Langston Hughes Cross Literary Devices
The most important literary devices that Langston Hughes uses in “Cross” are denotation and connotation. The title, “Cross”, is an example of Hughes using these devices. One definition of cross is something that results from crossbreeding, like a hybrid. Cross can also be the object that Jesus carried and was crucified on. The title emphasizes that the speaker is half black and half white and is therefore different from others and feels like a crossbreed. Another interpretation of the title is that the speaker is at a crossroads and feels lost. Cross carries both positive and negative connotation; the image of Christ carrying the cross to save all sinners is a positive connotation of cross while the KKK burning crosses can give cross a negative …show more content…
He says, “My old man died in a fine big house. My ma died in a shack”. Instead of writing a fine big home, Hughes wrote, “a fine big house”. This could suggest the speaker’s father’s house was not a very welcoming environment for himself or others. Perhaps it was not very welcoming for slaves. The lines clearly show that white people maintained a higher economic status than black people did. Less obvious is the second meaning of “shack”. As a verb, shack means to move in or live with someone as a lover. During the times of slavery, it was not uncommon for a white, male slave owner to rape his black, female slaves. This is where the main confusion arises as to who the speaker is. The old man is white and the old mother is black meaning rape was in fact a possibility. The speaker could either be Langston Hughes, who was conceived normally, or a mulatto male or female resulting from rape. It is likely that Hughes is the speaker because he was mixed and struggled with these same issues; however, the denotation of “shack” cannot be ignored. As indicated by the title, the speaker is at a crossroads with one road leading to the life of a black person and the other road leading to the life of a white person; however, he is not welcome down either
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