Silhouette Langston Hughes

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In the poem “Silhouette” by Langston Hughes there are a few prominent themes. One of these themes is the racism, which was present within the American South. The phrase “they’ve hung a black man” references the lynching, which occurred in the American South, and the location of the poem is revealed through references to a “southern” lady and “Dixie,” a name for the American South. There also appears to be an implied racism in the fact that the “gentle” woman is being asked not to swoon over the lynching early in the poem. We see this as racist because if the white woman is enjoying what she sees, then she clearly approves of the killings of black men and feels no sympathy for those who have been lynched. The poem also creates a contrast between …show more content…
The black man is described as having been “hung” by a “mob” in the “dark of the moon” by a “roadside” and left in a tree “for all the world to see.” This brings the scene to life for the reader, creating a clear picture of what has occurred. Describing the woman who is being told of this happening as a “southern gentle lady” and describing the act as being the way “Dixie” protects its white women conjures an image of this scene happening in the South prior to …show more content…
Langston Hughes was a writer of the Harlem Renaissance and within the poem one of the major themes he focuses on is racism, which was a major focus of Harlem Renaissance writers and artists during the Roaring ‘20s. Like many modernist writers, Hughes focused on the imagery within the poem, and throughout it, Hughes creates a vivid image of a nighttime scene in the American South in which a black man has been hanged on a tree with the moon shining above him. Through his use of imagery, Hughes attempts to call attention to the experiences of a marginalized group, African Americans. Additionally, through the speaker in the poem, Hughes shows a degree of cynicism towards whites and racism, not believing that white society will ever come to see racist acts, such as lynching, as acts which are negative on their own and therefore must be reminded to “be good.” The poem “Silhouette” by Langston Hughes, a writer who was a member of the Harlem Renaissance and influenced by the events of the Roaring ‘20s, includes the elements of cynicism and concentrated imagery and focuses on the experiences of marginalized groups and classes. These are all characteristics of the Modernist movement and are prevalent in Hughes’

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