The Life and Poetry of Langston Hughes Essay - 776 Words

According to Becky Bradley in American Cultural History, Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Growing up, he dealt with some hard times. His parents divorced when he was little and he grew up with neither of his parents. Hughes was raised by his grandmother since his father moved to Mexico after their divorce and his mother moved to Illinois. It was when Hughes was thirteen that he moved out to Lincoln, Illinois to be reunited with his mother. This is where Hughes began writing poetry. However, the family moved again and finally settled in Cleveland, Ohio (Bradley, pars. 1-3). Author Larry Neal writes that after his high school graduation, he spent a year in Mexico and then spent a year at Columbia†¦show more content†¦They made the African American voice respected, heard and a meaningful part to the American culture (Wallace 56-64). Harold Bloom notes that this movement brought an extraordinary creative activity in not only writing but also art and music. It redefined the expressions of African Americans and their customs. The Harlem Renaissance affected people then and still affects people today. It gives something to artists to write or even draw about and to show others the struggles they have gone through. Langston Hughes’s poem â€Å"Harlem† is just one of the thousand outcomes of the Harlem Renaissance. They all, through their poems, art and music had a strong sense of racial pride. They wanted to gain equality, attack racism, and most of all celebrate African American culture (Bloom 113-127). In Line 1 of â€Å"Harlem†, we are introduced to what happens to a persons dreams get put on hold for some time. Hughes then asks, â€Å"Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?† (2-3). A raisin at first, is a grape, moist, round and juicy. However, it has shriveled up to become this dried up raisin. This simile is perfect because a dream deferred just shrivels up in our mind; we have let too much time pass to go back to fulfill the dream. The poem continues with â€Å"Or fester like a sore-and then run?† (3-4). This simile represents the dream eating at them; constantly an irritation because it has not been obtained. Line 5 isShow MoreRelatedA Brief Look at Langston Hughes1413 Words   |  6 PagesLangston Hughes Langston Hughes’ challenging background, ethnicity, and era of life can all be thought of reasons as to why his style of writing relates among discrimination and unsettling topics. Although his writing can be said to bring hope to the African Americans, his style can be frightening and daunting when taken the time to read his pieces. They may not seem real, but they are his way of interpreting and informing the future of what African Americans, like himself, had to go throughRead MoreEssay on Langston Hughes a Harlem Renaissance Man1463 Words   |  6 Pagesartists such as Langston Hughes. James Mercer Langston Hughes was an African American poet, journalist, playwright, and novelist whose works were incredibly well known. It was during the peak of the Harlem Renaissance in which Langston Hughes produced poetry which was not just musically and artistically sound, but also captured the essence of the blues. Thus giving life to a new version of poetry that illustrated the African American struggle between society and oneself. Langston Hughes was one of theRead MoreThesis: Langston Hughes and the Blues1812 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Research Outline I . Introduction Thesis Langston Hughs viewed the music of the blues and poetry as kindred forces that propelled the downtrodden blacks of the 1920s and 1930s toward a better day. II. Paragraph Two develop metaphor between constancy of blues music and ocean waves in live of black people. Quote blues poems: Weary Blues, Po Boy Blues, Homesick Blues. 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People migrated in record numbers, but just as the cultural aspects of Harlem prospered other walks of life in Harlem suffered dramatically due to the ever increasing population. Having developed a distinctive culture, Harlem was the epicenter for black writers, artists and intellectuals during the 1920s. The Harlem Renaissance was centered on activitiesRead MoreThe Influences for Langston Hughes Successful Writing Career979 Words   |  4 PagesAmerican literature and American culture have always been connected throughout our history. Langston Hughes was able to recognize that, â€Å"Man had the inability to bridge cultures† (Bloom 16). In one of his writings, Luani of the Jungles, Langston writes about the interactions in a relationship between a white man and a black woman, â€Å"that is not ruined by outside disapproval, but the man’s own obsession and oversimplification of their racial differences† (16). Hughes’s ability to speak openly aboutRead MoreReoccurring Themes in the Work of Langston Hughes Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesLangston Hughes is an extremely successful and well known black writer who emerged from the Harlem Renaissance (â€Å"Langston Hughes† 792). He is recognized for his poetry and like many other writers from the Harlem Renaissance, lived most of his life outside of Harlem (â€Å"Langston Hughes† 792). His personal experiences and opinions inspire his writing intricately. Unlike other writers of his time, Hughes expresses his discontent with black oppression and focuses on the hardships of his people. Hughes’