An Overview of Langton Hughes Poems

An Overview of Langston Hughes Poems

Langston Hughes was American poet, columnist, playwright and novelist.  Most of his writing focused on the lives of the African Americans; their struggles in a country that was racially divided and where the government on a state and even federal level, did not provide any law to protect them against the injustice that was going on throughout the country.  He promoted a general pride through his writing for being an African American. In one of his short essays The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain he said:

…To my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, if he accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through the force of his art that old whispering “I want to be white,” hidden in the aspirations of his people, to “Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro-and beautiful!”

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

I've known rivers:

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the

flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln

went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy

bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

This poem is one of Hughes famous poem.  That poem was first published in Crisis a magazine of the N.A.A.C.P. The editor of the Crisis was W.E.B. Du Bois whom Hughes dedicated the poem to.  In the poem, Hughes used 5 figures of speech; Alliteration, Assonants, Anaphora, Metaphor and Simile; “My soul has grown deep like the rivers…I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young lulled me to sleep, leaving me easy prey…I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep…I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.” The theme of the poem is perseverance.  In spite of suffering inflicted on the African American, the black men and women have endured through the ages, they never gave up.

The poems mentioned four different rivers- Congo, Mississippi, Nile and Euphrates; they each have a connection to African slave.  The Congo River is in Africa, the river flows north in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many Africans were abducted from the Congo region to be sold into slavery. The Mississippi River flows more than 2000 miles from northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.  Black slaves labored along its shores and slave auctions took place at towns and settlement within site of the Mississippi.  Abraham Lincoln, while he was visiting New Orleans, he witnessed a slave auction in 1831 and vowed to end slavery. When he became president in 1863, he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves.  The Nile flows northward through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt.  People of the black race were among those who constructed the pyramids not far from the Nile at Giza, Saqqarah, Dahshur and other sites.  And the Euphrates is one of two great rivers that form in Turkey and flow down through Iraq to Al Qurnah in Southern Iraq. The other river is the Tigris. Records have shown that in the Ancient World that’s where slavery started. Slavery as a result of debt and some African people have had the habit of putting up wives and children as hostages to pay their debts; if the obligation was not met, the hostages became permanent slaves.

I Am Awake Now

Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over--

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

For my first writing class on my first year in college, I was introduced to the work of Mister Langston Hughes. This poem was the first poem, from the many he wrote, that I read; and since then, the words have stuck in my mind.  What is this poem about? Why did Hughes meant by a dream deferred? And, whose dream was he referring to? 

In this poem, Hughes was talking about dreams in general; although, some people mad the conclusion that it was about the dreams of the African Americans.  The African Americans fight for justice and equality in a country that guaranteed the right for freedom for every one and that “all men are created equal”.  This poem when I read it for the first, the first thing that came to my mind is my life and what my dreams means to me and how I am going to achieve them. 

Growing up, my parents always stressed the importance of education and how it was the only guaranteed way in life to be someone and a respectable person in society. For my parents, and many other old school minded individuals in my culture, the only career they know of importance is to be a doctor, lawyer or architect. A good career for them is one that would bring lots of money, and the only one they know that could achieve that goal would be anyone of those three career choices.  

My first career choice was to be a masseuse.  At first, the reason I wanted to be a masseuse is because I thought that the name sounded nice.  When I told my dad about that idea, all I can say about that conversation is that I am lucky to still be alive. In high school, I contemplated the idea of being a doctor but the major thing about that one night “revelation” (I had a dream and saw that I was a doctor), is that I hate science and any class that have anything to do with science.  Then, in college, I finally discovered what I wanted to do in life. I want to be an accountant.  

Along the way to achieve that goal, I had a few dumps in the road because of some insecurities.  At some point, I had to question myself and whether I was good enough to have come this far in my studies. Because of those insecurities, I stopped going to school for one going to two years.  I lost my motivation and true purpose at having a higher education.  I had to ask myself was I going to succeed to fulfill a family tradition or my dreams at being successful in life.  I have been giving an opportunity that some people can only dream about. An opportunity to learn intellectually, grow spiritually and change lives. My success is mine alone and I have to fight for that success; I don’t want that desire and thirst to success to dry up and be a thought I had when I was young.

A new start

I had to refocus the direction for my blog so many times. I changed the focus a little bit and decided to challenge myself and attempt a more academic blog.  I am glad that Dr. Santos was able to read my proposal and sense that I was not into my first nor second choice. This time and hopefully the last time, I am going to write a blog about Black Literature.  I love reading and it’s a shame that my first choice was not about that. African American literature explores the issues of freedom and equality in the United States, along with further themes such as African American culture, racism, religion, slavery, a sense of home and more.

Langston Hughes: The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain

   

In the short essay, Hughes criticized the young African American artists in their “urge within the race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible.”  As they are moving up the social ladder, they are becoming standardized in in how they looked, dressed, acted, sang and worshiped. They read white books and white magazines, watched white films.  The turn their nose at everything Negro and they are ashamed of their own blackness.  They don’t want to be too spiritual because “white best.”  They don’t like jazz because it’s “too Negro”.  Hughes refer to jazz has a tom-tom beating in the Negro soul. 

“the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world…the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile.”

 Those people according to Hughes can’t be true artist because they have not climbed the racial mountain.

 “…for no great poet has ever been afraid of being himself”.  

Hughes urges the artist to discover their true self and realize that they are “beautiful” and that they were able to new forms of arts such as blues and jazz. It is not about pleasing a group of people nor be a Negro poet but the desire to be a poet. To be able to look at the African American heritage and absorb the culture; a culture filed with history.

At 23, sometimes, I wonder when I’ll finally grow up and realize that Prince Charmin does not exist. Nor that, he’ll ever come rescue me from my bedroom window, where for 23 years I’ve been grounded for being too outspoken. During all that time, I was growing my hair because I believed in my gut that he’ll come. He’ll come and I’ll use my long mane as a rope to escape and we’ll live happily ever after.

Time to wake up from this beautiful nightmare and get back to reality; my name is Sandra and for the next six weeks, you’ll find out more about me and the fact that I still believe in fairy tales.

My blog is about romantic comedy. For the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing my ideas about the difference between American and African American comedy movies. After researching many other sources, I find out that not one of the African American movies ever made the top picks. For the next few weeks, I’ll be reviewing two movies and compare them. I want to find out what distinguishes the American and African American movies. I’ll be sharing my honest opinions and discussion the issues with respect. Together, if anyone has not yet done so in their lifetime, we are going to review the best romantic comedies of all time.

 I hope for the next few weeks my blog would be use has a tool and offer insightful information about the subject of race in movies and more importantly comedy.