Langston Hughes

“An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.” Poet, novelist and social activist, Langston Hughes was a proud, black American citizen entrenched within a society where racial segregation was strictly enforced. Challenging dominant perspectives regarding race, colour and the identity of being American, Langston Hughes stood up for those who were marginalised. As a result, he became a figurehead for those standing up for racial pride and equality. Within the essence of this quote, Hughes inadvertently summarises his life as a proud supporter of American’s rights. However, the exploitation of predominantly African American labourers based solely on social status and the…

Writing Performance Task In the poem, “As I Grew Older”, by Langston Hughes, he proves that life has its hardships and sometimes they can be difficult to overcome. The poem describes how there is a major obstacle and how he struggles to overcome it. Langston Hughes conveys that during hard times, one might be in despair, but can get through it with determination and a driven passion to do so. The author conveys despair and a sense of hopelessness throughout the poem by using language…

Dream Variations is a poem written by Langston Hughes... In his poem, Langston Hughes wishes for an untroubled life away from color harassment and racial discrimination... The title of the poem mentions Langston Hughes’s main themes, that is, dreams, particularly the dreams of African Americans...Langston Hughes tells that this poem is dedicated to the workers, roustabouts and singers, and job hunters...In the poem, Hughes’s embraces and tries to embrace, day and night, light and dark, white and…

During the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes was a prevalent author who voiced the struggles of African Americans through his work. His stories and poems were an outlet in which he painted a vibrant picture of the daily experiences of African Americans. Hughes lures readers in with his firsthand outlook on the endeavors of those sharing his heritage and background. Racism is widely known, but Hughes takes readers to a personal level as he describes his everyday experiences with it. He…

Langston Hughes, who is a dominant poet of the Harlem Renaissance, has been significantly influenced by both the sounds and traditions of the growing blues and jazz community. The Harlem Renaissance is a 1920’s movement in Harlem, New York that sparked an increased growth in the art scene/community, largely seen in music, literature, and fashion. Considering Hughes such a strong advocator and lover of both jazz and blues music, he then began to write poetry in a style which was very heavily…

One might believe that Langston Hughes dreamed for equality throughout the human race, he raced toward that dream by exposed his peoples’ culture to the white public and was often the voice of his people, therefore Hughes is one if the main reasons black culture is celebrated today. Langston Hughes, or James Mercer, was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. He died May 22, 1967 in New York City (Webster 209). Born with a racial background of African, French, Native American, and English…

trying to help find their own cultural identity. Langston Hughes was an author who helped form the American Voice by setting the precedent for African American civil rights works and launching the Harlem Renaissance into full effect. Langston Hughes used the many experiences of his life and the world around him to mold himself…

James Mercer Langston Hughes, the great poet, novelist, social activist, columnist, and playwright himself was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. During his life he wrote numerous plays and many different works of poetry. He published his first book of poetry in 1926 at the age of 24. The book was called The Weary Blues, it was a standout because Hughes established a theme to recognize black heritage and he also used jazz rhythm and dialect to focus on urban black lives. Hughes is…

“ There’s never been equality for me,/ Nor freedom in this ‘homeland for the free. ’” (Let America Be America again, Langston Hughes). One of the founding. fathers of African American poetry Langston Hughes, began his poetic career from a very young age. Being a free African American Hughes had the exposure to gather publicity from his art. Langston grew up in the segregated city of Joplin Missouri, and the sight of African Americans lack of equality angered him. Langston Hughes’s poetry was…

In the short story “Dreams” by Langston Hughes, Langston shows that if you are striving for a goal, you must hold on to it, persevere and protect it. If you give up life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly and a barren field frozen with snow. First off in the beginning of the poem it is saying that you must protect and continue to strive for your dream, if not it will eventually die. This is because in the poem it says “Hold onto dreams for if dreams die”. So what the author is trying…