The poem entitled “English B”, by Langston Hughes begins with the speaker’s English teacher instructing the class to do a writing assignment, claiming that any piece written from the heart will automatically be true. As the speaker is walking home he wonders if the assignment is as easy and simple to write about oneself and it…
As I read the poem Theme for English B, I couldn’t help but notice this was a personal narrative about a young black man life, where he was born, where he attended school. He was born in Winston Salem, North Carolina during the time of the Jim Crew era when there were only few blacks’ men who were educated. He started his education in Winston Salem North Carolina and some in Durham North Carolina. Later moved on to New York City where he attended college where there were only a few blacks who could afford to attend the colleges. He was the only colored in his class, he realized that even though his skin was different the other students like some of the same things, eat, sleep understand life and listen to music.…
Langston Hughes’ “Theme for English B” use different styles to emphasize their rationales of social tolerance among races, the pieces closely relate to each other in view of the fact that both authors are fighting for the development of racial equality throughout the…
Laura Hillenbrand’s monumental Unbroken is a true story of a promising young Olympic runner from Torrance, California. This promise was soon broken because of the upcoming Second World War, a time period of ferocity and sadism. During this war, many were captivated, many died, only a few came out in a single piece known as war heroes. The war wasn’t the end for these heroes, many caught on with the phrase, post-war life. Post-war life had many survivors on another set of problematic and unforgettable experience. Most Americans initially viewed their place in the postwar world with optimism and confidence. But within two years of the end of the war, new challenges and perceived threats had arisen to erode that confidence. The ultimate hero was…
In the poem, “Theme for English B”, Langston Hughes demonstrates how the speaker feels about this English B paper assignment. He puts you in his conscious and has you go through his thoughts to give you a sense of what he is feeling like in this classroom being the only colored student in a class full of white students. The speaker is told to write a paper about himself. When that paper gets assigned, he is stumped. He took in consideration that he is the only colored student in his entire class. For him that was very shocking, coming from towns that had a colored community. The racial tension made coming to school a challenge. When he starts to brainstorm ideas, he realizes that he is like the other students around him after all. For example, he brainstorms how both him and the other students would be ecstatic to share about their new record they got. Being a new student at a new school can be terrifying. The speaker of this essay was at first, but then he came to realize the things that made everyone in that classroom similar. He started connecting with those around him, realizing that he was just like everyone else. All any new student wants coming into a new school is to fit in, and he found his way of doing just…
In “To Negro Writers” Langston Hughes advised African American writers to expose the hardships and dilemmas which they faced daily. Hughes instructed writers to unveil the truth about the unfair treatments they were subject to. African Americans faced persecution in a variety of forms. Not only were African American citizens mistreated by groups such as religious organizations and the American Legion, African American soldiers were also disrespected simply for the color of their skin. Hughes told his readers that they must fight for themselves because no one else would fight for them. Hughes encouraged African American writers to establish a common ground with the working white class (who also faced struggles) so that they could unite in an…
* Apart from divisions and factions, the Roman Empire also faced problems because of its sheer size. * In the Roman Empire, as in china, the collapse of the imperial state coincided with important social and cultural changes. * Unlike the Han dynasty, the roman empire did not entirely did not entirely disintegrate; imperial authority survived for another millennium in the eastern half of the empire, known after the fifth century C.E. as the byzantine empire.…
Traveling brings the thrill of seeing new places and seeing how they’re different from where I’m from. The experience of going to these places is indescribable. The destination is breathtaking but the expedition to there is just as congenial. The adventure gives you an adrenaline rush that is inexpressible. But what happens when you can’t stop looking for that rush? When the adventure becomes the escape, then it becomes an addiction. Characters in the story The Veldt by Ray Bradbury show this kind of obsession.…
In the poems, “Let America Be America Again” and “Negro” by Langston Hughes, the voice of the narrator appear to be bold and pitiful. The tones of both poems are anger and bitterness from the minority groups in America towards the majority group. The themes of each poem vary in ways but they are also similar pertaining to the way that African Americans do not have equal opportunities in America just like the other minority groups living in America. In “Let America Be America Again”, Langston Hughes illustrates that America is not the land of the free like it is advertised. In “Negro”, Hughes also castigate America but from the point of the view of an African American.…
B. The tone of the essay, Fifth Avenue, Uptown: A letter from Harlem by James Baldwin and the tone of the poem, Theme for English B by Langston Hughes are similar. They are similar for both authors show that there is hope for equality through the tone of each text. In the poem, Theme for English B, Hughes says “You are white -- / yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. / That’s American.” Hughes expresses that although he may be the only black person in his class, he is still American like the rest of the…
Racial equality has been the topic of many works for centuries. Many of those works weren’t written by those actually affected by inequality. During the 1920’s African Americans began to express their opinions on the issue more frequently through the arts. Poetry was among the most prominent forms of art used for spreading equality and justice. Poets like Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude McKay wrote many poems that spoke on equality in society.…
The theme of a hero’s journey is seen through many of our readings, especially in The Odyssey and Maus. Odysseus is seen as a strong figure throughout the entire epic poem through many circumstances. One such circumstance is when Odysseus confronts the Cyclops. “But even from there my courage, my presence of mind and tactics saved us all” (277). This particular event portrays one of the most difficult trials that Odysseus goes through because he must escape the cave, but is unable to move a rock that is sealing the entrance. To escape, Odysseus eventually uses his smart wit to overcome the Cyclops. He ultimately is seen as a heroic figure because of Odysseus’s ability to learn to use his mind instead of his body to solve his problems. Similarly, in Maus, Vladek also follows a hero’s journey throughout the events that uncoiled from the Holocaust. In the beginning he seems very ignorant and it seemed as a reader that it was initially meant to feel some hostility toward his character. Upon further reading, you realize that Vladek has actually been through a lot and through his experiences in the Holocaust, especially the strains that were placed upon him and the death of his wife really makes the reader follow Vladek’s hero’s journey. In the same way as Odysseus, Vladek also uses his mind throughout, trying to find a way to survive the Holocaust. “ Here I saw rolls! I saw eggs! Meat! Coffee! All the table FULL! You know what it was to see such things? (33). This quote explains how lucky Vladek had been during his experiences in the war. Though both are totally different stories, each shows a hero’s journey through each. While reading, it seems as if in the beginning the person who is supposed to be seen as the heroic figure is always portrayed with some level of hostility in the beginning. As the reader continues, a bond becomes to form between the reader and the “heroic” character. Through reading each, it makes the reader see that in the end it…
We as humans are born a different race, but we are still the same. In Langston Hughes "Theme for English B" his diction created an atmospherical representation of the world that he lived in and the world where we wanted and hoped to live. The speaker in the poem explains that although he is black and the instructor is white they are still the same.…
Privileged whites in America were still looking down at the blacks and young black poets writing reflects this. Langston Hughes “Let America Be America again”, tells us of the way the blacks wanted to be treated and how each were promised their America when the civil war ended along with slavery. In the poem the lines 31-35 speak of how black were still being treated, “I am the farmer, the bondsman to the soil, I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-Hungry yet today despite the dream”. (Hughes) This speaks of how the black person felt everybody was still being treated and how each one were continually being treated specially during the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s. Unfortunately, today blacks are not treated much better and still have to face prejudice. There is a parallel how the blacks were viewed as subservient, much as the soldiers were in Catch-22. Blacks and the soldiers were both told what to do and did not have the freedom to go wherever without fear of punishment. During slavery, plantation owners’ viewed the slaves as property. The slaves that ran away and were caught were whipped. The soldiers who went AWOL were court marshaled. The treatment of blacks still needs to improve and this will not be an…
Langston Hughes believed that black artists should focus on the widespread and create individual “Negro” art. He famously wrote about the period that “the negro was in vogue”. Considered among the greatest poets in U.S. history, Hughes was one of the earliest innovators of jazz poetry, poetry that “demonstrates jazz-like rhythm”. His works often portrayed the lives of middle class African Americans. Hughes was a proponent of creating distinctive “Negro” art and not falling for the “urge within the race toward whiteness”…