When he explains that the "muddy bosom" of the river (or, of the life of the black culture) turns "all golden in the sunset," that is a sweet transition for a culture, and nothing less than mystical, magical and wonderful. Turning mud to gold is the miracle of survival through all the chaos, carnage, and brutal injustices done to black people over the centuries. In "Mother to Son" the poet is using the genre of family, the power structure in the nuclear family, to make a statement to the whole culture of African-Americans. While the first poem uses broad brushstrokes on a global canvas -- pointing to the past, and the black culture's survival as it moves forward into the future like the flow of a river -- in "Mother to Son" Hughes brings his message home, using the stairs as a metaphor for human struggles and the strength it requires to stay strong in those struggles. "Boy" in this sense is a metaphor for the culture, perhaps specifically the youthful black culture that may have become frustrated with institutional racism in America. "Don't you set down on the steps / 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard" he writes; those passages are the poet's way of saying, if you think you've got it bad, you have no idea what your forbearers have gone though so you can have and advantages you have today. Earlier in the poem "Mother" is saying, without complaining, how miserable life can be with bare floors. Using "Bare" as one line says a great deal...
The images portray a life without the "bare" necessities, with stairs that are steep and sudden curves and corners thrown at the culture.
Langston Hughes Poetry A Reflection of the American Dream in Langston Hughes's Poetry The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic, literary, and cultural movement that emerged in New York, specifically Harlem, shortly after World War I and into the 1930s. One of the most prominent poets to arise from the cultural movement was Langston Hughes. Hughes's poetry explores the generational differences that have emerged and how though it may seem that there have
It is necessary to consider this schizoid view in detail. The opposite of love is hate. While the black may love, they also have a dark side of hate close by. This is why he accentuates the love of blackness and asserted it so strongly, particularly at a time when it was not politically correct to do so. He is particularly pained by the fact that black men are not
In every stage and period in history, the black American is present, as demonstrated in the line of imagery repeatedly used in the poem, "My soul has grown deep like the rivers." The poem portrays the Negro as the cause rather than effect of human civilization. "The Negro" is a historical narrative of the life of the black American. Evidently, he had been present where human civilization thrived. Thus, human
Langston Hughes' "Democracy" A number of ideas are expressed -- and buried -- in Langston Hughes' 1949 poem "Democracy." The poem is composed in open form and appears to take its cues from the musical jazz movement of the time period. Its lines are short, often punctuated by abbreviated verses and sudden rhymes that indicate a sense of urgency and immediacy, while vibrating with a strong and insistent timbre and tone.
To combat the power of their oppressive circumstances, many would sing to chase away the blue. This tradition is captured in the " Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor" (22). The song is about oppression and an attempt to be happy regardless of setting. Heritage, history and hope merge together in this poem to explore what the African experience must have been like. Hughes' poetry is also
Williams works often focuses on destruction and violence but one play that seems to garner the most attention is the Glass Menagerie. One character worth mentioning is Jim, whose simple and kind nature make him unique in the play. He is optimistic and full of hope and this has the greatest affect on Laura. With her, Williams elevates him to become a positive influence to help her move beyond her
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