Mulatto By Langston Hughes: Play Analysis

"Mulatto", a play by Langston Hughes, is an incredibly remarkable drama that instantly shapes individual's perspective on race, discrimination, sexual exploitation, and family relationships. This play explores the impact of a sexual union between unmarried people of different races and the offspring of a mixed-race individual. Mixed-race individuals in the twenty-first century are less likely to experience the sense of displacement and rejection Hughes's poem describes. However, the Caucasian individuals felt inferior to other races, while they believed that black individuals had no or little possibility to live and lead successful lives. The play addresses the traditional role of biracial individuals in a segregated America, family dynamics
Consequently, black individuals were treated as second-class citizens, promoting the embryonic Color Line system. As stated by Norwood's white children, "Niggers aren't my brothers" as they continue to deny their relation to Robert and his siblings. According to Hughes, his family attributable to his mixed nationality has abandoned Robert, except for his mother. Throughout the rest of this play, there is symbolism of the dark night, which represents the two ethnicities of the child. Hughes states, "The moon over the woods and the southern night full of stars had great big yellow stars." The reference of the turpentine woods represented the white men. This embodies that darkness even though the moon comes out, represents the blacks, which exhibited implication that blacks can become great. In the next line, Hughes speaks of a southern night, which was the centerfold of racism and discrimination. Blacks were not treated as equals regardless of their personal status. Slaves were considered the property of their owners and were thought to be able to do what they