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How Did Langston Hughes Change The Portrayal Of African American

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How did Langston Hughes change the portrayal of African American dreams during the Harlem Renaissance? Langston Hughes was a writer during the Harlem Renaissance which was a pivotal movement during the 1920s among African Americans in art, music, and culture. His work combined challenging stereotypes and advocating for a better future. One of his many works, ‘If-ing’, explores dreams and aspirations “if” he was a rich man. “If I had a million / I’d get me a plane / And everybody in America’ / Think I was insane.” From his use of literary devices, imagery throughout the stanza, and the effect of these techniques, Hughes made an impact on society, especially challenges that shaped the perceptions during that era. In this poem, figurative language such as hyperbole, irony, and metaphors all exaggerate his desire for wealth while …show more content…

This serves as a hypothetical scenario that shows his dreams and desires if he was a wealthy man. Throughout the poem, Hughes talks about a hypothetical scenario where he imagined the possibilities of wealth. The lines "If I had a million / I’d get me a plane / And everybody in America’d / Think I was insane" (Hughes, 9-12) showed many different literary devices, for example, “get me a plane” (Hughes, 10). They symbolized not just materialistic wealth, but also freedom, challenging stereotypes that limited Black peoples dreams. This, followed by line 9, revealed irony, as he exaggerated it by saying “million” since achieving a million dollars as a person in a marginalized group was nearly impossible. This stanza used metaphors to address stereotypes of wealth since many Black families faced economic oppression and were denied monetary freedom. By using figurative language, Hughes was able to express the narrator's desire for freedom while overthrowing stereotypes. In this stanza, the imagery also plays a significant role, portraying the dreams of the

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In the poem, “ Let America be America again”, Langston Hughes asserts that America does not live up to what it actually should be. Hughes’ tone seems to be angry and [exasperated]. He implicates the perspective of one particular group, but many people. The poem represents that many people come here with high hopes and big dreams but they are let down. He states that [prosperity] is one of the reasons that there is an economic inconsistency where the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer.

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American society once praised as a symbol of opportunity has suffered from widespread Decay and moral corruption. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby and Langston Hughes poem,”Harlem” both reveal the breakdown of societal values and the Loss of moral direction. Through their vivid depictions and Powerful language, these works shed light on the dark side of American society showing the consequences of excessive materialism, and the elusive pursuit of the American dream.

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671 Words | 3 Pages

The speaker in the poem says, “Tangled in that ancient endless chain/of profit, power, gain of grab the land!” (lines 26-27). Hughes used a metaphor in these lines to describe how living in America was like an endless cycle and that he felt trapped and he wanted to feel equal to everyone else. The speaker uses this repetitive phrase, “Let America be America again,” (line 1). They use it again later on in the poem,

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802 Words | 4 Pages

The Harlem Renaissance was a period in American history, which occurred in the 1920s in Harlem, New York. The cultural movement was an opportunity for African Americans to celebrate their heritage through intellectual and artistic works. Langston Hughes, a famous poet, was a product of the Harlem Renaissance. One notable piece of literature by Hughes is “Dream Deferred”. However, the discussion of African American culture isn’t limited to the 1920s.

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Harlem Renaissance Essay First Draft The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural awakening, the reborn and rise of the intellectuals and great artists that were people of color. Such artists includes Langston Hughes, Claude McKay and Zora Neale Hurston. These young writers were able to express their feelings that they have felt while living in America at the time. The most popular writer of the movement was Langston Hughes.

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In fact, his poem called “Dream Deferred” was a major influence on Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. His poetry was the voice of the Harlem Renaissance, he encouraged people to make themselves heard. He once said “An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.” (Langston Hughes), meaning that if you want to do something, do it, don’t let society bring you down. So the real question is, how did Langston Hughes get to a point of

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ESSAY 1 Langston Hughes: Social Activist and Writer of the Black Movement It cannot be doubted that Langston Hughes is not just one of the most illustrious Black Writers but also one who had a very strong contribution to the early struggles of the Black Americans against discrimination and segregation in the country. Hughes exceptionally combined the power of his art and his political voice in advancing his stand to the pressing issues of his day, most notable of which was the assertion of the rights of Black Americans and of their stature in the economic, political and cultural spheres of society. This movement was then tagged as the Harlem Renaissance movement owing to the fact that it gained steam in Harlem, New York. In the wake of the

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880 Words | 4 Pages

According to Hughes in the poem “Harlem”, Blacks postponing dreams could only have negative outcomes. “What happens to a dream deferred?... or does it explode?,” he describes along with a number of other dreadful possibilities that happen to unfulfilled dreams. The idea that society doesn 't want this new culture to be able to achieve their dreams, however, according to Hughes this was their time to achieve them is expressed in this piece. Even though society suppressed African Americans, society needed them to achieve these dreams. If African Americans did not achieve their dreams during the Harlem Renaissance we would not have many great celebrities we know today.

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In th“An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.” Many black artist felt the same way the langston Hughes did in the 1920’s, the Harlem Renaissance had a great impact on the black community; some of the most influential people of the movement were Langston Hughes, Claude Mckay, Alain LeRoy Locke, and Aaron Douglas. Firstly langston huge was a very infultal an important man in the 1920s. He parents separated at birth and his father walked out on him.

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Many artists, writers, and activists during the beginning of the 19th century, such as Hughes, fought to promote the rights of all African Americans. In addition to promoting rights and equality, Hughes and many other artists worked to expose African American culture and the reality of the hardships of the average African American. These activists led the way towards the African American Civil Rights movement between 1954-1968. Hughes inspired many leaders of the Civil Rights Movement whose main asperation was to destroy racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans. Langston Hughes’s compositions are inspired from his time during the Harlem Renaissance and his works reflect his radical ideas towards equality and

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America is well known as the land of the free and the home opportunity. Although it is said everyone is equal in every way, that has not always been the case. Langston Hughes is a poet who tried to emphasize the idea of equality among all human beings. Hughes underlined the basis of the American Dream with what is and what should be in the societal era he lived in. In hindsight he believed his poems helped others realize the injustices that all minorities had to face during this era.

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When people think of the Harlem Renaissance they think of music, literature, art, and the ability for African-Americans to be able to showcase their talents. This was a time where such authors like Langston Hughes were able to take their thoughts and portray them in a different light for the world to see. Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri where he lived for a brief period until his parents split and he was forced to live with his grandmother. He lived with her until thirteen when she shipped him back off to his mom in Lincoln, Illinois. Upon graduating high school, he attended Columbia University for one year then decided to travel to Africa and Europe before settling down in Washington D.C.

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397 Words | 2 Pages

Whitman and Hughes’ “American Dream” Walt Whitman was the face of American poetry in the 1800’s; a trailblazer who influenced the work of many poets. Langston Hughes, however, was arguably the “Whitman” of his time (i.e. the “Harlem Renaissance”). Whitman and Hughes’ poems, “I Hear America Singing,” and, “I, Too,” respectively share a common motif: the “American Dream.” A dream in which all men, women, and children are capable of prospering and are recognized for who they are: Americans.

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499 Words | 2 Pages

Today in society there have been so many young women who have had unplanned pregnancies and have been undecided on what they are going to do with their babies. Apparently, most women plan on keeping their babies other on the other hand prefer to get an abortion. Today in society we have only have early abortions for women that are not close to having their babies and that they are still in their early trimester. Women who are in their late trimester are unlikely to get an early abortion because their babies have developing well in every trimesters . Also we have women who are already mothers go through these kinds of situations as well.

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Langston Hughes was an American poem born in the early nineteen hundreds, who became known as the leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He published many poems that brought light to the life of people of color in the twentieth century. There are three poems that the speakers are used to portray three major themes of each poem. Racism, the American Dream, and Hopes are all the major themes that Hughes uses to highlight the average life of a person of color. Theme for English B,” “Harlem,” and “Let America Be America Again” were three of Hughes’s poems that was selected to underline the themes.

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