Langston Hughes Theme For English B Essay

The truth can be a hard thing to come by when you are dealing with any type of person. In “Theme for English B,” by Langston Hughes, the topic of truth is what lays the foundation down for his poem. Hughes is most likely the speaker in this poem giving the view of an entire group, which would be the colored student population. The poem starts off by sharing an assignment the instructor gave the speaker for their class. The instructor informs the class that if they let their literary work come out off them than it will be true. The speaker in this poem wonders if this advice could really be true. The twenty-two year old speaker, gives his birthplace, Winston Salem, and informs the audience that he is currently going to school near Harlem. Being the only colored student in his class, the speaker finds it hard to know what is the truth of anybody at his age. Then he begins to bring up the truths of race in America. Towards the end, the speaker brings up the struggle of racial differences in America. These racial differences are used to highlight a truth. In this Poem Hughes uses questions, structure, …show more content…
This question programs the audience to subconsciously ask themselves is the truth simply by referencing it to truth, which is used in line five. The speaker is initially asking himself is the truth that simple. This question sets the stage for this section of the poem. For example, the speaker gives his simple truths to the audience. He tells the audience his age, birthplace and where he lives. In addition, this question is somewhat foreshadowing the end of the poem. The speaker tells the truth of what runs through every colored college students head. That the person in him sees no difference but the American in him sees every difference. The question helped to emphasize the speaker’s