Analysis Of The Big Sea By Langston Hughes

Throughout the book The Big Sea, Hughes talks about the hardships and struggles he had being an African-American. As a kid, Hughes moved around frequently. His mother traveled often to find better jobs that paid better than the last. As an African-American, going to school was not always easy for him. In the book The Big Sea by Langston Hughes, he writes, “At First, they did not want to admit me to the school because there were no other colored families living in that neighborhood … And after such remarks, occasionally the kids would grab stones and tin cans out of the alley and chase me home.” (Page 14). Hughes also gave other examples of racial discrimination that African-Americans faced after the first world war. He talked about how a lot …show more content…
He experienced life a lot differently in Mexico than in America. His father lived in Mexico because it was extremely hard for him to do business in the United States being black. The Mexican population Hughes wrote about generally did not like not only black people, but they did not think fondly of Americans in general. However, life was still better for Hughes and his father in Mexico than in America. The Mexicans Hughes describes and wrote about were immensely poor and underprivileged. His father on the other hand was wealthy. I believe this is why they were treated significantly better in Mexico in comparison to the United States. In Mexico, money mattered to them more than skin color or culture. An example of the racial divide comparing the United States and Mexico is when Hughes was traveling back into the United States from Mexico while stopping to get a soda. “The clerk said: “Are you a Mexican or a Negro?” I said: “Why?” “Because if you’re a Mexican, I’ll serve you,” he said. “if you’re colored, I won’t.” “I’m colored,” I replied, The clerk turned to wait on someone else. I knew I was home in the U.S.A.” (Page …show more content…
I think in this time period there was a fascination with standing out, being different, and acting somewhat risky. For example, in this period of time wearing short skirts or flappers, drinking, and engaging in African-American culture was rebellious in a way that made people want to do it. Another reason why African-American culture became popular is also because of jazz music. It originally was mainly played in African-American cities and neighborhoods and became popular with clubs and the younger generation of whites who made jazz popular. African-American poetry as well as other art that artists such as Hughes appealed to not only black people, but white people in America as well. For example, the book discusses in the introduction on certain white critic that reviewed Hughes work as not critical enough when exchanging views on and discussing inequality and the way white people treat