Langston Hughes Free Essays

He wrote poetry and short fiction for the Belfry Owl, the school’s literary gagging, and edited the school yearbook. It was the summer of 1919 when he visited his father in Mexico for the first time. That visit proved to almost be his moral demise b cause his father was materialistic and, ironically was prejudiced against blacks, Mexicans, and Indians. We will write a custom essay sample on Langston Hughes or any similar topic only for you Order Now He thought of them as lazy and ignorant. This changed Hughes perception of hi myself and other minorities. When Hughes graduated from high school in 1 920, he returned to Mexico, where he taught English for a year and wrote poems and literature pieces for publication in the Crisis, the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people In the early sass, Hughes worked as a dishwasher boy in Paris. One year late r, he enrolled at the Columbia University in New York. His freshman year, he droop deed out of college and worked a series of odd jobs to support his mother. In 1 923 Hughes Signs d on as a cabin boy on a merchant freighter en route to West Africa. In 1 925 he resettled with his mother and half brother in D. C. While continuing his writing and poetry. In 1 925 in May and Au just, Hughes verses garnered him literary prizes from both Opportunity magazine and the Crisis. Four months later, Hughes worked as a busboy at a Washington D. C. Hotel, and attracted t he attention of the poet, Vacate Lindsay, by placing three of his poems on his dinner table. Later on that evening, Lindsay read his poems to an audience and announced his discovery of a † En grog busboy poet†. Photographers and reports were eagerly wanting to meet him the next day. His friends, family, and other writers inspired Hughes to write. His style of Poe try, is free verse. One of my favorite poems by Hughes is called Dreams. Some other one s that he wrote that people best know him for are â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers†, and â€Å"l too Sing A America†. In 1930, Hughes got a Harmon Gold Medal for Literature. In 1948 he got Honorary Doc tort of Letters, Lincoln University, and also got his PHD. Longboats Hughes died on May 22, 1 967, in New York. He has inspired a great deal of us, including Alice Walker who wrote an illustrated book about him. How to cite Langston Hughes, Papers Langston Hughes Free Essays Langston Hughes’ two works are similar and different in certain ways. One similarity that stands out is that both writings had racial issues as its central theme. However, each work utilized a different manner by which to tackle the said subject matter. We will write a custom essay sample on Langston Hughes or any similar topic only for you Order Now Hughes’ poem, Theme for English B, seemingly uses the author’s own experience as the focal point upon which to discuss racial differences. In the poem, Hughes points out that race does not completely define the character of an individual. His writing exemplifies the fact that racial differences does not equate to a different likes and dislikes altogether. By saying, I guess being colored doesn`t make me not like The same things other folks like who are other races, The author shows that color does not completely divide society. Blacks and whites can share and appreciate the same things. They can read the same books, listen to the same music, and have the same hobbies. In his poem, Hughes personifies the American as either being black or white but have the same interests. Using the character of the instructor as his personification of the white people, the author is able to show that indeed blacks and whites share something in particular, they are both Americans. Ultimately, what Hughes points out is that people of different races can co-exist and can benefit from each other. The line, As I learn from you,  I guess you learn from me Is a clear depiction of Hughes belief that blacks and whites can live in the same society. In his short story, Who’s Passing for Who, Hughes uses another perspective to show the issue of race. The author’s attitude towards race in this work is far different from that which he showed in the poem. In the story, Hughes shows how blacks and whites are divided. He shows how each race sticks together and how a white man or a black man seemingly cares for only those of the same race as he. In the lines: â€Å"Well,† answered the red-haired Iowan, â€Å"I didn’t mean to be butting in of they were all the same race.† â€Å"Don’t you think a woman needs defending from a brute, no matter what race she may be?† asked the painter. â€Å"Yes, but I think it’s up to you to defend your own women.† Hughes clearly shows the principle that a people of the same race should only look after the concerns of their race. They should not get involved in the matters of different races. This is a clear sign of division between races. In other words, Hughes shows the idea that no unity can exist between blacks and whites and that they are confined by their race. Although such attitude seemingly changes in the latter part of the story, the fact that they had to pretend that they were black so that they could enjoy the company of the Black writers once again shows the distaste that each race has for the other. Personally, I like the attitude that Hughes shows in the poem. Although the story may depict the reality that existed at the height of racial tensions in the country, I appreciate the positive stand that the author took in his poem. Much has been written on how race has divided the American society. However, Hughes’ poem is one of the few works that I have read that has shed hope on the possibility of blacks and whites living and co-existing in society. Finally, I like the poem for it is able to show that race does not define th How to cite Langston Hughes, Essay examples