Why, You Reckon By Langston Hughes

The Harlem Renaissance was an African-American cultural movement in Harlem, New York during the 1920s and 1930s. It witnessed a revolutionary upsurge in artistic, social, political and cultural expression and instilled empowerment in African-Americans as they fought racial oppression and injustice. Langston Hughes, widely regarded as a major leader and influential writer of the Harlem Renaissance, wrote poetry and prose often promoting racial pride, condemning racism, and depicting the diverse experiences of African-Americans. His short story “Why, You Reckon?” takes place in 1930s' Harlem amid the Great Depression. In “Why, You Reckon?”, Hughes employs irony developed through use of the setting to convey the theme that money can’t buy happiness. …show more content…
The narrator, a poor and hungry African-American man, is approached on the street by "another colored fellow that looks hongry" (253). The stranger describes his idea of making some money, which entails that they rob one of the rich white men exiting a bar on the street (253). To persuade the narrator into joining him, he provides moral justification for the act with words of their unfair treatment by such people: " '. . . [they] comes up to Harlem spendin' forty or fifty bucks in the night clubs and speakeasies and don't care nothin' 'bout you and me out here in the street, do they?' " (254). This illustration of the stark contrast between the comfortable, hedonistic livestyles of the rich whites and those of the struggling African-American population