Pushing Through Tough Times: Life is Fine

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Recommended: Analysis of the Langston Hughes poem

When analyzing the poem, “Life is Fine” by Langston Hughes, at first glance it may seem like a short and simple poem about life. The poem is much more complex. The poem is about the obstacles that some people face in life and how to find the strength to persevere. This poem helps the reader appreciate life and encourages us to triumph over the most emotionally challenging obstacles rather than considering death as a solution. The character in the poem, although weak and confused at first, finds the strength to deal with the issues he is struggling with and comes to appreciate life, rather than turning to a tragic way out. The character makes a half-hearted attempt to take his life twice during the short poem because of the emotional pain of lost love, but fortunately, finds reasons why he shouldn’t. The character, although very confused, sees that there is good in his life and realizes that his lost love is not worth giving his life up for. Hughes had a tough childhood, being raised mostly by his grandmother. His poem “Life is Fine” very possibly was close to his heart considering he may have faced some of the same struggles he wrote of in his poems. Hughes has written other works such as biographies and short stories about life and its experiences and his works are valuable to readers in their lives as well (Norris). Throughout this poem, the character continuously tries to take their life but cannot do so because there are clearly more reasons to live than to die. This poem echoes the thoughts that people have about death when things get difficult and how they consider turning to death as the answer. Learning to deal with obstacles and appreciate every moment is a valuable skill in life. This poem is an inspiration ...

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...e can all find our inner strength to persevere. The character in the poem found the strength to live and persevere, which was reinforced in the last line of the poem, “Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!”

Works Cited

Hughes, Langston, Dolan Hubbard, and Leslie Catherine Sanders. The Collected Works of Langston Hughes: Essays on art, race, politics, and world affairs. Vol. 9. University of Missouri Press, 2002.

"I, Too, Sing America: The Story Of Langston Hughes." I, Too, Sing America: The Story Of Langston Hughes (2002): 8-41. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.

Miller, R. Baxter. The Art and Imagination of Langston Hughes. University Press of Kentucky, 1989.

Norris, Emma Coburn. "Langston Hughes." Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Biography Series (1993): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

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