Imagine, for a moment, that a complete stranger is chasing a group of kids down an icy street in the dead of the winter. Now imagine a pre-teen sitting in the middle of a Southern Baptist revival service. The scenarios described above are the basis of short stories by Annie Dillard and Langston Hughes. Dillard writes about an early childhood memory of tossing ice balls at passing cars on a blustery, winter afternoon that turned into a footrace with a complete stranger. Hughes recalls a childhood memory as well. His being that of sitting in a revival service with his aunt, frantically searching for God in the pews. As in any case, the writer’s share striking similarities and stark differences in their composition. None of the similarities …show more content…
This similarity is adding an underlying tone of dark humor to even the most serious of events. The best example of this is shown during the church service of Hughes and as the kids were kidding chewed out by the stranger in Dillard’s. 6“Finally Westley said to me in a whisper: "God damn! I'm tired o' sitting here. Let's get up and be saved." So he got up and was saved.” Hughes makes light of a very serious situation by taking the Lord’s name in vain in the middle of a church service. He also shows that he wasn’t the only person who was on the fence about being saved. 7“The point was that he had chased us passionately without giving up, and so he had caught us. Now he came down to earth. I wanted the glory to last forever.” In most cases, the kids that got caught would be rattled. They wouldn’t want there “glory” to last more than a minute or two. Dillard provides a humorous touch to eradicate a potentially serious …show more content…
Both Dillard and Hughes rely on a combination of objective and subjective description, but Dillard relies on a more subjective path, while Hughes treads safely on his own separate road of objective description. In her work, Dillard describes the backyard sports she played as a kid, in particularly football. She describes the rush she got from playing with the boys. 8“Nothing the girls did could compare with it.” She inserts her own opinion and thoughts to create a more detailed experience. She’s not worried about describing the appearance of the ball, but rather what it felt like to play the game. She does however; dot the passage with uses of objective description here and there two allow more for a complete picture. She does this most noticeably when she describes the boys she played with. 9“The oldest two Fahey boys were there—Mikey and Peter—polite blond boys who lived near me on Lloyd Street…” Dillard brings us closer to her childhood by describing what the boys looked like objectively. Langston Hughes did his best to keep his personal thoughts away from his writing. He focused on the objective and stayed there for the majority of his piece. 10 “… old women with jet-black faces and braided hair, old men with work-gnarled hands.” Hughes creates a crystal clear picture for us without letting us in on what’s going on in his head. He has no desire to share subjectively until the very
In "Langston Hughes and the "Other" Whitman", George Hutchinson summarizes the similarities between Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Although Walt Whitman wrote during the American Antebellum Era and Hughes wrote during the Harlem Renaissance, both used their works to advocate for African Americans. Hughes greatly admired Whitman and felt that he had been ignored and underappreciated as a writer. Hughes’ admiration and respect for Whitman allowed him to develop his own unique style of writing and encouraged him to be a voice for those living in Harlem. Analyzing Whitman’s poetry enabled Hughes to find ways to incorporate aspects of Jazz and Blues into his poetry. Whitman and Hughes both integrated their opinions into their poetry and used
Frederick Douglass and Langston Hughes were both talented African-Americans authors in their time, both were known for their impressive influence works. Douglass's is known to use storytelling to bring the themes and his readers in focus in his writing. Douglass is more of a narrative writer who likes to bring a humor in his writing to make it interest for his readers, like Douglass, Hughes is said to be a more skillful and enduring storyteller than he is being a poet. So both Douglass and Hughes are both good at using storytelling in their writing. Langston Hughes is also said to be a genius writer that captures and utilize the realities of the beauty and the relative importance of African-American heritage while Douglass on the other hand
Dudley Randall and Langston Hughes have both wrote poems on the same topic, the Birmingham Bombing of 1963 at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Besides the fact that the two authors published their poems at different times, a two-year difference to be exact, the poems have other considerable differences in how they present their versions of the bombing.
Hughes essay would be described in the process of telling the story in a meditative style of writing. Hughes doesn't go into a fine comb with the detail but does give the basic picture to try and paint in your head. But the thought process that is shown in the story line is very free flowing. Hughes tries not to make an agurment or even make it logical. But as the story goes on you find out that he kind of uses foreshoding method to make you think about the story after reading it. He doesn't want to perment picture in your mind but let the reader itself paint a picture in there minds using there own paintbush as they go on. He wants you to feel like you want. He wants you to be you.
Writer and member of the 1920’s literary movement, Langston Hughes, in his autobiographical essay, Salvation, elucidates the loss of innocence and faith due to the pressure of accepting a concept that he has yet to acknowledge. Hughes’ purpose is to describe his childhood experience of the burden to be saved by Jesus, resulting in his loss of faith. He adopts a solemn, yet disappointing tone to convey his childhood event and argues the unqualified religious pressure.
Lanston Hughes focuses more on rhythm then on rhyme, for example, the poem "The Weary Blues" reads like a blues song, which is what the poem is about. "Mother to Son" is a conversation a mother has to a child about what era life has been, and that no matter how hard life may seem, one should never give up climbing the "stairs". The poem seems to shift from good English to Black English and then back again, which to me shows...
Berry, Faith. Langston Hughes Before and Beyond Harlem Connecticut: Lawrence Hill and Company Publishers, 1983
In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by the name of Langston Hughes. A well-known writer that still gets credit today for pomes like “ Theme for English B” and “Let American be American Again.”
A slum neighborhood located in “Yes, Ma’m” and a brilliant train carriage in “The Storyteller” create the setting for this compare and contrast essay. These short stories are similar in that their themes both focus on negative objects, but play them into a positive light. However, their suggested themes are different in that “Yes Ma’m” tells the reader to not believe in people by where they live, but “The Storyteller” communicates to not judge something based on its formality. Langston Hughes’s “Yes Ma’m” has an implied theme found anywhere, “nice people can be found even in the lowest places on the planet.” Another true theme belonging to Saki’s “The Storyteller,” reads, “Sometimes the most improper story is the best one.” Both main messages are true, and provide a very keen focal point for the reader to enjoy.
The Harlem Renaissance inspired, and was inspired by some of the greatest poets, musicians and artists of the century. Among these great minds, were the poets Langston Hughes, and Claude McKay. Though motivated by the same hardships, people, and events, the works of both Hughes, and McKay show glaring differences in the perspectives of the authors. Upon reading “Harlem” by Hughes, the audience may easily see the author’s more peaceful call to action. In contrast, after reading “If We Must Die,” one can infer that McKay prefers to call his audience to obvious (physical) action. Langston Hughes’s poem portrays a more passive overtone, while Claude McKay’s poem is more aggressive. There are, however, a few similarities between the two works of
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) absorbed America. In doing so, he wrote about many issues critical to his time period, including The Renaissance, The Depression, World War II, the civil rights movement, the Black Power movement, Jazz, Blues, and Spirituality. Just as Hughes absorbed America, America absorbed the black poet in just about the only way its mindset allowed it to: by absorbing a black writer with all of the patronizing self-consciousness that that entails.
During the 1920's and 30’s, America went through a period of astonishing artistic creativity, the majority of which was concentrated in one neighborhood of New York City, Harlem. The creators of this period of growth in the arts were African-American writers and other artists. Langston Hughes is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the period know as the Harlem Renaissance. With the use of blues and jazz Hughes managed to express a range of different themes all revolving around the Negro. He played a major role in the Harlem Renaissance, helping to create and express black culture. He also wrote of political views and ideas, racial inequality and his opinion on religion. I believe that Langston Hughes’ poetry helps to capture the era know as the Harlem Renaissance.
Langston Hughes', "On the Road," uses beautiful symbolism and imagery. He offers a gift to his readers: Open your heart and life will provide unlimited abundance. During this literary analysis, we will take a look at how Hughes uses nature to demonstrate his main character's unwillingness to participate in life. Another point we'll examine is the use of anger and survival and how it can be used as a powerful force in breaking down racial barriers. Next, we'II look at Jesus Christ as a metaphor for how we experience life and how traditional church values contradict each other when it comes to the acceptance of human beings. Finally, we'll briefly take an historic look at how the Depression gave blacks an even playing field with whites.
“Goodbye Christ.” Meyer, 898-99. Meyer, Michael. A. ed. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. “Langston Hughes (1902-1967).”
In this essay I will be arguing how Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou similar writing styles affected their community and brought to light a positive way of thinking. Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, and novelist from Missouri. Hughes played an influential role in the Harlem Renaissance era. Hughes was known for being conscious and it echoed in his work. He used music as well as imagery to tell the world the struggles that African-Americans endure in their era. Hughes poems told stories that were relatable and reflected his community. Maya Angelou was an American poet, actress, civil rights activist, along with many other things. As a civil rights activist, Angelou worked alongside with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and