“Cross” by Langston Hughes “I wonder where I’m gonna die‚ / Being neither white nor black?” (11-12) These are the last two lines of “Cross” a poem by Langston Hughes that describes the experience of a mixed-race person. The poem is written in stanzas with a rhyme scheme of ABCB. The speaker expresses the frustration and grief that a half-black and half-white person has and the struggles to accept and understand their ethnic identity‚ offering stereotype in a world where black people and white people
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In the Poem Cross by Langston Hughes‚ he shows how mixed races encounter hardships. One major hardship that mixed races encounter is identity problems. Langston demonstrates how not embracing a specific ethnicity causes him to show spitefulness toward his “white old man” and his Caucasian heritage. Langston also shows how identifying with his “Black old mother” and his African American heritage can cause bitterness because he did not know his true identity. At the end of Cross Langston struggles
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Langston Hughes’s poem‚ “Cross”‚ focuses on the conflict of segregation of races that occurred in the United States. The poem is in the first person point of view‚ in which‚ the narrator reflects on himself as a young child‚ as he reaches the adult life. In the short three stanza poem‚ the speaker summarizes his obstacles in life that were caused by his family. The poem begins as the narrator describes the ethnicity of his parents “My old man’s a white old man and my old mother’s black” (line 1-2)
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written by the great Langston Hughes. What makes these poems so intriguing though is the way the setting‚ theme‚ and speaker create distinct images for the people who read these poems. The setting helps describe the situation of the poem with regards to the time of day‚ the season of the year‚ the historical significance‚ the person being addressed‚ and the external or internal conflicts. The theme also did its part with respect to its link to the poems. The theme of the poems created issues and ideas
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English 11H Period 4 27 January 2015 Poems by Langston Hughes I Dream a World 1. Main idea of the poem? The main intentions of the poem are presenting a world where blacks are equal to whites. Langston Hughes wants a world that is fair‚ without the discriminations or segregations by society’s norms. 2. Tone? The tone of the poem is filled with hope but also skepticism. The poem rhymes and is very easy to read. The rhymes give off a very light feel throughout the lines. As the poem progresses‚ you fee
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In the poem “Cross”‚ by Langston Hughes have many different denotations in the title. Denotation is a dictionary meaning of a word. Connotation is a feeling that a word invokes to its literal or primary meaning. There are also many examples of connotation in the poem that Hughes uses. What different denotations does the title have? What connotations are linked to each of them? The title “Cross”‚ has many different denotations including a symbol of a religious belief‚ pass by‚ or an object. The
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At the beginning of the poem‚ Hughes lists all the people that were struggling and being oppressed at the time the poem was written. He points out the poor‚ the blacks that still bare the scares of slavery‚ the red man driven from his home‚ and the immigrant clutching to hope. He reconciles them with the opening plea by saying‚ “America will be!” This is saying that they still had hope. Hughes probably had different responses to his poem back in 1938. Poor blacks would have agreed and sympathized
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Carrie Cunningham Mr. Ratzlaff ENGL-249 April 24‚ 2015 Langston Hughes Poem Analysis The 1920s consisted of a time when ultimate freedom and creativity collided with music. The Blues have evolved throughout the years‚ however the 1920s were the Blue’s early stages. By linking thoughts with music‚ the poet Langston Hughes was able to create a selection of poems which have a central theme of musical notions. The book Selected Poems of Langston Hughes addresses a variety of content such as home life‚ prejudice
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The poem discusses Hughes’ background and identity as a person of mixed race‚ a white father and a black mother. To go about how he feels about it‚ he uses both literal and implied definition of words. When he states that “My old man’s a white old man” and “And my old mother’s black” he simply states his parents’ identity. He uses the literal definitions of the words “white” and “black” and describes his parents with color and no other way. The title of the poem‚ “Cross‚” however‚ can be used to
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the effort‚ people lose the will to keep going. Langston Hughes was apart of the struggle for equality and had high hopes. His perspective on equality was positive‚ but as his life went on that perspective changed and was noticeable through the poems that he wrote. “I‚ Too” ‚ “Let America Be America Again”‚ and “Dream Deferred” were not only poems‚ but also Hughes view of the progression of equality. Each poem was a different time period of Hughes life. “I‚ Too” showed aspects of hope “Tomorrow…
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