Langston Hughes Theme

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Recommended: To what extent does African American literature serve as an expose to the African American Tradition

As far as history can remember, African-Americans faced oppression and racial segregation. They had to give up their dreams and hopes, sacrifice their lives, and live a poor, unhappy life. August Wilson, Maya Angelou, and Langston Hughes have written pieces which well-portray the oppression and segregation faced, sacrifices made, and hopes given up by African-Americans. Three prominent themes in Fences - Individual versus society, American Dream, and American Identity - are expressed in “Still I Rise,” “A Dream Deferred,” and “I, Too.” In Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” and August Wilson’s play Fences, Individual versus society is a theme well-illustrated through Maya’s and Troy’s conflicts in life. Maya said, “You may shoot me with your words/ You may cut me with your eyes/ You may kill me with your hatefulness.”(21-23) By saying this, Maya reveals that people in her society verbally abuse and abominate her. People in Maya’s society raise their voices against her and abominate her. Despite …show more content…

What about my life?,” (2.1.70) she tells Troy that she gave up her hopes and sacrificed her dreams just to start a new life and family. Literally, Rose puts her personal goals aside to start a life with Troy. When Rose learns that Troy betrayed her, she’s heartbroken and has shattered dreams. Likewise, when Langston Hughes’s says, “Or does it explode?,” (10) Hughes's questions himself if a dream just vanished by itself. By saying this, Langston asserts that there are situations where a dream is not attainable by any means of hard work. Generally, people have dreams of achieving something in life. However, because people have to make important life choices, their dreams just evaporate in the air. Rose and Langston face situations where dreams and hopes are given up to change way of their

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