Langston Hughes Poetry Comparison Essay

For my comparison and contrast paper, I chose two works of poetry from the late Langston Hughes. Hughes, a highly accomplished poet, short-story writer, dramatist, essayist, and editor. Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. The work of Langston Hughes drew upon spirituals, jazz, blues, and folk expression. Oned biographer, Arnold Rampersad, even went as far as calling Hughes “.. the most representative black American writer” This statement is made to ring true through the literary works Harlem [1] and PhD. In Harlem [1], the speaker reflects upon the lies told in the past, the “old kicks in the back”, and the times he/she was told to “be patient” in the face adversity, and racism. The tone is rather hostile as the speaker details the ways in which racism impacts his/her life. “Sure we remember” ‘We remember the job we never had, Never could get And can’t have now Because we’re colored.” the speaker goes on to detail the daily increase of the pricing on goods like bread and cigarettes. The speaker goes on, and suddenly, the tone shifts in the direction of sadness. The scope shifts from the “old lies” in the past

In both of these literary works, we have two adults who have done exactly what was expected of them. In the end of all of that listening, waiting and being patient, both adults are left vastly unprepared for the immediate future. In both of these short tales, the sparkling idea of the next chapter of their lives has been wiped away by a sobering reality. In Harlem [1] the speaker feels as though he/she is standing on the “edge of hell”. The speaker wonders what he/she is going to do in the face of remembering the old “be patient” he/she had heard so many times before. Although the situations and speakers vary, the central idea is the same. There are some things others simply cannot prepare you