Langstone Hughes Flashcards
The weary blues
There are many reasons for the weariness of musician, celebration of the blues, music as metaphor for life of black man
- switches stories, in bar, in home, sleep
- personification of piano
- sky as symbol for music
Trumpet player
No matter how hard times are you can find something comforting, turn pain into art, overcoming sadness thru trumpet, solace in music
- trumpet as metaphor
- similes
- personification
The Negro Mother
Mother telling kids AA history, what they went thru to get to today, remember heritage as motivation to fight. A
- call to action
- imagery of what she had to face
- trust in future, perseverance
Mother to Son
Must persevere, life experiences, life isn’t easy but you have to keep going, son will face many adversities but must overcome them
- staircase as metaphor for life
- staircase contrasts experience of speaker
- connotations
- movement/ascent
- repetition
Theme for English b
Black speaker reflects on presence in all white English class, what it means to be an American, self reflection
- racism
- youth
- doubts instructor’s advice
I, too
I am American too, my ethnicity doesn’t take away my patriotism, Black is beautiful
- threatening to assert themselves
- freedom is goal
- white household w slaves
- no apologies
- repetition to enforce idea
Dream Variations
Blacks have barriers from enjoying days like the whites, wants relaxing days like those
- repetition= routine
- progression day to night
- connotations
- night as metaphor for ethnicity
Aunt Sue’s Stories
Child listening to aunts stories about being a slave, shows how slavery stories affect next generation, LH’s love for tradition
- no rhymes, take poem srsly
- repetition
- contrast between day and night
As I Grow Older
Blissful ignorance during childhood, race is preventing him from achieving dream
- wall as metaphor for racism
- shadows metaphor for barriers
- wall as symbol
Let America Be America Again
Call to action to redefine American equality, calling US out for wrongs
- repetition
- contrasts false claims w reality
Ballad of the man who’s gone
Poverty
Democracy
Democracy isn’t keeping promises, he deserves freedom like anyone else, call to action, change won’t happen by itself, empty promises
- title connotated w freedom
- rhyme
- seed as symbol for start of freedom
Interne at provident
Importance of hospital to patients and doctors, win for black community, celebration of doctors of color
- CH training school established in response to discrimination in medical community
- progression from school to graduation
- similes
- repetition
Bio
Born in MO, parents divorced when he was young, dad went to Cuba and later Mexico, mom had to travel to look for work, raised by grandmother, gma passed away, began to live w mother again, always advocate for civil rights, in classroom, went to College, published poetry, key figure of Harlem Renaissance
