Langston Huges

The Life and Times of Langston Hughes

Hughes and his mother

Arguably one of the greatest African-American poets of all time, James Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri (Meltzer 3). His parents were divorced when he was a small child and his father moved to Mexico. He was raised by his grandmother until he was twelve, when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her new husband (Rampersad 5). Hughes began writing poetry in the eighth grade. Also in the eighth grade, he was selected as Class Poet. During high school, Langston’s father did not think he would be able to make a living as a writer. Following graduation, he spent a year in Mexico where his father encouraged him to pursue a more practical career (Langston Hughes). In 1921, Langston’s father paid his tuition to Columbia University in New York City, on the basis, he studies engineering. After a short time, Hughes dropped out of the program with a B+ average. He then spent the next year travelling to Africa and Europe.

Hughes moved to Harlem, New York, in November 1924. Hughes first book of poetry, “The Weary Blues”, was published in 1926 (Tracy 35) . He finished his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. Hughes is particularly known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties. He wrote novels, short stories and plays, as well as poetry, and is also known for his engagement with the world of jazz and the influence it had on his writing, as in “Montage of a Dream Deferred.” His life and work were enormously important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Langston Hughes, for most of his adult life, the unofficial Poet Laureate of the race, accepted as his vocation “to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America” (Poetry for Young People 42). Hughes’ poetry drew from traditional sources and individual voices; his experiments in form reflect an attempt to capture the myriad colors known collectively as “black”. His composition speaks not for Hughes the man, but for the race as a whole. Unlike other notable black poets of the period--Claude McKay, Jean Toomer, and Countee Cullen--Hughes refused to differentiate between his personal experience and the common experience of black America. He wanted to tell the stories of his people without personalizing them, so the reader could step in and draw their own conclusions. 

Hughes challenged society’s definition of equality and brought attention to the treatment of the black man in America. Because of segregation, the impact of slavery, and racism, blacks were poorer and less educated than whites were at the time. Hughes was very smart and attended college, but he realized his audience did not have the opportunities he had (Poetry for Young People 42). Because of this reason, Hughes wrote in a manner in which everybody could understand. He used common but powerful words, and still got his point across. In “Children's Rhymes” he writes in the same style you would find in a children’s book, but the poems are meant for adults. The poems, using small common words, as well as slang, are easy to relate to. Short but meaningful, his works embody a feeling of struggle, inequality, and oppression.

Langston Hughes died on May 22, 1967 at age 65 in New York City after having an abdominal surgery (Langston Hughes). During his lifetime, he wrote sixteen books of poems, two novels, three collections of short stories, twenty plays, children’s poetry, musicals and operas, three autobiographies, a dozen radio and television scripts, dozens of magazine articles, and many other things. In addition, he edited seven anthologies. Langston Hughes’ poems told about the joys and miseries of the ordinary black man in America and he will forever be known for it.

Context of the poem

The poem “Theme for English B” written by Langston Hughes portrays a day in the life of a young African-American man in the midst of racial tension. The setting of this poem is located in the city of Harlem and two specific places are mentioned. The first place mentioned is the college that the narrator attends. The college described in the poem is the City College of New York, which Hughes did not personally attend (Rampersand 42). The second place mentioned is the Harlem Branch YMCA which is also called the Y. The area in which the speaker lives is perceived to be the poorer side of Harlem and sets the tone of the poem. The narrator represents a class of African-American people that have been oppressed for being the minority and for being different.

We are all influenced by the culture in which we grow up and learn. The speaker in “Theme for English B” carries with him the history of Winston-Salem, Durham, and the Harlem Branch Y. He’s been an underdog of sorts, but now he attends a college “on the hill above Harlem” (10), removed from his childhood and all the life he knew. Now he is faced with an instructor who is older, whiter, freer than he is, who presents him with the assignment to write a page from his heart, “Let that page come out of you,” the instructor says, “then it will be true” (4-5). All of a sudden, the speaker realizes he doesn’t know who he is or what will show up on paper. “I wonder if it’s that simple?” he asks (6).

A tantalizing question – Is it that simple? Is it simply a matter of writing out what you feel and relying on that to reveal truth, as the instructor seems to think? The speaker doesn’t know, because he’s caught between two different worlds. A pressing dilemma lies before him: which world is true? He is torn between Harlem and college. He grew up in Harlem, but his instructor is infiltrating his world. He even writes his page for English B in the Harlem setting. Both worlds mold his reality, and if he writes about simply one or the other he can’t be true to himself. He wants to be black and identify with his Harlem heritage, but he is bound by the fact that he studies in a predominantly white setting which has made an impact on him.

All of these elements impact how the reader understands the poem. The biggest factor is the setting for the poem, as well as the heavy emphasis on racial tension. Hughes wrote these poems to give a voice to his people that were silenced. He articulated important issues through the use of poetry, Theme for English B is an exemplary example of this.

Emotional response

After reading Langston Hughes poem “Theme for English B” I felt a few different emotions toward this piece of writing. I have always enjoyed Hughes’ works since he deals heavily with the issue of race and being a voice for the people. Being part African-American has given me a greater respect for people of color that have succeeded in literature, politics, etc. Hughes’ words in “Theme for English B” paint such a vivid picture in my mind of what it would be like to be an extreme minority within a group of people. While reading this poem I felt empathy for this character, anger towards our society, and yet a sense of happiness.

 The main character in this poem is a young African-American man with a low income, pursuing higher education, and he gives us a glimpse into his life. I am a young half African-American woman with a low-income family, pursuing higher education and I definitely could relate to what the main character was saying. He mentions that he is the only colored person in his class and that can be uncomfortable in itself when no one looks like you. My skin is not very dark, but I have still felt like I did not belong or that I was the only half black and white person in the room. Since I am able to put myself in the character’s shoes, I understand what it feels like to be out of place in a sense. It made me sad that this character has to experience such a culture shock and a sense of being alone. Hughes writes heavily about race and how it is difficult that the instructor is white and the student is black; I primarily have only had white instructors so I could not empathize as much, but it still must be difficult.

I also felt a sense of anger towards the society that we live as I was reading. Our society can be so individualistic sometimes and we forget that despite what race you are, we are all American. Being an American unifies us all together and we are all a part of each other. It is so easy to classify ourselves by our differences and not by the things we have in common, and by doing so we separate ourselves even more. Hughes mentions in the poem that sometimes we do not want to be a part of each other and that is true, which is disheartening to hear. Obviously we do not live in a perfect world and there is conflict present, but I wish we were more accepting of things that are different. I was just angered by the fact that it is societal norm to reject things that are unfamiliar or different than what we are used to; it is not blatantly stated because it would be construed as racism, but it is still present.

Lastly from reading this poem I felt a sense of happiness. Within the poem I could see the main character was content and was going to continue living his life despite the obstacle he faces. While explaining what to write for his English class, the character lists things he likes to do which has nothing to do with race, but it is probably things that we as humans enjoy doing like sleep. Race is mentioned frequently, but for almost a whole stanza only common tasks are focused on. The character also explains the idea that just because he is another race does not mean that he does not enjoy the same things as other races, and the emphasis of this point leads me to believe that there is a sense of equality. From reading that specific stanza, it gave me a positive feeling and a sense that the character was going to be ok in the situation.

The emotions that I felt from this poem are contradictory in a way, but there were various factors influencing those emotions. Whether empathy, sadness, anger or happiness, these emotions are true. I did not think that I could feel so many different ways about one poem, but I guess that is better than not feeling anything at all towards it. Langston Hughes is a wonderful poet and I applaud him for evoking so many different responses for me.

The Beauty of Being Human

            Within Langston Hughes’ poem “Theme for English B” it depicts a young college student struggling with being a minority surrounded by the majority. Hughes places a heavy emphasis on culture and makes the connection that we are united under the category of being American. The color of our skin does not define the type of person we will become which gives prejudice no ground to stand. Prejudices occur because of the society we live in and people wanting to be seen as more important than someone else. “Theme for English B” shows what commonality is shared between people of different races and that it is possible to learn from each other. Despite someone’s ethnicity and differences, we all share the beautiful common bond of being human.

            In the second stanza of “Theme for English B”, the main character mentions that he is colored and this leads to the assumption that the speaker is African-American. The reader also learns that the speaker is “the only colored student in [his] class” which makes him the minority, and it is inferred that the rest of the students are Caucasian. Later in the poem the speaker says that his teacher is white, which is where the inference about the students comes from. Race is an important element within this poem and it signifies a separation of people as if one race is better than the other. Because of the speaker’s ethnicity he is seen as less than the rest of his classmates because he is different. The little information that we are given about the speaker leads to a few conclusions. First the reader can infer that the speaker is from a lower socioeconomic status due to the fact that he lives at the YMCA which provides housing to people with low income. The speaker also moved schools many times which could be because he could not afford it. These two conclusions do not have anything to do with race, but it seems like the people he is surrounded by want to attribute the fact that he is black to a lack of money. This aspect separates the speaker further from his peers that are white.

            Throughout the whole poem there is tension and a sense of separation between the speaker and his entire English class. The tension is purely from a racial standpoint and no other basis. Within the poem, the English class is instructed to write a page about themselves and for the speaker this is a difficult task. He begins to brainstorm what has made him the person he has become, and he comes to the conclusion that he is what he feels, sees and hears (stanza 3). The speaker starts to list things that he enjoys doing such as: eat, sleep, drink, be in love, work, read, learn, as well as understand life to help spark an idea to write about. He further brainstorms about the type of music he likes to listen to and speaks of what he would like to receive as a Christmas present. All of the things that the speaker mentions are common to humans in general; we all need to sleep and eat in order stay alive, and people of all ethnicity can enjoy doing the same activities. The beauty of being human is that we all have so many things in common, but we choose not focus on our similarities most of the time; instead we dwell on our differences.

            Hughes wrote this poem to help shed light on the idea of racism and he basically says that racism should not exist because regardless of race we are all human. Towards the end of the poem, the speaker says, “You are white- yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That’s American.” In America our unifying bond is that we are all classified as Americans despite our cultural background or race. Sometimes we do not want to be a part of each other, but that is what happens when you live in a world with such diversity. We all learn from each other whether we like it or not, but that is part of the beauty of being human.

Works Cited

A Historical Guide to Langston Hughes Edited by Steven C. Tracy, Oxford University Press: New York, 2004

“African-American Writer, Poet, Kansan | February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967.” Langston Hughes Biography. Kansas Heritage Group, n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2011. http://www.kansasheritage.org/crossingboundaries/page6e1.html.

Emanuel, James A. Langston Hughes. Twayne Publishers: Boston, 1967. Print.

Langston Hughes. The Academy of American Poets, 2011. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83

Meltzer, Milton. Langston Hughes A Biograpghy. Thomas Y. Crowell Company: New York, 1968. Print.

Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes, Edited by David Roessel & Arnold Rampersad, Sterling Publishing Co.: New York, 2006

Rampersad, Arnold. The Life of Langston Hughes. Oxford University Press: New York, 1986. Print.