How Does Langston Hughes Use Of Personification In Mississippi River

2. The central metaphor of Langston Hughes’ poem revolves around rivers who have been the lifeline of civilization. Hughes’ use of I represent the entire African and African-American community and culture and parallels the souls of blacks to ancient rivers that are important to the culture and religion of civilizations throughout the world. By likening rivers to blood, Hughes establishes that rivers have given life to humans like the blood that keeps us alive. Hughes alludes to their historical significance as he places Black culture along the Euphrates River, often known as the birthplace of civilization; he houses them by the mighty Congo River, where many great African Kingdoms took power; he positions them along the Nile River as the creators of the Great Pyramids; and ultimately they settle at the Mississippi River where they are linked to slavery and Abraham Lincoln. Despite the extended metaphor employed by Hughes throughout the poem, he also uses personification, a form of metaphor. In lines 2-3, Hughes associates rivers with blood as they both keep the human life/civilization alive. In line 6, the river lulls the Blacks to sleep like a mother would to a child. And finally, in lines 9-10, the Mississippi River is given bosoms that turn from muddy to golden in the sunset.

Of the four rivers that Hughes mentions, the Euphrates, Congo, and Nile are important and purposeful to the development of mankind. He alludes to the rivers in ancient times, where Blacks were free and contributed to the start of civilization. By doing so, Hughes presents historical equality between Blacks and their light-skinned counterparts. On the other hand, the Mississippi, while a lifeline of American culture for commercial and transportation uses, is associated with slavery with the mention of Abraham Lincoln. From this, we can draw the conclusion that Hughes aims to empower African Americans by tracing their ancient, rich, and powerful