One Friday Morning Langston Hughes Analysis

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During the 1840’s there was a large famine that led to thousands of Irish families migrating to America, and my family was one of them. Many Irish people were viewed as inferior or stupid, and were often times victims of discrimination just because they were Irish. Nancy Lee’s story from “One Friday morning” by Langston Hughes, is very similar in the terms that she moves to the North looking for equality and opportunity only to be met by racism and discrimination because of the color of her skin. She believes she is moving to a better place than the South when in reality she will still face the same obstacles she has tried to escape. The author portrays the acceptance of Nancy Lee into her desegregated Northern school as a fallacy; by showing …show more content…

Due to Nancy’s recent move from the South to the North, she has little knowledge of her new “home”. This leads her to view the North as a land of acceptance where she can live in peace, which is stated by the author:, “When I came here from the South a few years ago, I was not sure how you would receive me. You received me well” (Hughes 4). Hughes states that Nancy feels accepted to show how her little knowledge of the North leads her to believe something false. She is directed to the idea through the kindness of her classmates and teachers. However, just because she is accepted by a few people doesn’t mean she is accepted by the community as a …show more content…

As Nancy realizes the full effect of losing her scholarship because of her race, she starts to cry. The America she once thought of as free has been destroyed by racism, as shown through the quote; “Among them was a dark girl whose cheeks were suddenly wet with tears…”(Hughes 6). The words “dark girl” are used to symbolise the plight for all americans alike. It’s important because it shows that only African Americans were confronting the struggle for acceptance at this time period, not whites. The author also uses the pledge of allegiance as a way to symbolise the “free” America Nancy believes in. Her crying is used as a way to show how that belief has been