Why, You Reckon By Langston Hughes

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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. So who does Mr. Hughes introduce us to in this short story? Well as we begin to read the first paragraph we learn that the narrator of the story is hungry, “…but I was hongry that night…” (253). Later in the story a second character is revealed and he wants to make a few bucks, he wants to be rich and he decided the best way to do that is for him and the narrator to rob a drunk white men. “The first white guy what comes out o’ one o’ these speakeasies and looks like bucks, we gonna grab him!” (253). So you soon …show more content…

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. The two literary elements setting and characters reveal that money doesn’t always make people happy. You have the character Edward that is having more fun being robbed then partying up in the bar. You also have the narrator who doesn’t realize it yet because he has never been in a position with that kind of money. The setting also reveals that the people of the streets of Harlem don’t understand why these rich people say they aren’t happy when they look pretty happy in the bars. The streets of Harlem are the perfect setting for this story’s theme Hughes did an excellent job with picking a location that expresses the theme. In conclusion, “Why, You Reckon,” by Langston Hughes, the author does an excellent job of expressing to his readers that money isn’t everything. The setting and characters used in this short story help the reader see too that people aren’t always as happy as they

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