Langston Hughes Mulatto: Character Analysis

In Langston Hughes’ Mulatto, the community impacts the beliefs of the characters. The environment that Bert was raised in is one that sets up the central action of the play. That community contrasts greatly with the one that Bert goes to school in, creating conflict. The community even impacts Norwood’s relationship with Cora. The power of community alters the beliefs of the characters in Langston Hughes’ Mulatto. The community that Bert grew up in influenced him as a person. Bert says to Norwood, “I used to like you, when I first knew you were my father, when I was a little kid, before that time you beat me under the feet of the horses. I liked you until then” (Hughes 39). The environment of Bert’s childhood has set up a condition where Bert feels betrayed by white people. He used to look up to Colonel Norwood and knew he was Norwood’s son, but was denied because Norwood was talking in front of other white people. Cora comments on the beating saying, “I thought sho he were gonna kill ma chile that day. And he were mad at me, too, for months. Said I was teachin’ you chilluns who they pappy were. Up till then Bert been his favorite little colored chile round here” (Hughes 30). Cora’s view shows that not only did the community cause Bert to begin despising white people, but also forced Norwood to keep suppressed relations with his children. This causes a chain reaction that shows some of the light-heartedness of Colonel Norwood: instead of …show more content…
Bert was raised in a community that told him he could not stand up for himself then was sent away to school where he realized that was a lie. He comes home to find that this new outlook from his school life does not mesh within the community which ultimately ends in his death. Norwood is forced by the community to keep his relationship with Cora in the shadows. The influence of the community controls the play Mulatto by Langston