Langston Hughes: Pursuing The American Dream

American novelist, poet, and playwright Langston Hughes was born in Joplin Missouri in February 1902. Soon after he was born, his parents separated, and his father moved away to Mexico. He was raised by his maternal grandmother, until her death. After she died, he began to write poetry and Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg were major early influences in his work. After he graduated from high school in 1920 Hughes spent the next year with his father in Mexico.

African American poet, Langston Hughes (1902-1967), born in Joplin, Missouri, was a passionate writer and thinker that used jazz and black folk rhythms of the Harlem Renaissance that helped shape American literature and politics. The Harlem Renaissance that traversed from the 1920s to 1930s, was a name given to the cultural, social, artistic, literary and intellectual movement sought to celebrate black life and culture, as well as “reconceptualise ‘the negro’ apart from the white stereotype.” Skilfully conveyed through the utilization of numerous poetic devices, mainly through the device of imagery, Hughes died of prostate cancer at 65 in 1967 but his legacy lives to today from his work of celebrating the lives of black people and the words that spoke out against their struggles. The power of poems such as Harlem (dream deferred), mother to son and Let America be America again keep relevance and interest to audience of the current age as they inspire and teach the story through the themes of struggle of the African American race that is still a resistance in this generation through movements such as black lives matter and the continuous themes of many African American singers/rappers but with the legacy

Langston Hughes was a very famous poet but also a dreamer during the 1920s when discrimination and racism were main problems in the society. He was a civil right activist who proposed the idea of equal opportunities between all races by writing poems, books, and playwrights; many of his famous literatures affected Americans in many crucial ways. Hughes’s main idea against the society was equality however he discovered that it is difficult to change people’s “norms” and stereotypes. Therefore, his humorous and serious type of writing effectively appealed to many audiences which eventually played a big role of achieving racial equality and equal opportunities.

Langston Hughes was a poet, author, and civil rights movement leader who was born in Missouri, on February 1st, 1902. His most famous piece of work is his poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. Hughes tells a story throughout the course of his writing, especially in two other poems called “I, Too” and “Refugee in America”. These three poems play hand in hand in figuring out Hughes life journey. His life journey helps people have an understanding about what others went through as well as reflecting on the past and changing it.

My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of the earth. (Abraham Lincoln) In the poem "Let America Be America Again," Langston Hughes paints an affecting and diverse stanza, displaying peaceful passages to angry outbursts. His resonance seems confessional, as he is speaking about his own exposure and communicating for all the unheard Americans. Hughes addresses how America considers to be, has shifted to them to think, and could pursue to be again.

After the end of World War I, America entered a new age of cultural and artistic growth. One area in particular, Harlem, New York, became the cornerstone of an African American movement called the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance spanned across all of the arts embracing and presenting African American culture. This movement experienced the beginnings of numerous influential African American writers and works. One of these important writers was Langston Hughes.

What is the American Dream? Many people have tried to explain the dream, or how they feel about the dream. Most try to be all patriotic and country loving like Walt Whitman... But others like Langston Hughes reveal a darker side of the dream. Whitman hears America Singing.

Dreams are vital to live as they carry one to aim for the future. Without dreams, one's heart is lost, Dreams searching for another possible outcome. In the poem Dreams, Langston Hughes makes a theme statement that dreams have a purpose in our life and without dreams, one's goal can not flower in an open field. He uses many devices to portray the thematic statement and the ones that stand out the most are the personification, metaphor, and the tone.

Passion, affection, dedication, desire, devotion, dedication and sentiment all basically mean the same thing. Passion is a powerful or even compelling emotion that can drive you to do foolish things. Was there ever a point in your life that you had this burning passion that it could have forced you would do anything to have it? Well in the poem “Autumn Orchards,” by Charles V Ford is about Ford when he was younger and how he would walk through the orchards and just relax. Once he grows up he now sneaks into his neighbor’s yard to continue walking through the orchards.

Langston Hughes was a man of many talents who was most famous for his head role in the Harlem Renaissance. While talented in many different genres, he was most known for his poetry and his contribution to the style of jazz poetry. While Hughes was not physically present for many demonstrations during the Civil Rights Movement, his poetry and political writing served as an inspiration to people in the United States and around the world. James Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Missouri. His father, a Black American, unhappy with the way Blacks were treated in America at the time, left the country for Cuba that same year.