6/6/2019 Hughes’ Poetry Essay (Unit 1) - Google Docs

Derek Brown

English 10 Pd. 2

Mr. Kocur

23 March 2018

Hughes’ Poetry and Society

The plight of African-Americans has been defined by discrimination along with

intolerance, injustice, and inequality. From the birth of slavery in the 1600s to the post-Civil

War South and the Reconstruction period to the Civil Rights Movement beginning in the

1950s culminating in the March on Washington, African Americans have been the brunt of

discrimination. Just as Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut wrote novels and short stories that

reflected and highlighted the issues in society, African-American authors and poets wrote

pieces of writing that emulated the positives and negatives of the black experience. Renowned

poet Langston Hughes dedicated his poems to the struggles, dreams, and racial injustices of

the African American people. His poems “Harlem”, “Mother to Son”, and “The Negro

Speaks of Rivers” not only portray the hope and pride that African-Americans were leaning

on, but they also accentuate the frustrations that African Americans had about their current

situation. Hughes’ poems discuss the challenges faced by those who suffered from

discrimination, while portraying the reality of discrimination during Hughes’ life and also

making the reader reflect upon its impact in the modern world.

In “Mother to Son” and “Harlem”, Hughes portrays the challenges faced by victims

of discrimination, as well as their perseverance. Through the use of simple language and

literary devices, these poems convey deep meanings that highlight the social struggles in the

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time when it was written and also in today’s society. The poem “Mother to Son” is indicative

of the effects of racism and oppression on the lives and experiences of the black Americans.

The image the mother portrays of the broken down and dilapidated staircase gives readers the

impression of poverty and financial hardship, a situation that was all too common among

black Americans in the time that this poem was written. This mother certainly is not poor

because she is lazy, considering that the readers can easily see her determination to work

diligently and succeed in almost every aspect of life. Hughes is alluding to the fact that for a

woman of such determination to be kept this poor indicates that hardship is not an ethical

issue, but is related to an external cause, such as the limits that are put on people because of

their race. The speaker associates the history of African-Americans with an endless flight of

broken-down stairs, yet she says, "I'se been a-climbin' on” no matter how frustrating the

climb. The future of blacks in America depends on this willingness to keep climbing, to not

turn back, and to not "set down on the steps / 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard." The mother

rising above her experiences and continuing to the climb the staircase is symbolic of the

hopefulness that Hughes and other African-Americans had for equality and progress and their

perseverance as a community. However, Hughes starts to sing a different tune in his later

poem titled “Harlem.” He voices the frustrations of black people at the time and addresses

one of his most common themes: the limitation of the American Dream for African

Americans. In this poem, the consequences of a "dream deferred" paints a clear picture of the

disappointment that blacks faced in America. The “dream” that Hughes is referencing is the

dream of freedom, equality and dignity, and of a better life that many Southern blacks carried

with them to the North. Although America at the time was known as the land of opportunity,

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where dreams came true, the speaker describes this American dream in an extremely negative

tone, which highlights the absence of that dream for African Americans. Hughes’ writing

reflects the challenges that African Americans faced, along with their perseverance.

Discrimination existed in the United States, both during Hughes’ life and in the

society in which he lived. Hughes was intimately aware of the challenges he faced as a black

man in America, and his works reflects these difficulties. The 1920s, although considered a

golden age for African Americans due to the explosion of black art and culture, was still a

period of racial intolerance and injustice. African Americans often found themselves excluded

from jobs because of their race, and the broken down staircase at the center of “Mother to

Son” reflects the cramped and crumbling tenements and row houses in which many poor

blacks found themselves forced to live in the ghetto neighborhoods of the northern cities. The

Supreme Court in 1917 passed a law declaring racially based house ordinances

unconstitutional; however during the 1920s, covenants were passed requiring white owners to

not sell to African Americans, thus undoing these improvements. Although the 1920s during

the Harlem Renaissance seemed to be a period of growth and rebirth, as exhibited in “The

Negro Speaks of Rivers” and the second portion of “Mother to Son”, there were underlying

issues. In the early 1950s, America was still racially segregated. Change was coming,

however. Hughes wrote "Harlem" only three years before the Supreme Court decision in the

1954 case Brown vs. Board of Education that declared state laws establishing separate public

schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The social climate gives the

frustrated tone present in “Harlem” more meaning, as African Americans were growing tired

of the unfulfilled dream. Only in 1964 with the Civil Rights Act did the last remnants of the

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“Jim Crow Laws” and the separate but equal policies that had prevailed cease to exist. This

impacted the black community and eventually lead to violence, which is what Hughes alludes

to in the last line of the poem “Harlem.” Many riots and protests ensued. Fighting for equality

and change, black Americans would ultimately risk their life in order to change the system.

Discrimination was present during Hughes’ life and it impacted the individuals and the

society.

Discrimination has had a profound impact on the modern world. Going from a society

where African Americans were saddled with the legacy of slavery, which essentially rendered

them second-class citizens in the eyes of the law, to modern society where an African

American man has been able to hold office as president of the United States shows that

noteworthy progress has been made since Hughes’ time. Laws have been implemented that

have made discrimination in housing, schools, and the workplace illegal. However, because

the government cannot legislate the hearts and minds of the people, discrimination prevails.

The fact that Hughes’ poems continue to the reflect the current time period shows that certain

aspects of African American life have stagnated since the time that they were written. People

of color are disproportionately killed and imprisoned by the very forces that are designed to

protect them under the law. Just like the mother in “Mother to Son” who works diligently and

shows extreme determination and perseverance but still remains poor (most likely due to the

limits placed on people because of their race), many African Americans continue to struggle

with financial hardship and live in concentrated areas similar to the ghettos in 1920s Harlem

and other northern cities. Comparable to the violence that ensued in the 1950s, the violence

that Hughes implicates in “Harlem”, many black Americans, women, and other minorities

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today are protesting for change and equality in a similar manner and for similar reasons, such

as police brutality and institutionalized racism and discrimination. This shows that there are

some things that have not changed since Hughes’ time. Discrimination continues to impact

individuals and society.

Langston Hughes’ poems document the hardships and difficulties faced by victims of

discrimination, while reflecting discrimination during the time period that Hughes lived in,

and allowing the reader to analyze similarities and differences between Hughes’ time and the

modern world. “Mother To Son”, “Harlem”, and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” highlight the

social issues of the time period and heighten the difficulties that African Americans faced, as

well as the determination they exhibited. Discrimination existed in the United States and it

impacted the individuals that were afflicted by it. Lastly, discrimination continues to have a

profound influence on our modern world, and although considerable progress has been made,

some things have not changed at all. Hughes’ poems have remained relevant throughout

several decades. Even when the times change, his poems continue to hold some truth in one

way or another. This fact ensures the timeless relevance of his poems, and the significant

impact he had on the black community.

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