Harlem Renaissance Poem Analysis Paper Essay Example
Lee-Michael Torcedo
Prof. Quiroz
English 1302
October 22, 2012
Dreams
After the civil war, African Americans obtained their freedom. Still despised by many white Americans, African Americans continued to fight for justice. Around the early 1900’s the Harlem Renaissance began across the nation they fought for their culture and expressed it through art, music, dance, and literature. One of the biggest names in the Harlem Renaissance is Langston Hughes (Harlem). The poems he wrote better expressed the feelings of the many African Americans during this era. Langston Hughes published his poem, “As I Grew Older,” which explains the difficulty many African Americans had with following their dreams during this time. On February 1, 1902, Carrie M. Langston and James N. Hughes gave birth to, arguably, the most famous Harlem Renaissance literary poet, Langston Hughes. He grew up attending school in Kansas and Illinois, and graduated from High School in Ohio where he began writing his poetry. Later, Hughes went on to college, but stopped shortly after. He took many jobs in New York and a job working on a freighter that took him across the Atlantic Ocean to African, Spain, and France. He returned to Washington D.C. to live with his mother with hopes of returning to college. He had trouble making enough money and didn’t go back to college until a year later where he graduated from Lincoln University in 1929. After college, he began publishing his works and started to become famous. On May 22, 1967, Langston Hughes died of cancer in New York (Langston). Langston Hughes’ legend still lives to this day, and his poems are often mentioned in literature. In his poem “As I Grew Older,” published in 1925, he begins by saying “It was a long time ago/ I have almost forgotten my dream/ But it was there then/ In front of me/ Bright like a sun—/ My dream” (1-4). Whether or not Langston Hughes wrote this about himself or not, it can go either way on who could be mentioning this and
Prof. Quiroz
English 1302
October 22, 2012
Dreams
After the civil war, African Americans obtained their freedom. Still despised by many white Americans, African Americans continued to fight for justice. Around the early 1900’s the Harlem Renaissance began across the nation they fought for their culture and expressed it through art, music, dance, and literature. One of the biggest names in the Harlem Renaissance is Langston Hughes (Harlem). The poems he wrote better expressed the feelings of the many African Americans during this era. Langston Hughes published his poem, “As I Grew Older,” which explains the difficulty many African Americans had with following their dreams during this time. On February 1, 1902, Carrie M. Langston and James N. Hughes gave birth to, arguably, the most famous Harlem Renaissance literary poet, Langston Hughes. He grew up attending school in Kansas and Illinois, and graduated from High School in Ohio where he began writing his poetry. Later, Hughes went on to college, but stopped shortly after. He took many jobs in New York and a job working on a freighter that took him across the Atlantic Ocean to African, Spain, and France. He returned to Washington D.C. to live with his mother with hopes of returning to college. He had trouble making enough money and didn’t go back to college until a year later where he graduated from Lincoln University in 1929. After college, he began publishing his works and started to become famous. On May 22, 1967, Langston Hughes died of cancer in New York (Langston). Langston Hughes’ legend still lives to this day, and his poems are often mentioned in literature. In his poem “As I Grew Older,” published in 1925, he begins by saying “It was a long time ago/ I have almost forgotten my dream/ But it was there then/ In front of me/ Bright like a sun—/ My dream” (1-4). Whether or not Langston Hughes wrote this about himself or not, it can go either way on who could be mentioning this and