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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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It addressed the issues that were faced by African Americans in the United States during that time . Langston Hughes' poem encouraged people not to take the issue of democracy lightly and to fight for their rights. He did not directly talk about race, but a huge part of his work had to do with life for African Americans in the United States. Hughes was often criticized for portraying life in such a negative fashion. However, his writing was politicized, and as such, he sought to produce poems with a message.

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In “Theme for English B” and “I, Too,” Langston Hughes uses many literary devices and his personal experiences, as well as his use of pronouns to convey and portray tone, theme of the poems, and to create a mood for the readers. Hughes was an African American man in the 1920’s, who used his life experiences to base the poems “Theme for English B” and “I, Too,” off of. He grew up struggling for acceptance in American society, as it was dominated by white Americans in his time period, and expresses that in his poetry. Poetry gives readers a chance to interpret different circumstances in ways they wouldn't normally, as every time they read and interpret a poem the meaning can slightly alter.

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In the poem “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes, the author uses language to exemplify the harsh division of races within America. Though there is no clear pattern of rhyme nor rhythm in the whole poem, when they are used it adds immense value. Rhyme is only truly present during the first stanza when the speaker recalls that “the instructor said,/ go home and write/ a page tonight/ and let that page come out of you-/ Then, it will be true” (1-5).

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Langston Hughes poems “Harlem” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” are two poems that have a deeper meaning than a reader may notice. Hughes 's poem “Harlem” incorporates the use of similes to make a reader focus on the point Hughes is trying to make. In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Hughes shows how close he was to the rivers on a personal level. With those two main focuses highlighted throughout each poem, it creates an intriguing idea for a reader to comprehend. In these particular poems, Hughes’s use of an allusion, imagery, and symbolism in each poem paints a clear picture of what Hughes wants a reader to realize.

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He is expressing how it feels like being him. The only colored boy I. his college. The theme in this poem can also be that we may look different on the outside, but we are all the same on the inside. We should be able to live and function harmoniously with each other even if deep inside we may not like each other very much. We can still learn from each other because although everyone is a like on the inside, everyone has gone through different experiences throughout their lives and therefore learning from one another could educate us on the battles of the other.

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Langston was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary from called jazz poetry. He famously wrote about the period “the negro was in vogue’. It was later paraphrased as when Harlem was in vogue. Hughes tried it depict the law life in their art that is the real lives on black in the lower social-economic stanza. His poetry and fiction portrayed the lives of working class blacks in America he portrayed as full of joy laughter and music.

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Langston Hughes wrote politically challenging poems about the government. In “Let America Be America Again” brings people to the attention that African Americans never got the treatment they deserved. Hughes realizes that “there's never been equality for him” (Hughes 1) in America. Hughes, who traveled across the country, realized that racism appeared everywhere. During the Harlem Renaissance, his poetry “condemns white oppression” (Gohar 1) and encourages “racial pride”

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In conclusion this is a poem with a singular purpose to demonstrate that white people and coloured people are virtually the same and that the main remaining differences are that of economic privilege that though he is as smart as his classmates a simple task such as going home is a long trek to different side of the city. To achieve this effect Hughes includes some subtle changes to the irregularity of the poem in both instances where his instructor is directly involved at the beginning and end of the poem respectively there is rhyme present “somewhat more free this is my page for english B”. This is what ordinary poetry features rhyme and structure, however by writing the bulk of his poem in free flowing verse Hughes manages to convey the message that a coloured man such as himself can make poetry but he does not have to play by the rules of a white man. Some may even go so far as to suggest that the free verse of the poem suggests the freedom of coloured people from slavery and to do as they wish. Such freedoms allowed the men and women such as Langston Hughes to live their lives as they saw fit and even to venture into areas which previously were so white dominated, this perhaps is the true meaning of the poem the simple struggle of a young coloured man to achieve what is now his right, the right to do whatever he

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In Hughes’s poem, the speaker says how he likes “to eat, sleep. Drink, and be in love.” (line 21), and goes on saying “I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races.” (lines 25-26) Even though he is a different race than his classmates and professor he is not drastically unlike them.

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He was very outspoken about the idea of racial pride. Langston Hughes expresses and promotes racial pride, though his works of writing, such as his poem, “I, too”. Langston Hughes poem, “I, too” showed racial pride and inspired more people to speak out about the injustice they experienced. In the 1930s conditions were

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In Langston Hughes's time, America was in a tough spot with racial segregation and discrimination everywhere. Life for Black people was a constant battle against unfair treatment and being denied basic rights. The Jim Crow laws enforced this separation, making sure Black folks couldn't share public spaces, schools, or even homes with white people, keeping inequality alive and well. Despite all this, Hughes used his poetry to speak out against these injustices and show the struggles Black people faced. His words painted a vivid picture of what life was like for them, shining a light on the unfairness and hypocrisy of a society divided by race.

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Writers took their pens to paper and expressed words to combat the massive oppression, discrimination, and racism that was being faced by many. One such writer was Langston Hughes. He was an inspirational African American poet trying to become accepted during the segregation of the 1930s. During his life he wrote many poems expressing his views on America around him. In response to the segregation of many ethnicities, Hughes wrote “Let America Be America Again”.

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An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose” is a quote by Langston Hughes. Living in a nation where every citizen were told that they have equal rights as per the Declaration of Independence states that ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal’ but only Hughes saw the harsh reality behind it. The life of every African-American in the United States during the early 1900’s was difficult because the blacks were oppressed and colonized by the white. James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet and an author whose African-American themes made him as one of a crucial contributor to the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s. Hughes’s wrote

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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.

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As a major poet of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902~ May 22, 1967) wrote how African Americans actually lived and spoke in many of his works, including his first poem published, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. However, he was not just a poet, but also an author and playwright, writing Broadway plays and operas. His grandmother had inspired several of his later poems for she was the one who had truly taught him as a young boy, but Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg were also some of Hughes’ greatest inspiration.

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