Why You Reckon Analysis

588 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Problems with racism in literature

The story I chose for this analysis is “Why, you reckon?” by Langston Hughes. IN this analysis I will be focusing on how the great depression in Harlem had effect on the story, how racism played a part, and how or if the characters were justifyied in their actions. During this time period the intense racial divide combined with the economic harships that plagued the U.S. during the 1923’s makes for an interesting story that makes you think if the charaters were really justified. The setting and mood plays a huge part in setting the scene and really stepping in the charcters shoes. “Well sir, I aint never been mixed up in nothin wrong before nor since, and I don’t intend to be again, but I was hongry that night. Indeed I was.” (253, Hughes) Just from the opening line Hughes does an amazing job setting up the era by using different dialogue and slang, it really shows where they are econmically and mentally. During the crash everyone got hit but African American’s were hit the worst, …show more content…

The kind of language and dialogue he uses in the story paints a picture of the intelligence level of these charcters and their economic status, which helps develop the characters and their motivation. The story may be fictional but it was based on an actual period of time which in turn adds an element of realism and helps the author convey the story to readers in a more direct way. There was such a huge gap between characters the rich and the poor. Everything was different the way they talked, their clothes, and economic status. Edward compared to the rest of the characters are polar opposites and Hughes showed this by conveying to the reader that the speech was different, their clothes and even the reason Edward and the rest of the characters are in Harlem. Edward goes there for fun and the other 3 characters live there in poverty doing anything humans can do to

Show More
Related

  • Harlem Night Song Literary Devices

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    The speaker in “Harlem” is an African-American activist in Harlem who is fighting for rights of the African-Americans who live in Harlem. Although written by the same author, “Harlem” and “Harlem Night Song” have similarities and differences in literary devices, tone and mood. In “Harlem Night Song”, Hughes used non-consistent rhyme. In the poem, it states, “The Harlem roof-tops/Moon is shining./Night sky is blue./Stars are great drops/Of

    Read More

  • Why You Reckon? By Langston Hughes

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparing Ralph Ellison's The Black Ball And Why, You Reckon?

    535 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Black Ball” and “Why, You Reckon?” share similar themes that are conveyed through similar literary techniques and plots. While they do so in different ways, Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes both explore the theme of racism.

    Read More

  • Why, You Reckon By Langston Hughes

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    Like the story would be hard to follow if it was set in a different time period or even a different part in the world, the reader would be so confused and lost. This story’s setting being in Harlem in the late 1930s makes the reader understand why the black people don’t like the white people. The reader feels pulled into this story as they read it because Hughes really makes you think about what’s going on.

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes Biography Essay

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    Like most, the stories we hear as children leave lasting impacts in our heads and stay with us for lifetimes. Hughes was greatly influenced by the stories told by his grandmother as they instilled a sense of racial pride that would become a recurring theme in his works as well as become a staple in the Harlem Renaissance movement. During Hughes’ prominence in the 20’s, America was as prejudiced as ever and the African-American sense of pride and identity throughout the U.S. was at an all time low. Hughes took note of this and made it a common theme to put “the everyday black man” in most of his stories as well as using traditional “negro dialect” to better represent his African-American brethren. Also, at this time Hughes had major disagreements with members of the black middle class, such as W.E.B. DuBois for trying to assimilate and promote more european values and culture, whereas Hughes believed in holding fast to the traditions of the African-American people and avoid having their heritage be whitewashed by black intellectuals.

    Read More

  • Discrimination In 'That's American' By Langston Hughes

    154 Words  | 1 Pages

    Through the use of personification, Langston Hughes shows that learning is important is this story, the professor just teaches but langston is also teaching the professor that different races are equally important and that we are all the same. People in this time period were rude to black people back then then and they treated them like they were different, but Langston is trying to teach his professor that everyone is the same and know one deserves to be treated badly just from the color of their skin.”You are white--yet a part of me,as I am part of you. That's American”.This quote is langston saying that we are all the same and we are all american and nothing else is different. As a conclusion hughes was making a good point in the fact of

    Read More

  • Hyperbole The Landlord

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first thing the author, Langston Hughes, used to bring out his purpose for writing is the use of hyperbole. This can be seen in lines twenty-three and twenty-four of the poem. “He’s trying to ruin the government, And overturn the land!” (Hughes 23, 24) The landlord immediately jumps to an extreme in these lines. The landlord immediately jumps to this conclusion when the African-American man is trying to resolve the issue of the condition of his house. The landlord immediately viewed the man as a hostile person when he tried to

    Read More

  • Prejudice in Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes

    1743 Words  | 4 Pages

    Prejudice is a cancer that spreads hate among its perpetrators and victims alike. In 1930 Langston Hughes penned the novel, Not Without Laughter. This powerful story, written from the perspective of an African-American boy named James “Sandy” Rodgers, begins in the early 1900’s in the small town of Stanton, Kansas. Through the eyes of young Sandy, we see the devastating impact of racism on his family and those they are close to. We also see how the generations of abuse by whites caused a divide within the black community. Among, and even within, black families there were several social classes that seemed to hinge on seeking equality through gaining the approval of whites. The class someone belonged to was determined by the color of their skin, the type of church one attended, their level of education, and where an individual was able to find work.

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes- Theme Analysis

    842 Words  | 2 Pages

    Langston Hughes's stories deal with and serve as a commentary of conditions befalling African Americans during the Depression Era. As Ostrom explains, "To a great degree, his stories speak for those who are disenfranchised, cheated, abused, or ignored because of race or class." (51) Hughes's stories speak of the downtrodden African-Americans neglected and overlooked by a prejudiced society. The recurring theme of powerlessness leads to violence is exemplified by the actions of Sargeant in "On the Road", old man Oyster in "Gumption", and the robber in "Why, You Reckon?"

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes And Claude Mckay Analysis

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance: Reflections on African American Life

    1486 Words  | 3 Pages

    The poem tells of a young black with a writing assignment in which he must simple write a page on whatever he wants. Hughes uses the narrator in this poem to give some insight on the obstacles that he believed stood in his path while he was trying to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. The speaker tells the audience that he is in college and that “I am the only colored student in my class” (Hughes line 10). During that time period, it was very rare for anyone of color to participate in higher education. The speaker tells us he is from the Harlem area, and he identifies with the people of Harlem just as Harlem identifies with him. Hughes understood the feelings and everyday lives of the people of Harlem, New York, and gave his fictional speaker those same understandings. The writer tells his audience of his feelings towards the white American population when he says, “I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like / the same things other folks like who are other races” (lines 25-26). Hughes’s used his speaker to explain how black and whites both want to be writers, but blacks are put at a disadvantage due to the social differences of the two. Langston Hughes wanted his readers to understand the cultural differences of people of color and people on non-color. Jeannine Johnson asserts that “for Hughes, poetry is to some degree about self-expression and self-exploration, especially when the "self" is understood to mark the identity of an individual who is always affected by and affecting a larger culture.” One of the most noted portions of this poem is when the speaker tells his instructor, “You are white / yet a part of me, as I am a part of you / That’s American” (lines 31-33). These lines tell the reader that although whites and blacks have their differences, that regardless of race they are both American. Hughes uses

    Read More

  • What Should You Worry About Analysis

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    After reading the story, “What Should You Worry About?”, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, really inspired me to think more about the worries and the non-worries. Specifically, worries about; global warming, animal attacks, hackers, murders, rapist, theft, and “unsolvable problems”. Levitt and Dubner clarify the story from giving good points, Which made me think, should I be worried about dangerous animals, when I go out to remote areas? Shall I be concerned about global warming getting to it’s ultimate points, being a victim of robbery or identity-theft or even being murdered by a friend, is a worry?

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    To conclude, Langston Hughes uses race in his poems as a way to break down the racial barriers that are placed on society. It is seen in his poem, Let America be America Again, that he doesn’t only want racial equality for African Americans but for all races. It is also important to point out that some of his poems use race as a way to describe the struggles of slaves or the oppression on slaves. He does this to provide an insight into how African American’s view slavery and how they feel about it. The poems that Hughes writes can relate to today’s time period as well as his, although racial issues aren’t as severe as they were in his time there are still issues in 2014 that can be made more equal to all races. A great thing about his poetry is that many of the poems that have a theme of race also result in a subsiding theme of h

    Read More

  • Analysis of Langston Hughes' On the Road

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin with, Hughes uses nature to demonstrate a distinct relationship amongst blacks and whites. His use of snow and night convey a point simple enough, but through the use of these metaphors, he enables the story to be less invasive and more appealing to everyone that experiences "On the Road". Hughes' main character, Sargeant, is left doubting the goodness of life. "Sargeant didn't see the snow, not even under the bright lights of the main street, falling white and flaky against the night. He was too hungry, too sleepy, too tired" (Hughes 1). For almost two hundred years white people have suppressed the black population. Hughes' use of snow and night give us perfect example. Sargeant was tired of fighting, tired of surviving, tired of hoping, and most of all tired of the white people who've suppressed and tormented his life.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Langston Hughes

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    Langston Hughes, born in February 1st, 1902, grew up in segregated America. His own ancestry was as mixed as that described in the poem. Both his great-grandmothers were enslaved African Americans and both his grandparents were white slave owners. Both of Hughes’ parents were of mixed race descent. Many of his family members were key figures in the elevation of blacks in society, and they impressed upon him the nobility of black people. Hughes had a rootless and often lonely upbringing, moving back and forth between family members’ homes. Hughes was a prominent leader of the Harlem Renaissance and referred to it as the period when “the negro was in vogue”.

    Read More

More about Why You Reckon Analysis

Open Document