Poetry by Langston Hughes and Black People Essay Example

a biracial nature, struggling jazz and blues musicians, students who are disenfranchised etc. His poems tend to call attention to the endurance, purity of souls and strength of the characters he uses. He as well defies the white beauty standards that were in dominance in the culture of the 20th century through praising the physical beauty of the characters he used.

Emphasizing the American Dream

There is an invocation of the American Dream theme that was stated by Truslow James in 1931as “life being richer, fuller and better for every individual with the provision of opportunity to each individual in accordance to achievement or ability in the poems of Hughes. He addresses his concepts from the view of the disenfranchised groups in the country, which included the back people amongst others like poor farmers and downtrodden immigrants. He shows how the glories of equality and liberty are out of reach for such groups and how they are trapped under poverty, oppression and prejudice fist. Shows how their dreams are crushed and forgotten in desperation for survival life. In the end Hughes however ends his poems in hope believing that the blacks will one day break free and pursue their dreams.

Denouncing Racism

Hughes portrays the kind of oppression that was undergone in the hands of the system of patriarchy by the black people and denounces racism in his poems. He insinuates the disapproval of the black people in gaining access to the American dream alluding aspirations that are forgotten and lost by the blacks because of their race. Depicts racism to be of a hypocritical religious nature in the short story of “On the Road” significantly in “Mother to

Son” he shows various vicissitudes faced either indirectly or directly due to the skin color through the mother. By being realistic about the kind of the environment he leaves in and expressing hope on a better tomorrow that is free from inequality he gives the black people a reason to believe and fight towards achieving those dreams and hopes.

Self- Actualization

In many of Hughes poems the speakers start in situations of hopelessness and despondency such as a biracial man struggling with his identity, a character facing discrimination and so on. He then tends to create a narrative which culminates into the speaker attaining a self-actualization state. The speakers are able to realize their inner inherent strength despite of the difficulty of their surroundings that propels them in persevering against the odds. (Walker et al 2002)

Stating Importance of Aspiration

He in most cases writes in his poems on aspiration as dreams. He tends to explore black peoples redeem dreams, lost dreams, dreams regained and hidden dreams. He believed that the treatment of the blacks as second class citizens in America during the slavery and oppression times led to the black people hiding their dreams out of the psychological barrier created by the inferiority complex. As in many of his characters the attainability chances of their dreams is almost none however he states how important it is in keeping the dreams alive in order for the characters sustainability of the will to live.

How Black People Expressed Themselves through Jazz and Blues

There was an interpretation of the feelings of hopelessness and oppression confronted in the day to day lives of the black people that were incorporated into jazz and blues

songs by black artists. The black artists created a link pattern in their jazz and blues music between the past and the present through the invocation of musical traditions, this aided in their connection to the painful past. Their feelings were also expressed through the distinctively expressive tones of the two genres of music that depicted tales on discrimination, sorrow and loneliness.

Free Verse Writers

Paul Dunbar

An African-American writer that made the use of lyrical poems which at times employed the use of vernacular. He wrote on a variety of themes that included, racial upliftment, the plight that was suffered by the African-Americans and even romance. The most remarkable themes in his poetry works are considered to be equality and slavery. The fight for justice and equality is depicted in many of his poems such as in “The Haunted Oak” where the oak is created to speak about the injustice made when an innocent black man is charged and hanged on the oaks branch for an uncommitted rape crime. Uses symbolism in magnification of crime so that every person can be able to single out the wrong made.

Claude McKay

A Jamaican-born American poet that advocated for and wrote about themes that promoted humanitarian and spiritual freedom and political values. Vented his feelings out of torment by discriminating barriers that faced the black people through poetry, serving as an awakening voice to the masses to the effects of racism in a society that was dominated by whites. His works was a revolt against the cultural standards of the whites as he wrote about life of the black masses, seeking to exalt cultural heritage of people with color and legitimizing

the differences that were inherent in all cultures. In his poem a long Way from Home he claims feeling roots, cultures, class, and race from the soil. This propelled him in writing poems expressing uniqueness of experiences by blacks. (Leach et al 2004)

W.E.B Dubois

Amongst the most influential African American leaders of the United States who believed in uncompromising and immediate equality amongst races. In his writing he introduces the veil that was highly regarded as a metaphor for the misunderstanding and separation of the white and black races in America. Dubois approaches the black people’s struggles with a double consciousness. As the blacks attempt to realize their own dreams they at the same time are placating the white people.

The impact of the free writers work on Langston Hughes work is regarded to be a metaphor due to the existence of common themes between all the piece of works of poetry that were created by all of these writers. They focused on depicting the racism and inequality treatments that were experienced by the black community, how they can be able to do away with such discrimination, inspiring the black community in the process of their realization and rising against such discrimination and providing inspiration to the black community.

Tone Hughes Conveyed

Hughes commonly employs a hopeful tone in most of his poems in the process of revealing how African Americans felt. The speakers are usually aware of the challenges they face- Issues with racism, poverty, loneliness or general life vicissitudes but they in the end choose to persevere. The exhausted musician in “The Weary Blues” seemingly has an outlook that is favorable after he stops singing. In “Mulatto”

the speaker finds his own voice while holding his white father who sired him by a slave mother to account during his confrontation with him. There is the belief by a character in finding a proverbial seat at the main table which will permit the character in forcing America to leave up to the equality ideals it laid down.

Works Cited.

1. Leach, Laurie F. Langston Hughes: A Biography. Westport (Conn.: Greenwood press, 2004. Print.
2. Walker, Alice, and Catherine Deeter. Langston Hughes: American Poet. Paw Prints, 2002. Print.