Hypothetically, if one asked a group of students which grade they would rather receive between an A or a B, the answer would most likely be unanimously the first option. A is the first choice, the best, first; glittering gold. B is associated with second best, almost, not quite; silver. Separate and different, but not equal. Langston Hughes' poem "Theme for English B" uses the character 'B' in relation to this English B, but in more ways than one. 'B' is of course, "the second letter of the Roman alphabet, ancient and modern, corresponding, in position and power, to the Greek Beta, and Phœnician and Hebrew Beth, whence also its form is derived." (OED). Phrases relating to 'B' were also used to describe those who were entirely illiterate:
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There's 'B', the second letter of the alphabet. There are two English courses at Columbia: A and B. The instructor speaks in rhyming couplets in the first stanza and there's two characters: the student and instructor. The speaker tells us he is twenty-two years old, which is written 22 (17). The poem itself is two pages, and there's two 'B''s, the second letter of the alphabet, and two 'Y''s, the second to last letter of the alphabet, in the beginning of lines 28-29 through 31-32, respectively. Three 'B''s are also present in "or records-Bessie, bop, or Bach." (24). The speaker is referencing Bessie Smith who earned the title of "Empress of the Blues" and sang songs about liberated women, bop, which is a type of jazz, and Bach, a classical music composer. The combination of these different types of music is interesting. The speaker chooses 'colored' types of music and then also chooses a proper, classically 'white' type of music and combines them in one list of what the speaker likes. This reflects his identity at Columbia as he immerged into the white, academic culture around him. These differences do not keep him away from people like Bach, and he recognizes that he can enjoy these things and be …show more content…
Power is also conveyed when the speaker identifies himself as "the only colored student in my class." (10). Class means "A set or category of things having some related properties or attributes in common, grouped together, and differentiated from others under a general name or description; a kind, a sort." (OED). One can be in a literal classroom, economical class, and culture can be described as having low or high class. Power of the mind presumably got our speaker from low class Harlem into a classroom at Columbia, conveying the idea of social mobility to move up in class. Power is equalized
There's 'B', the second letter of the alphabet. There are two English courses at Columbia: A and B. The instructor speaks in rhyming couplets in the first stanza and there's two characters: the student and instructor. The speaker tells us he is twenty-two years old, which is written 22 (17). The poem itself is two pages, and there's two 'B''s, the second letter of the alphabet, and two 'Y''s, the second to last letter of the alphabet, in the beginning of lines 28-29 through 31-32, respectively. Three 'B''s are also present in "or records-Bessie, bop, or Bach." (24). The speaker is referencing Bessie Smith who earned the title of "Empress of the Blues" and sang songs about liberated women, bop, which is a type of jazz, and Bach, a classical music composer. The combination of these different types of music is interesting. The speaker chooses 'colored' types of music and then also chooses a proper, classically 'white' type of music and combines them in one list of what the speaker likes. This reflects his identity at Columbia as he immerged into the white, academic culture around him. These differences do not keep him away from people like Bach, and he recognizes that he can enjoy these things and be …show more content…
Power is also conveyed when the speaker identifies himself as "the only colored student in my class." (10). Class means "A set or category of things having some related properties or attributes in common, grouped together, and differentiated from others under a general name or description; a kind, a sort." (OED). One can be in a literal classroom, economical class, and culture can be described as having low or high class. Power of the mind presumably got our speaker from low class Harlem into a classroom at Columbia, conveying the idea of social mobility to move up in class. Power is equalized