"As a writer who believed it was his vocation to "explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America," Hughes captured the experience as "the hurt of their lives, the monotony of their jobs, and the veiled weariness of their songs."" (DiYanni 523) Hughes however does not resent the fact that he is African American; in reality the contrary is true, he carries an immense pride in his cultural heritage. However, many of his poems express a longing for the two races to combine forming one attuned nation. The prevalent message Hughes is conveying to his audience is this: Do not seek to conform to society, instead do your best to stay true to your heritage and in doing so carve out a niche in humanity where you feel at ease. One can view these ideals in some of Hughes most celebrated, as well as some of his lesser known poetic works. .
"My People" is perhaps one of the easiest poems in which one can identify the respect Hughes holds for the African American race. The poem is composed of three couplets. Structurally, the first two couplets mirror each other, beginning with a celestial body in the first line and moving on to describe a human feature in the second. The last couplet however, has a different arrangement. It starts with a descriptive word then attributes it to a particular noun. Within this poem, the word beautiful is used repeatedly in conjunction with the word people. The first couplet compares the dark yet beautiful night to his peoples" faces. The next shows that just as the stars illuminate the night sky, his peoples" eyes also light up their faces. In the final couplet, Hughes says this, "Beautiful, also, is the sun. /Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people." (DiYanni 527 lines 5-6) Throughout the entire poem, Hughes is using the sky as a metaphor for an African American. The night sky which is like the backdrop of space is equivalent to the face of a Negro. Likewise the stars could be considered the nights "eyes" which portray the human eyes.
Americans have been envied since they have evolved. ... That's why Americans comes in different colors. ... In the 20th century Americans have changed dramatically. ... Americans has a reputation of being lazy and rude. ... In his essay "What is an American" he states that all Americans are of European descent and that people who comes to America lives a better life. ...
The song "America Town" by Five for Fighting tells a tale of contradiction on the positives and negatives of American life. ... "America Town"s lyrics capture a contradicting opinion of American life told through the eyes of the artist. ... But first I"ll take a nap tonight and know someone's looking out for me" shows how the artist is content with the feelings safety that America produces, and the line saying "but first I"ll take a nap tonight" shows how most Americans take for granted the safety in America and how only a certain percentage of Americans actually do anything to protec...
Are Americans really over the plane attacks of September 11? ... The destruction was supposed to rip America apart. ... Some Arab Americans began to discover the other side of American life. Arab Americans started to feel that they were being profiled. ... September 11 is a day that Americans will never forget. ...
Fear has consumed the United States of America. ... America's violence was committed by America's people. ... America has a reputation of self-centeredness and superiority. ... Getting to that point will take as long as Americans push it. ... It is important that Americans overcome their fears. ...
Why can't America just mind their own business, and stop getting involved in everyone else's. ... Is it true though that American is the only super power in the World? Yes, many people believe this, and even if so, they shouldn't get too used to having America always on their back. "Although that belief is reported around the world, our officers attribute that to Americans and not necessarily to the rest of the world's belief." Now this isn't fair, because America has and still is trying to do their best to solve other countries problems, before they even try to solve ...
Let America Be America Again Langston Hughes The Poem "Let America Be America Again" is a very emotional and moving poem. It was most likely written around the same time slavery ended in America. ... The poem speaks of America's dream for freedom and for all to be equal. ... America is supposed to be a land of freedom and opportunity but this was not the America so many experienced. ... The character does say though that "America will be" to him meaning he is determined to live in the America that this poem speaks about the one where he can live free the one without greed th...
In the film "An American Tail" there is a song that includes the lyrics, " there are no cats in America and the streets are paved with cheese". ... In the first part of the lyrics they describe an America were there are no cats. One of the ways I took this as was that there is no war in America. ... This could mean one thing that every one in America is rich and everyone has job. ... This is why I think that their actions were truly American....
