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Example research essay topic: Negro Speaks Of Rivers Langston Hughes - 2,283 words

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Poetry of Langston Hughes, a True Afro American Writer No African American poet, writer, and novelist has ever been appreciated by every ethnic society as much as Langston Hughes was. The poetry of this writer tried to evoke the spirit of life in the hearts of his black fellows. Critics argue that Hughes reached that level of prominence, because all his works reflected on his life's experience, whether they have been good or bad. He never wrote one single literary piece that did not contain an underlying message within the specific work; in other words, all his works had a definite purpose behind them.

Providing that the reader has some insight about the life of this great poet, he can readily arrive to the conclusion that Hughes' life effected his works to the fullest extent, even when only breezing through Langston Hughes' works. Hughes, from his creativity and passion for the subject matter, has been described as one of the most penetrating and captivating writers in the history of humankind. He also was described as quite possibly the most grossly misjudged poet of major importance in America (Jemie 187). He entrances you into his poetry, and at the same time, reveals the nitty-gritty truth in modern society. His works do not all contain the same attitude, but do have the same concepts of the lives of the common black folk (ALCU 313). The Negro Speaks of Rivers 1 and Harlem (A Dream Deferred) 2 are two examples of Langston Hughes artistry in poetic expression that can be dissimilar while still expressing the same views on the tribulations of African-Americans.

Harlem (A Dream Deferred) is short, to the point and opens up Langston Hughes world of symbolism. In writing this, Mr. Hughes used symbolism so extensively that when most individuals read it, they do not grasp the true intent of each word. The images that Hughes conveys in Harlem are sensory, domestic, earthly, like blues images (Jemie 78).

It possesses an aggressive attitude and displays the harsh reality of the world in which colored people live. He uses five objects that almost deceive the reader: a raisin, a sore, meat, a sweet, and a load. Each object is seen from the outside and not fully apprehended (Berry 132). Hughes uses personification on the raisin and the sore to force the reader into using an open mind. The raisin symbolizes the African-American in that he / she has fallen from a prosperous vine and has been used and ignored in the dominate white society with the inclination that he / she will rot and disappear. The raisin refuses its destiny and becomes an irritating sore that will not recede in the white culture.

The sore begins to stink (or cause a burden for the white society). This stink coincides to the stench of rotten meat sold to many black folks in ghetto groceries (Jemie 78). The sweet represents the kind of candy that is yearned for and satisfying. Ironically, the sweet turns out to be yet another disappointment. It leaves a thick taste as the good taste of the spoiled sweet goes away. The deferred dream consists of little things of no great effect individually.

Once bound up together, they create an immense tension. The tension builds as time goes by and becomes overwhelming for anyone to handle for an extensive amount of time. This is the load, or the accumulation of little things able to be handled when all combined. The load over time begins to drag the individual down or cause them to sag. If the little things cannot be contained, then the individual drops the load. Once dropped, the immense tension is able to explode from the harshness of the reality rolled up inside it.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers is perhaps Langston Hughes most profound and most often quoted poem (Berry 29). The concept is of an individuals soul that has endured through the ages of time and has been able to see the role changes of African-Americans. It uses repetitious statements throughout, and one of these statements also concludes it: My soul has grown deep like the rivers (McMahon, Day, and Funk 589). It is a sonorous evocation of transcendent essences so ancient as to appear timeless, predating human existence, longer than human memory (Jemie 103). This poem utilizes symbolism at great extent.

For example, the rivers symbolize an extension of Gods body and contribute to His immortality. The rivers chosen for the poem are all famous rivers that are recognized as having mystery and a continuous flow (the Euphrates, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi). The rivers also appear in order of their role in black history. The soul in the poem belongs to an individual that has bonded with the rivers essences, thus giving him / her the immortality of the rivers (or Gods immortality). The turning point that leads to the prosperous future is the great Mississippi turning from muddy water into gold.

This represents President Abraham Lincolns Proclamation. As time goes by, civilizations rise and fall while the rivers deepen. This in turn gives the soul more experience and as the rivers continuously flow, the soul will survive. Survival is the basis for these two poems despite tragedy and tribulation. They are also both very intriguing in that they draw you into the circumstances of the poem while displaying for you the visual aspects of the environment in which they are set. It is easy to imagine the objects or scenery that Hughes describes and it allows the reader to almost literally "fall" into the poem.

They both use symbolism of objects in great detail: The raisin, sore, meat, sweet, and load in Harlem (A dream Deferred), " and the famous rivers in The Negro Speaks of Rivers. In addition, time is represented in both as well. For example, in order for the raisin to rot and disappear, the meat to become rotten, and the sweet to spoil in Harlem (A Dream Deferred), time must be active. Similarly, the ages of time pass in The Negro Speaks of Rivers as the soul ventures from before human existence to the promising future of African-Americans that is beyond our foresight.

Soul searching is a hidden concept of these poems. The Negro Speaks of Rivers is primarily the beginning and unknown end of a soul belonging to an African-American. Likewise, Harlem (A Dream Deferred) is of an African-American soul outlining certain tribulations he / she encounters on its journey to the unknown end. Nevertheless, these two poems are also quite different.

As an illustration, The Negro Speaks of Rivers is uplifting, and has great spiritual meaning. It is a fictitious poem of optimism. Yet, Harlem (A Dream Deferred) embodies a negative, dark, and aggressive theme that carries the nitty-gritty truth to the livelihood of African-Americans. As the soul in The Negro Speaks of Rivers ventures through time, the ending insinuates the survival of African-Americans in this America. This could easily be called a triumph over tribulation. Conversely, Harlem (A Dream Deferred) is tribulation but with uncertain triumph.

The ending is never given, and the reader does not know if the dreamer has persevered over the tribulation. The general outline of The Negro Speaks of Rivers uses rivers repetitiously and contains very little rhyme and flowing rhythm, while Harlem (A Dream Deferred) does not contain a single word used repetitiously. Furthermore, Harlem (A Dream Deferred) uses rhyme throughout and contains definite repeating stress, which is rhythm. In conclusion, Langston Hughes embraced the broad spectrum of African-American experiences in his poetry (Walker 75). He demonstrated the variances of different approaches and methods, while still concentrating on the his position concerning the lives of common black people. "A Dream Deferred, " asks the reader what happens to a dream that is held back by someone or something: however, he never explicitly explains that the dream is not impossible. Through this poem Hughes tried to show the reader that although dreams at certain times can not be fulfilled because of whichever reasons, they are definitely not unreachable.

In this case, the dream which is held back is the dream of freedom, with the white society being the character which is preventing the dream to happen. When analyzed, it becomes evident that this comes from the fact that during his times, the white people often kept the black people from succeeding financially, politically, and socially. "Awakening the spirit of the reader, he intended to spark hope into many of his people's hearts" (Early 29). Being a poet of democracy, in one of his other poems, "The Theme for English B, " Hughes writes about how in reality there is really one kind: the humans. Hughes, of course, saw that black, just like the white people, had the potential in their lives to succeed, and the black, just like white people have folks that are sometimes a disgrace to the community.

By concluding all of this, he knew that deep inside we are all the same, and that is what really matters. These two poems have great significance together for they contain similarities in purpose, while also containing vast differences in structure, format, and poetic devices used. These differences in structure, format, and poetic devices used compared to his emphasis on the lives of African-Americans, are black and white... which from him, really does not matter. Langston Hughes, "one of the most original and versatile of twentieth-century black writers" (Shirley 1), wrote one of his most famous poems "The Negro Speaks of Rivers, " when he failed in the relationship with his father, who lived in Mexico, and was a very wealth lawyer. Later Hughes admitted that he wrote the best when he was sad and depressed" (Early 26).

Never even thinking about his young age, other authors selected Hughes to become the leader of the Harlem Renaissance, a literary circle of black writers focusing on the social problems blacks had to endure. Along with writers like County Cullen, Wallace Thurman and others, he struggled to prove that the great spirit or skill of writing tremendous pieces of literature lies within the white and the black mind and body. When jazz stepped into the picture, being the most popular music of that time, Hughes effectively turned a bit more toward jazz, writing his poems in a distinctive rhythm and beat. "I can not recall the name of one single person, who at the age of twenty-seven, has enjoyed so picturesque and rambling existence as Langston Hughes" (McMahon 363). Hughes also started writing short novels, plays and songs. His play The Mulatto, a tragic play about racial controversies, made it to Broadway in 1935 and stayed there for about two years after.

Again, it can be clearly depicted that Hughes tried to "explain and illuminate the Negro Condition of America" (Shirley 2). Included his works were many pieces such as the novel Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927), Not Without Laughter (1930), Shakespeare in Harlem (1942), and numerous other nationally recognized pieces. During the 1930 's Hughes was lecturing all over the South, desperately trying to persuade more young black Americans to pursue their dreams. Hughes remained unmarried for the rest of his life. He chose to live in Harlem throughout his life, so he could benefit from being among his people by learning something new every day.

Langston Hughes, "the poet laureate of Harlem" (Shirley 9), wrote many poems, plays, novels and other literary works. If one reads a Langston Hughes poem, at first he does not know why or for what purpose Hughes wrote the piece. The fact of the matter is that every single creation that Hughes came up with had a significant meaning behind it. Most of his poems speak about the constant struggle of black people in America against the societal problems. It can be portrayed through his writings that Hughes himself saw many problems of the society.

His play The Mulatto, making Broadway when Hughes was 35 years old, told about a young, smart boy whose parents were of both races: white and black. Throughout this play the boy struggles within both of the societies, with no one accepting him for who he really is. Hughes intentionally wrote this masterpiece in order to present to the audience, whoever the audience might be, the real-life situations and problems of those times. Many times, "in his works Hughes talked about the racial issues" (Rampersad 1), just like in the poem "I Too, Sing America. " Seeing that the black man was often treated as although he was not human, Hughes described in this poem how the society treated the Negro at times. At the end of the poem, he wrote how one day the white people will realize that made a mistake, and from that day on they will recognize the blacks as an important part of the society.

Langston Hughes, being one of the first black poets who affected the perception of people in such a great manner, will always remain in the hearts of his fans and followers. Bibliography: ALCU. Our Endangered Rights. Ed. Norman Dorson. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984.

Berry, Faith. Langston Hughes: Before and Beyond Harlem. Westport, Connecticut: Lawrence Hill & Company, 1983. Jemie, Onwuchekwa. Langston Hughes, An Introduction to the Poetry. Ed.

John Unterecker. New York: Columbia University Press, 1976. McMahon, Day, and Funk. Literature and the Writing Process. 5 th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. Rampersad, Arnold.

The Life of Langston Hughes: I Dream a World. Vol. 2. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Walker, Melissa. Down from the Mountaintop. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1991.


Free research essays on topics related to: negro speaks of rivers, poetic devices, langston hughes, african americans, dream deferred

Research essay sample on Negro Speaks Of Rivers Langston Hughes

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