The poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes is written in the voice of a mother giving advice to her son. In it‚ she compares her life to a rough and hard-to-navigate stairway that his not been “no crystal stair‚” but she encourages him to keep going anyway (2‚ 20). Hughes gives her a very down-to-earth vocabulary to reinforce that she has had to work her way through life without the benefits of higher education‚ ease of profession‚ or even much help. Phrases like “Well‚ son‚ I’ll tell you‚” and
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The poem “Mother to Son‚” by Langston Hughes‚ is about a mother advising her son about life. She tells him that life is not easy and that he should not give up even when life is hard. Throughout the poem she uses an extended metaphor to compare life as a decayed stair. The mother expressed the hardship of life by saying‚ “And splinters‚ And boards torn up‚ And places with no carpet on the floor” (4-6). She describes the stair as an old and decayed stair that seems impossible to climb. Life is hard
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Langston Hughes: Comparison and Contrasting Essay Both poems use first-person voices‚ however the "I" is different for each poem‚ in order to fulfill Hughes’ purpose for the poem. In Hughes’ poem "I‚ Too‚" the speaker is not an individual as the word "I" implies. In fact‚ the "I" represents all African-Americans living in the United States. The fact that Hughes writes "I am the darker brother" instead of "we are the darker brothers" is no coincidence. The implication of the word "I" as opposed
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Claude McKay and Langston Hughes were both part of the Harlem Renaissance time period; were they experienced the harsh realities of racism. McKay and Hughes were major figures of that time‚ who would write novels‚ poetry‚ short stories‚ etc. McKay wrote a well-known poem known as‚ “America”; where he expresses‚ positively and negatively‚ his feelings toward America. On the other hand‚ Hughes wrote a poem titled “I‚ Too‚ Sing America”‚ which demonstrates the confidence and the assurance he has in
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"Harlem" Dried raisins‚ rotten meat‚ sags‚ and explodes! These are not very interesting descriptions‚ are they? "Harlem‚" (A.K.A. " A Dream Deferred‚") by Langston Hughes is a poem written about postponing or delaying a dream that you want to fulfill in your lifetime. Many people in the world today have put off their dreams for many different reasons‚ I know I sure had to. I always dreamt about graduating on time‚ not only for me but for my son aswell. I tried my hardest to balance between
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Sally Phan March 18‚ 2017 3208 Phan - Part One Research Paper In the poem “Dreams‚” Langston Hughes argues that in order to confront an injustice such as racism people must continue dreaming to gain strength to fight for the greater good. Hughes uses the literary device metaphor to help reveal the theme by showing the reader how life without dreams is weak and depressing. According to the text‚ "Life is a broken-winged bird / that cannot fly (Hughes 3-4)." This puts into perspective that if dreams
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Explication of Langston Hughes ’ "Mother to Son" Langston Hughes once stated in his own words that his whole purpose for writing was‚ "to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America." In the poem "Mother to Son"‚ he denotes his belief on racism in America. In "Mother to Son"‚ a mother is giving advice to her son about life from her perspective and experiences. She wants her son to keep striving on what he believes and to have a more prosperous life than what she had. Langston Hughes was born
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1.What work or works are you writing on‚ and why did you choose to write on work or these works? Langston Hughes "the Negro Speaks of Rivers" 2. What critical question were you exploring in this essay? Did you find this question difficult to answer? What did this work mean and it was fairly easy to find. 3. How did your understanding of the work(s) about which you are writing change as you wrote this essay? If it did not change‚ why do you think that was? It didn’t I knew what he was talking
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A variety of Langston Hughes’s poems‚ accentuate the possession of hopefulness of African Americans in correlation to the Great Migration‚ from the south to the flourishing north‚ between the 1920s and 1960s. African Americans‚ seeking for occupational and life opportunities‚ drift to the north‚ where economy exists to be blooming and thriving. Hughes’s idiosyncratic style of fabrication of metaphors highlights African Americans’ possession of high hopes while entering the land of opportunities and
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Dreams: Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was born on February 1‚ 1902 in Joplin‚ Missouri. Hughes was probably the most well-known literary force during the Harlem Renaissance. He was one of the first known black artists to stress a need for his generations to embrace the black jazz culture of the 1920s‚ as well as the cultural roots in Africa and not so distant memory of enslavement in the United States. In November 1924‚ Hughes finished his book of poetry‚ subsequently he wrote his second novel
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