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Sophia Van Allsburg SWC 100 Best of Simple Essay: Draft 2 Monday, August 9, 2009 The Influence of Jazz Music in Langston Hughes' The Best of Simple
Sophia Van Allsburg SWC 100 Best of Simple Essay: Draft 2 Monday, August 9, 2009 The Influence of Jazz Music in Langston Hughes' The Best of Simple
SWC 100
Best of Simple Essay: Draft 2
Monday, August 9, 2009
The Influence of Jazz Music in Langston Hughes’ The Best of Simple
In 1926, Langston Hughes, known as one of the most adaptable writers of the Harlem
Renaissance stated, "we younger Negro artists now intend to express our individual dark skinned
selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased, we are glad. If they aren't, it doesn't
matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too. If colored people are pleased, we are glad. If
they are not, their displeasure doesn't matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow... (“The
Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”)." Having been an influential member of this artistic
movement, Hughes composed his expressions in the form of poetry, to address the racial
injustices that existed within the society of Harlem at the time. He felt obligated to share with his
reader the most accurate interpretation of a Negro’s life in Harlem; one that is defined by
oppressive laws, racial segregation, and cruel injustices. Defined by more than just his poetry,
Hughes was one of the first writers to explore the arising art form known as “jazz poetry.” He
once said that he “…tried to write poems like the songs they sang on Seventh Street... (these
songs) had the pulse beat of the people who keep on going (americanpoems.com)." This was the
goal of his art: To create something that had the power to convey internal emotional pain and
provide a perspective on reality. By incorporating stylistic elements of jazz, Hughes’ poetry took
on the form of musical lyric. Furthermore, the meanings behind his words, of racial segregation
and discrimination, consisted of a more universal language, because jazz music served as a
common ground between African Americans and Whites. In accompaniment with his many
poems, Hughes wrote a collection of stories based on the character of Jessie B. Simple. As
weekly contributions to the newspaper The Chicago Defender, Hughes’ accounts of Simple were
a reflection of his opinion and insights on Black suffrage and inequalities. Years later a collection
of stories chosen by Hughes from previous volumes, entitled The Best of Simple was published.
As Hughes said, "...these tales are about a great many peoplealthough they are stories about no
specific persons as such. But it is impossible to live in Harlem and not know at least a hundred
Simples, fifty Joyces, twentyfive Zaritas, and several Cousin Minniesor reasonable facsimiles
thereof." What is distinctive about the stories that comprise The Best of Simple is that the
collection incorporates the qualities of music and jazz found in his poetry; and through the
implementation of this equal ground Hughes stories prove that despite all the differences that
exist between Negros and Whites equality is attainable.
In the story entitled “Bop,” Hughes exposes the cultural difference that is exists by having
Simple define “his” type of music. In the 1950s the predominantly white group that made up the
Beat generation, began to incorporate characteristics of African American culture into their work.
The elements of jazz poetry moved away from expressing racial pride and instead started to
convey the idea of freedom. Because freedom became the main theme within both jazz poetry
and jazz music, both were seen as forms that revolted against the norm. Within this short story
Hughes demonstrates that there is a dynamic tension between blacks and whites that exists over
the topic of music. Music, and more specifically BeBop, is a large aspect of both black and
white lives, and therefore should create a certain level of mutual understanding, but Hughes
shows that even then it is hard for the two groups to see themselves as equals.
What is different about the story “Bop,” compared to others, is that Hughes makes
Simple, the socalled uneducated colored man, the dominate character, more dominant than the
narrator, who is white, better educated, and more experienced. Simple, being “the man of the
streets,” teaches the narrator the difference between ReBop and BeBop. To the narrator the two
styles are the same, but Simple explains that they are distinctly different, “ReBop was an
imitation like most of the white boys play. BeBop is the real thing like the colored boys play”
(Hughes 117). Simple explains, after the narrator says, “you bring race into everything…even
music,” that “it is in everything” (Hughes 117). Here, the connection between Simple’s kind of
people and people like the narrator is that blacks, like Simple, see ReBop as the white mans
version of BeBop, which was first created by the black man.
A question raised within this story is, who is the truly dominant character, Simple or the
narrator? One might argue that Simple, regardless of his racial status, obtains more power in this
particular story because he is the “teacher,” and that it is from his music, BeBop, that ReBop
was created. Alternatively, some might interpret the narrator as the more dominate character
because of Simple’s racial status, and that ReBop music at this time is now more popular than
BeBop. The multidynamics that build the dimensions of this story ultimately show that the
reason why ReBop evolved was because, in the words of Simple, “bop comes out of them dark
days… folks who ain’t suffered much cannot play Bop, neither appreciate it” (Hughes 118). Be
Bop was the music of the “colored folks’,” its melodies, riffs, and lyrics were representational
and expressed the pain and emotions of the blacks suppressed under the Jim Crow laws. It’s
development is the result of whites being influenced by it’s cultural impact, but not being able to
directly connect with its meaning because they lack the pain and suffering Negros have
experienced. This example shows that though music may seem like a universal language and way
of communication that could create a level of understanding between racially segregated or
different groups, it in fact may not have that desirable power and ability.
The theme of jazz runs through many of the stories in Hughes selected collection. Its
critical importance lies in Hughes ability to allow it to have an affect in a multitude of different
ways. Depending on the placement of the story, Hughes allows for this interconnecting theme to
take on several meanings and provide new and deeper insights. In comparison to the musical
reference that filled and gave meaning to “Bop,” the last story in Hughes’ collection, “Jazz, Jive,
and Jam,” incorporates the jazz music theme, but the use it is put to in this story is different from
others. Unlike in “Bop” where the musical reference created a cultural separation between the
blacks and whites, Hughes chose in this story to use jazz music as a form in which integration
could be undertaken.
Hughes makes Simple address the reality that integration has not yet happened despite
the efforts of many. Simple’s wife Joyce believes that lectures by Negro historians will create
understanding among all and will ultimately lead to integration. After attending one of Joyce’s
lectures, Simple says that for him the lecture meant nothing, and that to be able to “improve race
relations…jazz, jive, and jam would be better for race relations then all this highflown gab, gaff,
and gas the orators put out” (Hughes 242243). He feels that “’with a jazz band, they could work
out integration in ten minutes. Everybody would have been dancing together…colored and
white…and we would have been integrated’” (Hughes 242).
The use of the jazz music theme in this story is completely different then in “Bop.” Here,
it acts as a power that can achieve integration; the result music can have on individuals. What this
story expresses is that some people, like Simple, believed integration could easily be achieved.
However, the reality is that much more is needed then just being physically mixed together and
snapping fingers to the same beat. Knowledge, understanding, and acceptance are common
qualities that both groups must share and respect.
It is not only within Hughes’ collection The Best of Simple that his adaptation of the
musical genre of jazz is apparent. His goal was to create a style and incorporate themes that
blacks could distinguish as purely their own while among a world that was dominated by white
writers. Readers of Hughes’ poetry or any of his other written work can see the jazz and musical
influences that live within the words he composes. Hughes made it his never ending goal to use
the beauty of language to create a world where blacks felt they were understood and empowered,
when in reality they were greatly oppressed.
Works Cited
Hughes, Langston. “Bop.” The Best of Simple. 1961. New York: Hill and Wang, 1992. 117119.
. “Jazz, Jive, and Jam.” The Best of Simple. 1961. New York: Hill and Wang, 1992. 239245.
Jackson, Andrew P.. " Langston Hughes Poems and Biography by AmericanPoems.com ."
American Poems YOUR Poetry Site . 24 July 2009
<http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/LangstonHughes>.
""The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" (1926)." Welcome to English « Department of
English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. 23 July 2009
<http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/hughes/mountain.htm>.