The poem starts with Dunbar speaking for the entire black community. He expresses his anger of having to hide his emotions. When they are being lynched and discriminated against, they are forced to take it and mask their true emotions with a smile. In the third stanza, Dunbar tells of how they try crying to Christ for help. The rest of the world, however, ignored their cries and were not aware of the black community's struggle for equal rights. The last line of the poem shows Dunbar realization that their efforts are not working, and they will continue to have to "wear the mask".…
Music is typically seen an expression of joy and satisfaction, however, through his own personal experience Douglass exposes the true meaning behind the sorrowful songs of the slaves. He reveals their significance when he states, “They would sing, as a chorus, to words to which to many would seem jargon, but which, nevertheless were full of meaning to themselves (Douglass 11),” stating that he too at first did not comprehend the “incoherent songs (Douglass 11),” Then he goes on to explain, ”They told a tale of woe which was then all together behind my feeble comprehension; they were tones loud, long, and deep; they breathed the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish (Douglass 11,).”, smoothly intergrading the use of alteration (repetition the letters W, T, L, and B), and metaphor comparing each and every tone to a call of prayer to depict the great depth of misery and helplessness of his people. Then Douglass goes in even more depth to explain further the extent to which the slaves were suffering. He states “Every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains (Douglass 12),” metaphorically associating the condition of a slave with that of a miserable prisoner bounded by chains, showing how profoundly desperate their cries of pleas were. To further depict the horrid connotation hidden behind the songs, he says “Those songs still follow me…with the soul-killing effects of slavery (Douglass 12). “, personifying the song as haunting ghostly subjects, “following” him even as a freed man. Showing the extent to which…
Hughes is very earnest in his poem. I feel this way because he is very serious throughout the entire poem and is showing his deep feelings of his opinions on America. I have also gotten the impression that Hughes is very optimistic in his poem. He says "I am the young man, full of strength and hope…" this is a direct statement saying he believes in positive outcomes and is hopeful. Another feeling I have while reading this poem is he is very serious. He is making it clear that his intention is not to be funny and that he wants his poem to be taken sincerly. I also believe that Hughes is being very nostalgic. He is missing what America once was and is yearning for the past. I believe this due to the fact that he uses the statement " Let America be America agin, let it be the dream it use to…
What is Bop? In “Bop” by Langston Hughes, the narrator describes Bop as Be-Bop, the opposite of Re-Bop. The general idea of Be-Bop is that it is current, makes sense, what the colored boys play and that it is authentic. This leads to Re-Bop having the definition of being white boys play, an imitation, and complete nonsense. In “Bop”, a character by the name of Simple is stating his own theory on the origin of Be-Bop music to an unnamed narrator. Simple uses his somewhat ethnocentric views to help the unnamed narrator acknowledge more of the world’s current racial issues.…
On to Fantsy in Purple, this poem also uses heavy repetition of one particular phrase “Beat the drums of tragedy” which knowing that Hughes took inspiration from his own culture and one of the things he liked to write about was music, I’d infer that he is bringing African American music into his poetry since African Americans loved to play drums back then. In this poem, I love his word choice for conveying how he…
One of the subjects often approached by the author are the slave songs. While Douglass narrates the story, Douglass explains that until he became free, he didn’t understand the meaning of slave songs until later, he was able to recognize and interpret them as laments. While Douglass analyses the various songs, he demonstrated a sense of reminiscence for when he used to sing them. Most of the songs were often adapted to represent the experience of labor in the many plantations; these songs were divided into three different groups: the working songs, the recreational ones and the spiritual…
The shadow of slavery limited black culture’s opportunity for expression. The form of the poem is traditional, with multiple distinct stanza separating his ideas; however, the syntax and form of each individual stanza is innovative. Hughes breaks up sentences across lines, and excludes a classical rhyme scheme. Furthermore, the diction of “I Too” is composed of colloquialisms. This conjoining of traditional and contemporary forms establishes the basis for Hughes’s sophisticated integration of modern expression into classical art.…
To what extent does this statement relate to your study of at least one of Hughes’ poems and one related text of your own choosing?…
In the story Thank You M’am by Langston Hughes Mrs. Jones treats Roger nicely because she feed him and gave him ten dollars to buy what he wanted. In paragraph 42 the author writes, “ She heated some lime beans and ham from the icebox, made cocoa, and made the table.” This quote supports the claim because if she hadn't taken out food to heat up or set a table, she wouldn't be making a meal for them both. Another piece of evidence from paragraph 44 is, “ When they were done eating she got up and said,” Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some suede shoes.” This quote supports this claim because she gave him ten dollars so he could buy what he wanted, which was the suede shoes. Mrs. Jones treated Roger nicely by giving him food…
The use of music, drugs, and culture has always been a prominent part of modern day and past historical culture, interacting on various levels of either conflict or harmony. This theory is demonstrated in the Famous novella by James Baldwin entitled Sonny’s Blues. This intriguing novella is a prime example of a story that deals with African American oppression present in the 1950s. The text embodies the vivid idea that listening will lead to ones freedom. “Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen” (Baldwin 90). This reoccurring theme present in Sonny’s Blues is proven through the use of family relationships and meaningful symbols.…
1. The voice of whom is depicted in the poem is that of a Negro slave from Africa, we can see this from line 2, stanza 1 which reads “Afric’s coast I left forlorn” the significance of this choice of narrator is that it allows for a first-hand account of the emotion and experiences of a slave, this engages the reader on a more personal level and encourages them to think from different perspectives about slavery and adopt a more sympathetic view of the slave, which in turn would lay the seeds of uncertainty within the morals and beliefs of individuals. 2. The personification which is present in stanza 3 line 20 which reads “Sweat of ours must dress the soil.” This can be used in the speakers argument against slavery as it creates an image of the…
In his closing statement Hughes tone has changed from the start of his poem. Now, in this last verse, his tone is hopeful. He points out how he is aware America never was what it was cut out to be, but he still has hope for this country.…
This is his way of saying that he is not included in with the “average” American because he is colored. His job is merely a servant compared to others and he in incapable of singing his work proudy. Hughes disagrees completely and shows that he, too, sings his work loud and proud even if his work is considered less than the others. At the end of the poem, Hughes finishes with, “They’ll see how beautiful I am/ And be ashamed”. This was his way of saying that one day in the future, people will be ashamed that they ever treated him and others different and they will see his true colors shine through.…
Langston Hughes, a well known American poet, was born and raised in mild poverty and faced many struggles during his childhood and early adulthood. Due to the circumstances surrounding his life, Hughes developed a strong emotional connection to anyone facing struggles, particularly youth growing up in poor areas of American cities, such as New York City's Harlem area. After realizing these connections, Hughes was able to successfully address the difficulties of life and the struggles of the people, through the piece "Harlem”. The use of a distinct voice, beginning with such a strong title, compels the audience to continue through the poem, where we are exposed to strong use of voice, tone, symbolism, word choice, and poetic structure.…
The repetition of “I’ve known rivers” at the beginning and “My soul has grown deep like the rivers” at the middle and end, gives the poem the feeling of a sermon or spiritual, in keeping with Hughes’ use of folk…