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1Kirk WelshJuly 27, 2009SWC 100 Paper #2Hughes the Mad Man, Hughes the Shrewd ManLangston Hughes, the author and poet, seems to have two different personalities whenit comes to writing poems and
 
novels. It seems as if the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde hascome into effect. During the times in which Jim Crow Laws were in effect, these two sidesof Hughes seemed to
 
represent the two sides of the black community. Out of the two, o
ne of the 
sides was passive and accepted the situation for what it was; the other side proved to bean unnecessary one, as he was angry about the treatment of Blacks and hated Whites.Langston Hughes’ poems, such as “Railroad Avenue” or “Mother to Son,” represented thesubmissive side, and the novel
The Best of Simple
best represented angry blacks during thistime. The two forms of writing of Hughes relates to the teachings of Malcolm X and Dr.Martin Luther King, through their tone and attitude. His poem and short stories cater to twotypes of persons; the ones who like to get straight to the point (poems) and the ones who liketo prolong the main point building up to a climax (short stories).In a poem, the writer hops straight on the main point in a few lines. Poems are notlong, which forces the writer to throw all of their feelings out on the page from the very beginning. In Hughes’ poems, he is very emotional and shows his anger, sorrow or happinesswell. Usually within the title or the first few lines, Hughes’ mood is revealed. “Sometimesthere’s a wind in the Georgia dusk, That cries and cries and cries, Its lonely pity through theGeorgia dusk, Veiling what the darkness hides.” (Hughes, “Georgia Dusk”) In this poem, just from the first four lines it is evident that Hughes feels grief. The poem consists of twelvelines and does not prolong any important information from the beginning to the end. Another 
 
2 poem, “Mulatto,” displays the same example of jumping right on the main point. “I am your son, white man! Georgia dusk, and the turpentine woods. One of the pillars of the templefell. You are my son! Like hell!” (Hughes, “Mullato”). The first six lines show that thenarrator’s voice is angry. People that are more upfront would enjoy Hughes’ poems, butHughes’ short stories follow a completely different structure.A short story builds and builds information to an exciting pinnacle. In other words,the author gives bits and pieces of information up until a huge scene occur, which changesthe direction of the story. Thisis made possible because of the length of the material. InHughes’ novel
The Best Of Simple,
all of the main characters emotions and feelings arecaptured. They arecaptured easily because it is in more detail and prolonged to the point thatit is difficult to let the emotions go over the reader’s head. The points are detailed sat in frontof your face kind of like a remedial class. In the story, the main character Simple speaks inthe voice of a man of the streets, whom goes through a struggle every day. “Man,you don’tknow how I have suffered these last few weeks… Joyce’s birthday, the Urban League ball wehad to go to, income tax, hospital bill, and so forth.” (Hughes, “No Alternative” 70). Themain character talks in a more informal way and states the hard times.“Well, when Christ comes back this time, I hope He comes back mad his own self. Ihope He drives the Jim Crowers out of their high places, ever living last one of them fromWashington to Texas! I hope He smites white folks down!” (Hughes, “Simple Prays aPrayer” 10). This is one of the first chapters of the book, and it is already evident that themain character Simple feels much tension. He hates the whites and their Jim Crow Laws, andwishes that the Almighty Creator (God) will come down from Heaven and wrap all whites upin an angry wrath. This represents the side of Hughes and the blacks built up with hate andfury due to this mistreatment;similar to the teachings of Malcolm X. Malcolm X believed
 
3that in order for an African American to get their point across, aggression and havoc had to be present. Fighting these opposed individuals was the only answer to the problem,according to Malcolm X. Consequently, Hughes put all of these characteristics in Simple,the main character in the novel.The attitude built up inside of Simple caused him to drink a lot and have hostilitytowards women. There are many references, in the book, that shows Simple’s resentment.“It was only after Eve got hold of the apple that everything got wrong, huh? Snakes startedto bite, women to fight, men to paying, and Christians to praying… A woman can make afool out of a man” (Hughes, “Wooing the Muse” 32). Simple thought of women as the bottom of the earth, and blamed them for turning the world upside down.“Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair… But all the time I’se been climbin’ on… So boy don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps ‘Cause youfinds it’s kinder hard” (Hughes, “Mother to Son”). Langston Hughes’ submissive attitude isshown here in the poem “Mother to Son.” The narrator of the poem realizes that racism hascaused her life to be hard. In spite of the hardship, she encourages her son not to give up andkeep on moving. The narrator in
The Best of Simple
resembles the narrator in this poem. Thenarrator in the story is somewhat submissive to the fact that not all whites are harsh. Hesides with some of these whites. He has an educated background, and been around bothCaucasians and African Americans, so he understands both sides. This theory rather connects to the philosophies of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King encouraged blacks to fightagainst the Jim Crow Laws without violence and anger. Instead of physical violence, he[King] assembled boycotts and the famous “March on Washington” to speak out on the topic.. Through his writings, Hughes brought both types of people, the Malcolm X type and theDr. King type, together to bring about this change. Mutually, Malcolm and King helped
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