Langston Hughes1
The Harlem Renaissance was a great and powerful era in black history. Blues and Jazz flourished throughout the streets of New York, and young black artist began to arise an important part of this era had to be the inspirational writings of Mr. Langston Hughes. Born in Joplin, Missouri, Hughes was raised by his grandmother after his parents had divorced. He graduated from high school in Cleveland, Ohio and went off to Mexico to live with his father for fifteen months. While in Mexico, Hughes lived a very rural life and wrote many of his first poems which although never published began to distinguish him as a writer. He soon returned to home for a short period in 1923 before he joined the crew of the SS Malone bound for Africa. From there he visited many places including Paris, Venice and Genoa before once again returning to America, to live in Harlem, New York. Although it was not until 1926 that Hughes was officially discovered as a poet, he wrote many poems while still in high school. While working in Washington D.C. as a busboy, Hughes left three of his poems beside the plate of Vachel Lindsey, an American poet, who liked Hughes' poetry and helped him publicize his writings. Living in Harlem, he soon discovered the Culture a
-Encyclopedia Americana Volume #14 c 19999 a white society, and cannot decide whether he is white or black. Hughes, using a black mother and white father, completely makes it easy for the reader to understand and almost foreshadow where this poem is going. It is evident that there is an inner sense of not belonging in this child. In line three through eight, it is clear that the child is sorry for all the pain he has brought on to his parents, unknowingly. He fells remorse for all the curses and bad wishes he said to his parents, now that they have died. But this all because of a bigger problem. Now that his parents are both died he has no one turn to, to help him figure out what his is. He can't seem to figure out whether he is going to die in riches, or rags. This is the great dilemma Hughes presents to the reader, and leaving the audience in query to this un-answerable question. He cannot seem to find any truth in himself whatsoever, this child is and forever will be lost in his own identity. Hughes uses this boys struggle symbolically, not to show the pressures of a "crossed" child, but rather to show how we as a society stereotype the races. The white father dying in a fine house, whereas the mother dies in a shack, depicts the common view of the white race as being a more upscale and richer society, and the black culture oppressed in poverty and forever bound to the slums of the world. This is Langston Hughes, and his style and famous portrayals of urban life. Hughes used a variety of themes in both his poetry and his prose. His voice was very moving when he read his poems publicly. His voice was both rich and poetic and gave strong inspiration and love to the black community. He was a great writer who completed a two volume autobiography, a
Some common words found in the essay are:
Cross Cross, Langston Hughes, Uncle Sam, Anthology Literature's, African Americans, Van Vechten, Mexico Hughes, Creating Simple, Racism Hughes, Blues Jazz, langston hughes, download date, health anthology, download date 2, date 2, health anthology american, poetry prose, fine house, parents died, white father, 2 2000, anthology american literature, date 2 2000, african americans,
Approximate Word count = 1188
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
