Langston Hughes: Theme for English B
Theme for English B is a poem that was written by Langston Hughes in 1951, a time when diversity was a controversial issue in America. The context of the poem revolves around diversity and identity in University. It is about a young black male who is attempting to discern his identity and purpose in life through an English assignment. The writer is conflicted on the tone and themes of that he should reiterate in the theme because he is the only person of color in his class. He wonders if he should assume the tone of a white student, who form the majority of the ethnic population in school or stay true to his culture. This essay will discuss the various cultural and Historical contexts that are represented in this poem. The contexts and examples will be drawn from the poem, while the analysis will be drawn from a secondary article/book on poetry. The poem reiterates the economic, educational and racial inferiority, in a cultural context, that existed between White and black people in the 1950’s. In the first stanza, the poem begins with a quote from the poet’s English teacher (Hughes 1-4):
Go Home and write
A page tonight
And let that page come out of you-
Then it will be true
Name 2
The teacher advises the students to write for the heart so that their pieces may be true.
Nonetheless, in the next stanza, Langston Hughes, professes doubt to this piece of advice because he believes that he is different from all the other students. He
Battle Royale Battle Royale is a short story about the life of young African American boy with outstanding academic capabilities that saw him excel in his studies in harsh colonial times. The story brings to the fore the significance of power and wealth in the society and the advantage that those with wealth and power possess over those that lack the same. From the story, it is evident that the wealthy and powerful White men had the power control the fate of the Black people in the society and did what they pleased to them even orchestrating a fight among the black men just for the sake of entertainment. Their wealth allowed them to demand savage fighting among the blacks and the one young man in the story was only able to access his scholarship
The poem Langston Hughes wrote in 1936 called “Let America be America again”. Langston Hughes an afro American in the United States of America. Langston Hughes' philosophical idea was equality in the United States of America. The first way Langston Hughes shows his philosophical idea of equality is by showing he wants everyone to be treated fairly and have the government not allow people to be racist to the Afro-Americans, Indians, and other immigrants located in the United States of America. The second way Langston Hughes shows his philosophical idea of equality is by showing his desire and dedication towards of achieving equality and shows off his dedication of hard work to achieve his dream but can’t due to of the barriers he has to overcome
“Race Politics” Luis J. Rodriguez has written a poem called, “Race Politics”. This piece shows that the diversity between two parts of the town he grew up in and how it affected everyone. Rodriguez helps his readers learn that diversity isn’t an ‘old’ problem and that it didn’t end after the civil war, but that it still happens and it can affect people strongly. “Race Politics” can help prove that diversity is still going on and it’s still a major problem. When reading anything there is always connotation; which means that there is always a hidden meaning under the literal words and meaning.
The main themes of Langston Hughes’ poetry is using simple language to bring his point across about politics and equality. The accessibility of his poetry allowed for, at a time where education was still a privilege and very much segregated, for people of every background to understand the message he was
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.
It talks about how yesterday was a thing of the past and that it cannot be changed. He talks about how each day, African Americans must march on towards their dreams. Despite prejudice, oppression, and poverty that African Americans faced at this time, Hughes points to a positive in that the only way their dreams will come true is if they focus on the present day and what they can do to fix things. They cannot be looking at the past and what has happened. His message to the audience in this poem is towards the youth, in particular African-Americans.
Amara Crook Harmon—L202 Major Paper 3 Clever Title Countee Cullen’s “Incident” explores the concept of unprovoked and unwarranted racism through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy. In his short yet powerful poem, Cullen uses a single incident in which a young boy “riding through old Baltimore” (1) is singled out and called the N-word by another very small child, despite having done or said nothing to offend the boy. Although this incident is clearly hurtful, why is this incident in particular so important?
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.
Meanwhile, the readers can learn something for each of the poems and apply it to their life. They can also noticed how Langston Hughes’s poems often contains hope and noted the possibility that both white and black people can live together in peace and harmony. And the poems also represent the average person of colors’ life and their struggles and frustrations towards the white community throughout the twentieth century. “Theme for English B” was written in 1949 by Hughes, which showcases the
Throughout much of his poetry, Langston Hughes wrestles with complex notations of African American dreams, racism, and discrimination during the Harlem Renaissance. Through various poems, Hughes uses rhetorical devices to state his point of view. He tends to use metaphors, similes, imagery, and connotation abundantly to illustrate in what he strongly believes. Discrimination and racism were very popular during the time when Langston Hughes began to develop and publish his poems, so therefore his poems are mostly based on racism and discrimination, and the desire of an African American to live the American dream. Langston Hughes poems served as a voice for all African Americans greatly throughout his living life, and even after his death.
In the poem “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes many Literary elements are being used and there is a meaning behind the poem. within the poem. One of the elements is allusion. Hughes uses many allusions throughout the poem such as, Durham, Harlem, New York, Eighth Avenue, Bessie, and Bach. These allusions reference the schools Hughes went to and where he lives.
In the poem, Langston Hughes outlines the African American, as not being recognized as having a place within society, and being an oppressed group of people. This is shown in the first line of the poem when he says “I, too, sing America. ”(Hughes, 1) By saying, “I, too, sing America,”(Hughes, 1) the audience can interpret that, Langston Hughes sees society as a choir, all ‘singing’ together. This is saying that he, is also part of that ‘choir,’ and has an equal voice within this society. The audience can also see how he is not equal, as he is
By not assigning a profession to the black character, Langston Hughes is able to relate the issues of segregation to all classes and positions in society, and the aspect of the black community. The speaker in the poem claims that he too “sings America.” This means that he also has a great love and a deep respect for his country. He goes on to say he is “the darker brother” and gives examples of how he’s different from the white race.
The poem, directed towards African Americans specifically, explains the importance of standing up and making a difference and fighting for racial equality. Although the poem is not specific about race, readers know the intended audience based on Hughes’ background. If the world were
The poem called I Look at the World by Langston Hughes takes a unique approach to show how people have insecurities and depression through poetry devices and symbols. It This particular poem is about an African American man realizing that he has been pushed into a corner. What he means is he feels that his freedom is limited because of the color of his skin. Even though this representation may be hard to understand at first glance, such as lines 13 and 14 where it says, “And I see that my own hands can make, the world that is in my mind.”