Trials and Tribulations of James Mercer Langston Hughes

Paige Barringer

Mrs. Baker

Literature Analysis

13 February 2020

Paige Barringer
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Mrs. Baker

Literature Analysis

13 February 2020

Trials and Tribulations of James Mercer Langston Huges

The 1920s was a significant time in history for the United States. It was home to the first

era that got a nickname, “the roaring twenties” and made substantial progress in the area of

women's rights. Things such as flippers, bootleggers, and jazz bands were very popular in these

days. But besides the fun and entertainment- very important movements took place. Things such

as the Harlem Renaissance. Many people made an impact during the Renaissance, but one person

in particular was James Mercer Langston Huges. Throughout Huges lifetime he was the target of

racial discrimination, the author of dozens of poems, and eventually acheived the figurehead for

the Harlem Renaissance.

The year was 1902, James Mercer Langston Hughes was born into an African American

family in Joplin Missouri on February 1st. His mother Caroline Mercer was left alone to raise her

two sons when James was very young. It was mandatory that the family was to move into his

poverty stricken grandmother's house and as a result, the boys were forced to grow up very fast.

James and his brother often had to wear womens hand-me-down clothes since the lack of money

did not allow them to have nice things (Brinkman). The unfortunate upbringing made James and

his brother, John subject to bullying at school. The school day was the hardest time for Langston

because his teacher would make him sit separately from other students. One time his teacher

even said, “Eating black licorice will make you black like Langston, do you want to be black?

Do you?” (Anirudh). Because of the similarities in the two boys names, their grandmother started

to call James his middle name, Langston. As he grew older the name stuck and soon enough,
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everyone was calling him Langston Huges. Throughout his trials and tribulations of growing up,

Langston constantly had his head in a book and became very intelligent, which is what made him

such a pivotal character in the 1920s.

As Langston became a young man, he decided it was time to formally meet his father. He

packed his bags and moved out to Mexico. On his train ride down, he wrote the poem “The

Negro Speaks of Rivers” which was his first time writing an actual piece of literature. When he

arrived in Mexico he spoke briefly to his father about wanting to attend college. After beseeching

his father for his longing to go to college, his father finally agreed. Only under one condition,

that he studies engineering. Langston was not on board with the thought of engineering but he

figured even just attending college is a start. His father sent him to Columbia University where

Langston marketed his poem he had written until it was published in a NAACP journal called

“Crisis”. After a year enduring racial discrimination at Columbia, Langston decided it was time

to leave and do what was best for him, and that was to write poetry. He decided to move back

home with his mother who was now living in Washington D.C. He got a job at a small cafe in the

city and was trying to write as much as he possibly could. One day at work he decided that it was

time to take his writing even further. He saw a lady by the name of Vachel Lindsay dining in and

decided to set three of his poems in front of her as she was eating. Vachel enjoys his writing and

gets him in touch with an editor at a company called Knopf (“Langston”). From there Langston

was writing books, scripts for plays, and compilations. Langston Huges became a sought after

name in the city. After all of his award winning plays on broadway, he had finally made it big.

His poems were getting more recognition than ever before.

As he was getting deeper into the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance was becoming more

prevalent every day. Langstons writing was affecting African American people all over the
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country. His work was getting published in newspapers everywhere which made him a crucial

component to the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance, also known as “The Negro

Renaissance” or “The New Negro Movement” was a “literary movement centered in Harlem and

growing out of the black migration and the emergence of Harlem as the premier black metropolis

in the United States” (Wintz). Langston accompanied by a number of other African Americans

contributed to this movement. They all made works of art in order for people of color to get the

recognition they deserve. Some of his most famous writings of that time were, “Fire!!” and “The

Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”. His writings were a declaration of indepence, he wanted

his people to be liberated and have the freedom that they deserved. This time was filled with

jurassic bounds of achievements. This era ended with the stock market crash of 1929 and the

effects of the Great Depression set in (“Harlem”).

John Mercer Langston Hughes was part of a movement that created the pathway for all

African Americans today. His writing moved both people of color and people that are caucasian.

In the end, his perseverance as a child, the works of literature he created, and his impact on the

Harlem Renaissance, made him of utmost importance in the 1920s. The great Langston Hughes

once said, “In all my life, I have never been free. I have never been able to do anything with

freedom, except in the field of my writing” (Wood). Through the agony he underwent, he

achieved his freedom in this world both in his writing and in society.

Works Cited

Anirudh. “Langston Huges, 10 Facts on the African American Writer.” 11 May, 2016,

https://learnodo-newtonic.com/langston-hughes-facts

“Harlem Renaissance.” History.com, 29 Oct. 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-

twenties/harlem-renaissance
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“James Mercer Langston Hughes.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2 Jan. 2020,

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Langston-Hughes

"Langston Hughes Timeline of Important Dates." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov.

2008, https://www.shmoop.com/langston-hughes/timeline.html

Wintz, Carrie D. “The Harlem Renaissance.” Humanities Texas, Feb. 2015,

https://www.humanitiestexas.org/news/articles/harlem-renaissance-what-was-it-and-why-

does-it-matter

Wood, Jennifer M. “20 Inspiring Quotes from Langston Hughes.” Mental Floss, 31 Jan. 2019,

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/91742/20-inspiring-quotes-langston-hughes