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Theme For English B Langston Hughes Essay

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Langston Hughes was an important figure during the Harlem Renaissance, his important literature flourished during the nineteen twenties. His writing not only influenced African American culture but it brought inside light to how African Americans were suffering injustice and repression.The poems "Theme For English B" and "I,Too" both gave readers an inside look of Langston Hughes views of equal civil rights and and treatment under the law for African Americans. First, he is portraying the African American experience when African Americans were not only considered less than human, certainly unworthy of being considered "American".Both poems use first-person voices; however the "I" is different for each poem, to fulfill Hughes' purpose for …show more content…

In this poem, the "I" is an individual student. "I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem," the poem is written like a narrative . Unlike the first poem, "I" is used here to connote strength and singularity. The speaker, a African-American student given a English writing assignment, engages his teacher in an intelligent, even pointed dialog.To fulfill a English writing assignment, the speaker goes home and describes himself, giving the instructor with "truth." He speaks of his connection to Harlem, and describes the things that he likes. He acknowledges that what is true for him may not be true for his professor, and perhaps it is because of race. As the only black student in his class, the speaker wonders if this paper that he writes will be "colored." Hughes purposely makes use of the first-person point of view to emphasize the affect of the poem. By using words like "I" and "them", "me" and "you," the speaker is able to point out the differences among himself and his teacher.Not only does this magnify the differences among the speaker and teacher, yet the speaker is put in a more powerful and commanding position. The fact that a African-American individual is writing something debatable and making unfavorable remarks of his teacher but in an eloquent and respectful way,is a sign of strength ,source of pride, and

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