In his writing piece, “That Word Black” (1958), Langston Hughes accentuates the issue over the negative connotation of the term ‘black’, and how its usage associates black individuals with immoral concepts, implying that they are terrible people. By providing imagery, a series of examples of black’s adverse use, and juxtaposition between that of the white’s, the writer heightens pathos. Langston Hughes’ purposes is to reveal the abysmal correlation of the word ‘black’ in order to demonstrate the underlying racism and disparity between black and white people. Because the author uses AAVE to show the ethos and sincerness that he is a black person, and discusses an educational, racial topic, he appeals to the white people who hold a cultural stereotypes
The idea that hardships may bring out of someone something they did not know they had within them is something that many people believe. American culture is one that admires resolve in the face of hardship as we believe that is when someone shines that most. However adversity does not always bring out something that was not being shown before but rather gives a new direction to talents that someone already has. Adversity may push some to recognize talents they did not they had, like for example taking an advance class in a subject they did not like but finding they are talented in understanding the subject.
“Racial segregation must be seen for what it is, and that is an evil system, a new form of slavery covered up with certain niceties of complexity.” - Martin Luther King Jr. Even after African Americans became free citizens after the civil war, segregation was prominent in America up until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was passed which outlawed slavery. Segregation required black and white people to be separate in their daily activities which created many social boundaries. Numerous poets like Langston Hughes expressed their thoughts on segregation through poems, Langston Hughes described his thoughts through an array of poems including, Harlem, I too, sing America, and Colored Child at the Carnival.
1. What effect does the image of rivers create in African American history? Why are the rivers ancient and dusky? The ancient rivers Hughes talked about in his poem “The Negro Speaks of River” are the heritages of African Americans and Africans.
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.
Throughout much of his poetry, Langston Hughes wrestles with complex notations of African American dreams, racism, and discrimination during the Harlem Renaissance. Through various poems, Hughes uses rhetorical devices to state his point of view. He tends to use metaphors, similes, imagery, and connotation abundantly to illustrate in what he strongly believes. Discrimination and racism were very popular during the time when Langston Hughes began to develop and publish his poems, so therefore his poems are mostly based on racism and discrimination, and the desire of an African American to live the American dream. Langston Hughes poems served as a voice for all African Americans greatly throughout his living life, and even after his death.
In the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Langston Hughes fantasizes about the freedoms his people had in Africa. He yearns to go back to that time, and even though it is not possible, he wants to relive that time. “I bathed in the Euphrates when dawn was young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.”
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
An example of the author conveying the theme of community in this work is, “I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.” This line from the poem shows how the figurative language describes the dark past of African American History and how people have been there to see its dark past and how it’s blossoming into a bright future. The Negro Speaks of Rivers is yet another one of the many works from the Harlem Renaissance that conveys the importance of working
Hughes effectively describes the river at different times to display how slavery and white society tainted the stream and prevented it from flowing freely. The speaker links himself to his ancestors and reveals how he knows “rivers as ancient as the world” (Hughes 2). Throughout the passage, Hughes illustrates other rivers with imagery varying from huts that he slept in near the Congo to great pyramids that towered over the Nile. The greatness surrounding each river symbolizes the significance and proficiency of black society without white involvement, which readers can use to trace the history of blacks from Africa to America.
Hughes Langston. The Negro Speaks of Rivers. Joplin: MO, 1902 - 1967. The speaker Langston Hughes claims that he has known rivers as “ ancient as the world “ older than the blood that flows in our veins.
Being from Mississippi, Hughes would have been familiar with the Mississippi River and this may partly explain why more emphasis is placed on the details of this river than any of the others. The author’s description of the Mississippi River contains more words than any other line in the poem. The line reads “I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset” (7). This reference to President Abraham Lincoln, the great emancipator, hints at the theme of African American freedom as another connection to Langston Hughes’ present day struggle with finding freedom as an artist in a society that confined the lives of African Americans. The importance of this
Alicia Lewis Miss Emily Brown Period: 1 3/2/22 Black History Month Poetry Project Langston Hughes is an African American poet who wrote from 1921, until he passed away in 1967. Hughes' poetry mainly focused on the black experience in America. In his time, his work was not nearly as appreciated as it is now. Many black artists criticized Hughes for portraying what was thought to be an unattractive portrayal of the black life. Throughout all of Hughes' criticism, however, he continued to record the hardships and unfairness of black life and it’s frustration.
In the poem “I, Too”, the author Langston Hughes illustrates the key aspect of racial discrimination faces against the African Americans to further appeals the people to challenge white supremacy. He conveys the idea that black Americans are as important in the society. Frist, Hughes utilizes the shift of tones to indicate the thrive of African American power. In the first stanza, the speaker shows the sense of nation pride through the use of patriotic tone. The first line of the poem, “I, too, sing America” states the speaker’s state of mind.
I am a free African American, but in a since I am not free. I am not a free person because I am not allowed to vote or speak out for myself and my country where I live in. I want to have rights, but I am not allowed to due to some circumstances. Even though I am a free African American, people are saying that there is no proof that I am a free African American. Also, when a white American captures me, I do not have proof that I was a free African American, and I will be sent into slavery.
