Langston Hughes is considered by many as one of the greatest poets of all time. Living through many different events, Hughes has written a great variety of poems. Hughes career began to flourish in the decade of the 1920s, widely known as "the Roaring Twenties." During the 1930s, Hughes experienced the difficulties of the Great Depression and lived through the joys of the Harlem Renaissance. His whole life, Hughes was constantly faced with racism and prejudice, which was common during the twenties and thirties. Langston Hughes was greatly influenced by the "Roaring Twenties", the Great Depression, the Harlem Renaissance, and racism and prejudice in 1926-1936 when he wrote selected poems. .
The "Roaring Twenties" was a time of prosperity for America where people used their wealth to get away from traditional ideas and inhibitions. Using this new wealth and prosperity, some people made donations to the Ku Klux Klan. In the twenties, the Ku Klux Klan grew to an incredible size performing different acts of violence against Catholics, blacks, Jews, and radicals. The rapid growth of the KKK was one of the effects of the "Roaring Twenties"(Pietrusza 43-44). .
Being of black decent, the Ku Klux Klan revival had a great impact on Langston Hughes and his work. The Ku Klux Klan was an organization that encouraged violence and brutality. Hughes wrote a poem called "Ku Klux" that describes these acts of violence and brutality:.
They hit me in the head.
And then they kicked me.
On the ground. (13-16).
Hughes did not agree with the Klan's views and thought their methods were ridiculous. In the same poem, Hughes manages to mock the Ku Klux Klan's methods: .
I said, "Mister,.
To tell you the truth,.
I"d believe in anything.
If you"d just turn me loose." (5-8).
"Ku Klux" is an example of how the effects of the "Roaring Twenties" influenced Langston Hughes" writing.
Another poem describing the Klan's actions is "Song for a Dark Girl.
