print.
Hughes, Langston. "Harlem (A Dream Deferred)." Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River. Prentice, 2002. 534.
The title of this paper was inspired by the famous black poet, Langston Hughes’, poem Negro, which is included in the book The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes’ works are world renowned classics years after the start of his career. Hughes’ works were very influential in the age of the Harlem Renaissance. They are some of the greatest and most eye-opening works of that time. The research undertaken in this paper will include some aspects of his personal life, educational background, important works, the difference in his writing styles and the achievements that he acquired during his career.
In the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, a society where women are treated very badly and poverty is in abundance, is presented. After reading this book I have come to the conclusion that this book is a wonderful, yet depressing bildungsroman that contains important life lessons as well as the reality of life is like for a poor Hispanic girl growing up. Throughout the book there are many vignettes that are full of dreams that are never satisfied. The main character’s name in English means hope in Spanish. Throughout the book she is living hope.
Hughes, a.k.a. Langston, a.k.a. The "Harlem". The [1951] Literature. 5th ed.
Have you ever had that uncertain feeling inside that something is just not right and needs to be changed? Sandra Cisneros’s novel The House On Mango Street is about a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago who learns more about herself and what she will become in the future. Throughout the series of vignettes, the reader encounters many women who are constrained by poverty and inequality. Women confront situations where they are waiting for men to help guide them, or they get taken advantage of by men. Although Esperanza experiences and witnesses the struggles and hardships that come with being a woman, she eventually understands that being a woman can be powerful, and that she is able to shape her own future.
Finally, the examples analyzed shows how ethics may or may not aid the pursuit of knowledge in natural sciences and the arts. In my opinion, ethics does prevent the production of knowledge. In the field of science although ethics is used just as a means to prevent accidents and disaster, it has prevented the production of knowledge by limiting the extent to which scientists can conduct experiments. However, when we look at the field of arts ethics is much more subjective. When viewing pieces of art while considering the ethics of its production, it changes from individual to individual depending on the social and cultural background of the person viewing the art piece. We can conclude that when reviewing an art piece for its ethics, one has to evaluate it based on aesthetic standards alone.
Langston Hughes gained fame during the explosion of African-American artistic expression, a period called the “Harlem Renaissance”. Hughes was a prominent figure during the Harlem Renaissance, as he and many other African-American poets, novelists, artists and singers rose in popularity in this movement based out of Harlem, New York. The oppression of African-Americans served as an artistic inspiration for Hughes, with many of his poetry and stories dealing with the plight of African-Americans during the time of Jim Crow laws in the United States. The disdain for the oppression and discrimination Hughes experienced matches only the patriotism and adoration he felt for America, ‘the land of opportunity’. In his poem I, Too, Hughes explores the
...ieves that the knowledge is contributing to society. The scientist’s own drive to obtain knowledge versus the society’s need to obtain knowledge differ in the degree of limitations since the society’s moral judgments have more limiting factors on the methods to create the knowledge society demands rather than the artistic or scientific drive to obtain that knowledge.