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Langston hughes and contribution to african american literature
Langston hughes and contribution to african american literature
Langston hughes and contribution to african american literature
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Issues of Injustice and Inequality in ‘Let America Be America Again’ This paper examined the ideas inequality and injustice in the poem ‘Let America Be America Again’ by Langston Hughes. In the poem, Hughes expresses his dissatisfaction with the social and economic inequalities that were commonplace in the American society. ‘Let America be America Again’ gives voice to the disenfranchised portion of the American citizenry who are frustrated by the structural greed and economic injustices perpetrated by the powerful members of the American society. This poem places the issue of social injustice at the center of discussion. Personally, I can relate with the idea of social injustice because I have observed and experienced the issues of discrimination and inequality in today’s American society today. Thus, Hughes expresses his frustrations with inequality in American in the same manner as expressed by frustrated Americans today. The first line of the poem “Let American Be America again” (Line 01) corresponds to the current version in President Trump’s campaign “Make America great again.” Throughout the poem, Hughes addresses the issue of social injustice that permeates through all American communities including the Whites, …show more content…
the Indians, the African Americans and the immigrants. Hughes highlights that the “dream the dreamers dreamt” (Line 06) where American would be the “homeland of the free” has never materialized. Hughes says “It never was America to me” (Line 05) because the American dreams of liberty and equality had been subverted by the culture of “owning everything for one’s own greed!” In present-day American, inequality and the greedy pursuit of wealth has become pronounced whereby activist organizations and news agencies highlight repeatedly that the top 10% of the American wealthiest persons own more wealth than the bottom 90% of the nation (Inequality.org).
Majority of the nation’s workforce receive the minimum hourly wages while the large corporations continue to optimize their profits and enriching the already-wealthy ‘tyrants’. Hughes expresses the frustration of the low-income workers in America saying “I am the man who never got ahead. The poorest worker bartered through the years” (Lines 37-38). In this context, the idea of social injustice and inequality is as pronounced in Hughes’ poem as it is in today’s
America. Also, the American dream of equality and liberty never came to be as evidenced by the multiple incidences of police shootings directed towards members of the African American community, including the well-publicized shooting case of 2014 featuring Michael Brown from Ferguson, Missouri as the victim of on-going extra-judicial killings. Hughes acknowledges the injustice in American policing saying “The millions shot down when we strike?” (Line 54) In this context, the issue of extra-judicial killing in today’s American societies resonates with the frustrations expressed by Hughes in the poem. Moreover, ‘Let America Be America Again’ expresses the issue of immigration that occupies the center stage in American social and political discourses today. The election of President Trump in 2016 was founded on the promise to restrict immigration into the United States. Over the years, immigrants from all over the world have come to American in search of a better life. Hughes says “I’m the man who sailed those early seas…who left dark Ireland’s shore…torn from Black Africa’s strand I came, to build a ‘homeland of the free’” (Lines 45-50). In this context, the hopes and dreams of many immigrants have been halted following the decision by the current administration to ‘build a wall’ to prevent immigration. In conclusion, the frustrations expressed by Hughes in ‘Let American Be American again’ are the same frustrations of injustice and inequality that bedevil majority of American societies today. Therefore, the ideas presented in Hughes’ poem are still revenant in regards to issues that I have observed in present times.
Although Langston Hughes’ “Why, You Reckon?” is a short story, it encapsulates differences between races and classes in American society. The story highlights the desperate and hopeless lives of poor African-Americans in Harlem, New York, who would do anything just so they can fill their stomachs. Hughes adds a contrast by putting in a white man who uses his money and privileges to try to experience the exuberance of Harlem but fails to do so. Written in 1934, during the peak of racial divide in America, Langston Hughes’ “Why, you reckon?” shows that real experiences, not money, contribute to happiness.
The poem “Likewise” by Langston Hughes is about Jews living and selling products in Harlem. But looking deeper into the writing reveals references to the creeping increase of antisemitism in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Have you ever heard the expression money isn’t everything? Well it’s true and in Langston Hughes short story, “Why, You reckon,” Hughes reveals his theme of how people aren’t always as happy as they seem when they have lots of money.
This poem is often compared to Walt Whitman’s I Hear America Singing because of the similarities of the two poems. In this poem, Hughes argues that the African American race is equal to whites. Hughes even declares that one day the African American race will be equal to whites. Hughes proclaims, “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed-I, too, am America.” Hughes was very bold and daring when he wrote these lines in this poem. He is implying that the white people will regret what they have done to blacks. That they will be ashamed of how they treated them. Undoubtedly, this poem expresses Hughes cultural identity.
Often depicted as a melting pot, America is always being put on a pedestal by the rest of the world due to the large amounts of successful immigrants in the United States. Millions of people have packed their bags and moved to America in hopes of achieving their dreams. While some succeed, others fail and are let down by the dim reality that not everyone can achieve their goals. This essay will compare the poems, “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes and “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus to exhibit my perspective on both works. Both poems portray people’s hopes that America will be great, however, due to the different eras and the authors’ backgrounds, the poems have different meanings. Lazarus’ poem was written in the early stages of America, as it describes her cheerful
The civil rights movement may have technically ended in the nineteen sixties, but America is still feeling the adverse effects of this dark time in history today. African Americans were the group of people most affected by the Civil Rights Act and continue to be today. Great pain and suffering, though, usually amounts to great literature. This period in American history was no exception. Langston Hughes was a prolific writer before, during, and after the Civil Rights Act and produced many classic poems for African American literature. Hughes uses theme, point of view, and historical context in his poems “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” to expand the views on African American culture to his audience members.
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.
“Theme for English B” and “Let American be American again” share some similar elements. These poems both written by Langston Hughes both explain about inequality. Theme for English B revolves around the separation of the black and white man; the differences within each race were segregation was at a high point. Let America be America again revolves around the concept that America is supposed to be the land of the free, but to another race or background; it’s a total opposite. (I guess that being colored doesn’t make me not like the other folks who are other races. - Theme for English B). ...
This image is the author’s perspective on the treatment of “his people” in not only his hometown of Harlem, but also in his own homeland, the country in which he lives. The author’s dream of racial equality is portrayed as a “raisin in the sun,” which “stinks like rotten meat” (Hughes 506). Because Hughes presents such a blatantly honest and dark point of view such as this, it is apparent that the author’s goal is to ensure that the reader is compelled to face the issues and tragedies that are occurring in their country, compelled enough to take action. This method may have been quite effective in exposing the plight of African-Americans to Caucasians. It can be easily seen that Hughes chooses a non-violent and, almost passive method of evoking a change. While Hughes appears to be much less than proud of his homeland, it is apparent that he hopes for a future when he may feel equal to his fellow citizens, which is the basis of the “dream” that has been
This poem is written from the perspective of an African-American from a foreign country, who has come to America for the promise of equality, only to find out that at this time equality for blacks does not exist. It is written for fellow black men, in an effort to make them understand that the American dream is not something to abandon hope in, but something to fight for. The struggle of putting up with the racist mistreatment is evident even in the first four lines:
Poems are expression of the human soul, and even though, is not everyone’s cup of tea when the individual finds that special poem it moves their soul one with the poet. There are many poets in the world, but the one that grab my attention the most was no other than Langston Hughes. It would be impossible for me to cover all the poems he wrote, but the one that grab my attention the most is called “Let America Be America Again.” It first appeared in “1938 pamphlet by Hughes entitled A New Song. Which was published by a socialist organization named the International Worker Order” (MLM) and later change back to its original name. I have never felt such an energy coming out of a poem like this one which is the reason that I instantly felt in love with it.
Langston Hughes was an activist for the African-American community and made significant artistic contributions to the Harlem Renaissance throughout his career. In one of his most famous poems, “Harlem [Dream Deferred]”, he addresses the limitations and oppression of African Americans after the Great Depression. Many African Americans dreamed of equality, but often times that dream became neglected and pushed aside. In his poem, Hughes responds to a question about a deferred dream with a series of vivid similes, inquiring what happens to a constantly ignored dream.
... They focus more on the cultural aspects of identity that Hughes is very proud of, while poems “Democracy” and “Theme for English B” touch on some of the social concerns that created a struggle for dignity as a black person in the early/mid twentieth century. The “Democracy” is a slightly stern and direct request to take action and fight for civil rights. The “Theme for English B” is a compassionate and low-key personal anecdote that reiterates the unpracticed concept that “all men are created equal”. Despite the difference in tone and subject, all four poems relate to the central theme that dignity is something that white men may take for granted, but Langston Hughes, as a black man and a writer, sees and feels dignity as a fight and a struggle that he faces and that the black community as a whole faces every day.
Thesis: The poems “Negro”, “I Too”, and “Song for a Dark Girl” by Langston Hughes was written around an era of civil inequality. A time when segregation was a customary thing and every African American persevered through civil prejudice. Using his experience, he focuses his poems on racial and economic inequality. Based on his biographical information, he uses conflict to illustrate the setting by talking about hardships only a Negro would comprehend and pride only a Negro can experience, which helps maintain his racial inequality theme.
When looking at the poem, Hughes expresses the pride that he has in his heritage and in who h...