Langston Hughes Research Paper

In “Salvation,” Langston Hughes presents his momentous coming-of-age story as a dark and saddening ending to his childhood that provides the reader with understanding of the loss of innocence; and faith he faced and how it impacted who he came to be. Hughes makes a strong implication that children become less and less innocent over time. Hughes himself proves that through the tone of his entire essay. It begins with a light toned; yet still ironic introduction, but ends with a dark, depressing final line. Hughes supplies his reader with multiple literary devices such as imagery, flashbacks, and irony to present this comparison of his younger self and his older self.

From the time that African Americans were brought over to America, their race has delt with many years of discrimination. In the 1920's, in Harlem, New York, there was an explosion of art, culture, and social aspects of society, which came to be known as The Harlem Renaissance. An emerging author in that time period was Langston Hughes, who was known to write about African Americans and their struggles. Zora Neale Hurston was an African American writer who wrote about her dreams of becoming more than just being used as a doormat by many, and her aspirations to become somebody her mom would be proud of. ¨I too¨ by Langston Hughes and ¨How It Feels To Be Colored Me¨ by Zora Neale Hurston both examine the importance of racial pride to suggest

Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk" John 5:8 (NIV). These words were spoken to a man who had been sick for a better part of his life which extended to his adulthood. After 38 years now Jesus was telling him to carry his bed, instead of the bed carry him.

We can define the word salvation as deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ. One can be saved by accepting Jesus Christ into your life, but this wasn’t the case for Langston Hughes when he wrote “Salvation”. Having portrayed himself as a young teenage boy when this piece was written and using the first person perspective, the pressure he felt wanting to actually see and feel Jesus is the main reason why he ruined it for himself, and he was not “saved”. The first two lines even say “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved.”

“Salvation” by Langston Hughes and "A Grunt's Prayer" by Ken Noyle are different as “Salvation” Langston loses his faith, while "A Grunt's Prayer" his faith is all he has; they are also similar as they both are overwhelmed, and remorseful. “Salvation” and “A Grunt's Prayer" are different from one another in the religious sense in believing. In “Salvation” Langston was under the impression that when he was saved he would see a bright light and Jesus’s face. Langston and one other boy was left on the bench, neither of them had been saved yet. Westley was the other boys name, said the lords name in vain and got up like he was saved nothing happened to him, he was not punished.

In “I, Too,” Langston Hughes uses foreshadowing to show determination through future tense and predicting how he believes the future will go. In the 1920’s, when “I, Too” was written, African Americans had little to no rights and were segregated from whites in every way possible. They were not allowed to go to the same schools or churches and they were not allowed to use the same water fountains or bathrooms. Hughes states “Tomorrow/ I’ll be at the table” (8-9). His belief in what the positive days will hold never wavers as he proclaims that "tomorrow" he will join the others at the table, conveying not only assertiveness, but hope.

The American Dream has forever been a controversial topic in which it is either achievable or not and it all matters on the perspective it is looked at, to the upper-class it is very well achievable as they might already be there but to the lower class it is not. The novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the portrayal of the American Dream and how it appears to represent liberty and the capability to make people wealthy through determination and hard work, but exposes the truth behind the dangers of greed and egocentric quest of contentment. While Langston Hughes’ portrayal of the poem “I Too, Sing America” is his imagination that one day, white and colored individuals will eat "at the table" with each other, and colored citizens

Mark Twain said, “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time”. Death is inevitable and no matter how hard we try; its presence is never fully forgotten. While examining both Mark Twain and William Cullen Bryant lives, we see that they exceled in their areas of expertise and enjoyed the lemons that were handed to them. They both made many statements about life, of which time cannot deteriorate their importance and value.

The American Dream is a fantasy desired by many. Walt Whitman's poem "I Hear America Singing" speaks for the average American worker "singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs. " But in Langston Hughes's "I, Too" Hughes responds to Whitman and says "I, too, sing America." Both poems delve into the attitude of patriotism and the idea that hard work pays off, speaking for the lower class working Americans.

Chapter 13 – Exercise: Detailed Observation for Jonah 4:1-11. Jonah’s Prayer of Displeasure of Prayer (4:1-3) 1 “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.” Observation: vs.1 is a continuation of chapter 3.

The grandmother and the Misfit’s climactic final encounter reveals a flaw the Misfit’s complex character by the usage of religious symbols. The Misfit states that his actions in the free world are justified because God does not exist. The Misfit is references the biblical event of Jesus raising the dead. The Misfit says “I wasn’t there because if I had of been there I would have known” (14) The Misfit believes that because he never saw this event, he has no proof that Jesus is real.