Frieda Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes was a famous poet in America who was also known to be a, novelist, social activist, columnist from Joplin, Missouri and playwright artist. James was one of the earliest innovators of Jazz poetry which during his time was known as then-new literary form. Hughes is particularly known for his colorful, insightful portrayals of black life in America from the 1920’s through to the 1960’s. He wrote short stories, plays, novels and as well as poetry. James graduated from…

Poetry Explication on “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” Langston Hughes's poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is about becoming free. The speaker states that he has been to several places around the world. Each one of these places progressively gets more free. This is until the speaker ends with the time when “Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans”(7). Which was the final step for African Americans and their freedom. By doing this, Hughes’s speaker implies that the African American’s journey to freedom…

In the poem “Harlem,” Langston Hughes examines the repercussions that could result from postponing an aspiration. The aspiration Hughes is referring to is achieving racial equality in America. He uses similes with imagery to clearly show what can happen when a dream is put off by an individual or by society as a whole. The first image that Hughes uses is “a raisin in the sun”(Hughes, line 3). A raisin is something that was once fresh, but, due to being in a harsh setting, has decayed and…

Considered as one of the most preeminent writers of the twentieth century African American, Zora Neale Hurston is a novelist, folklorist, essayist, short story writer, dramatist and an anthropologist. Hurston was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance and a passionate promoter of the African American culture. However, she refused to let race and racism be the only focus of her work, something that she was criticized a lot for by her African American peers. Instead Hurston’s short stories…

Renaissance writers, one of the most important of which is James Mercer Langston Hughes. Hughes was American poet, columnist, novelist, playwright, and a social activist. Even more, he was the part of the innovators of the new literary art form of jazz poetry. Majority of his poems touched on the struggles of African Americans in white society. Also, the problems he endured throughout his life. When Jazz became popular, Hughes incorporated…

The majority of the population assumes that the Harlem Renaissance was a period in which racial prejudice and segregation was tolerated. As some discriminatory activity did occur, several African Americans did not endure the same physical abuse from the caucasian race as before. This era originated the period in which African-American achievements in art, music, and literature flourished. As the diversity in the United States continued to expand, more and more African Americans were living…

In the short story “Salvation” Langston Hughes describes his traumatizing experience at a religious revival as a twelve-year-old boy. The revival was a popular event that occurred in town for ongoing days and one his Aunt Reed had attended every night. On the final day of the event, the children of worshippers were invited to the congregation to receive salvation from Christ. Before the event, Aunt Reed had explained to young Langston that once he became saved he would see a light, meaning Jesus…

expertise. Langston Hughes, however, implemented the use of many devices in his piece, “Salvation” that made the memory as vivid and intense as the day it happened. Hughes implemented personification throughout his piece to amplify the impassioned, but overwhelming, tone of the church during the revival. Though personification may seem unnecessary to some readers, the use of personification in Hughes’ piece allowed for the reader to understand the magnitude of pressure Hughes felt in the…

Langston Hughes’ poem “I, Too” from 1925 reflects on the humiliation African Americans were tired of experiencing during the Harlem Renaissance; however, Hughes also ignites hope by looking forward towards a better future, free of this oppression. Hughes begins with a blunt proclamation of inclusion for patriotism, “I, too, sing America” (1090). He, as well as the rest of blacks, is an American who can sing along to a patriotic tune, regardless of the national prejudice. However, within the next…

Salvation Twentieth century poet/writer Langston Hughes shares the account of a boy who deceives others in church about his having been saved by Jesus. All children are meant to rise upon their seeing of The Lord, but the boy who does not truly witness the event, rises as a way to escape the pressure. This account, entitled “Salvation,” comes from Hughes’s autobiography The Big Sea, signifying the boy to be a young Langston Hughes. The story denies condemnation of Langston for his deceit by…