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’