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Langston Huges

 

This festive relationship between the two sexes can rarely be seen in any of Hughes' later poems. .
             At this point in his life, Hughes was enjoying the culture and excitement of the Harlem renaissance. It was an amazing period in New York for African Americans; the first real large-scale expression of their culture. Jazz was a flourishing art form that Hughes often liked to write about. It is easy to see why most of his poems of this period (1921-1930) would be cheerful. Unfortunately, the party didn't last into the next decade and the country fell into a deep depression. .
             The period between 1931 and 1940 was a dark period for Hughes and for African-Americans in general. On top of the financial difficulties the depression brought, widespread racism re-surfaced in the North. Angry whites that were anxious to put blame on someone for their troubles replaced the celebration in Harlem. "White Man- is a direct attack on the white man's violations against the African-Americans. Like the earlier poem "Harlem Night Club-, it is a fast-paced, forceful piece. However, its tone reflects pure anger and frustration. "White Man! White Man! Let Louis Armstrong play it And you copyright it And make the money. You are the smart guy, White Man! You got everything!- It intensity makes the reader anxious just from reading it. The line about Louis Armstrong refers to the great jazz trumpet player, the first black man to be recognized as a successful jazz artist by a white audience. Only now, ten years later, we see that it is the whites that profit from his talent. .
             Hughes is desperate not to forget the accomplishments of the 20's, and not to let those accomplishments be removed by greedy white businessmen. Another attack on the white world comes in his piece "Ballad of Roosevelt-. Roosevelt is thought of as one of the country's greatest leaders, a wonderful humanitarian. But in this poem Hughes reminds us that he did not always come through with his promises.


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