Three Poems by Langston Hughes - Essay Example

Themes: This is an analysis of three poems by Langston Hughes to establish similarities and differences in themes and subject matter. The first poem is The Negro Mother the second one is Let America Be America Again, and the third poem is Dark Youth of the U.S.A. Perseverance is prominent subject matter in the three poems. For the poem The Negro mother, the character describes her days in the “night”. These days are full of suffering, strife to stay alive, and the strife to preserve the coming generation even as it was subject to discrimination. In these tribulations, the author maintains hope of the race (Rampersad 222) in a dream that no amount of suffering can smother. Hope and perseverance are also prominent in the second poem. The author refers to hope as dreams that the American people had since the discovery of America and her civilization thereafter. These hopes, shattered by the powerful, as in the slave masters in the first poem, live on and motivate people. However, in the third poem, Dark Youth of the U.S.A., the author focuses on righting the wrongs of the past. He gives this past hopes a name, education, which he believes, are an instrument in correcting the mistakes of the past. Discrimination is a similar theme in the three, poems though, the forms of discrimination differ. In the first poem, discrimination takes the form of racism dating back three hundred years ago. The dark child oppressed by the slave masters and the white man (as in present day) because of their skin color. The second poem is on discrimination of the weak by the powerful in society. He emphasizes this by saying that the poor white man, the Negro, the red man and the immigrant follow a stupid plan in which the mighty crush the weak. As in the first poem, this discrimination is something that has roots in the past. He states that power and greed exist in an ancient endless chain society. The third poem describes discrimination by discussing the position of the young black youth in society. It is apparent that the authors views this position as lower because he asserts that the mission of attaining education is to elevate this position and defy oppressors. Identity is the driving force in the laments and actions of the narrators of the poems. Rampersad (222) is of the view that the same applies for the author Langston Hughes whose experiences of racism in the 1920’s inspire his works. The first poem still refers to future generations of free blacks as dark children. This is a way of showing that the identity and roots of a generation are indispensable. Ergo, there is a need to remember the history of a people as it is the true illumination of things past and things to come. Identity goes beyond skin color as seen in the second poem; the author describes identity as a need to belong. Belonging arises from contributions of an individual to build a niche. Identity in these poems is also dependent on the title of reference for instance, America, a white brother and the red man. The author also refers to America as my land. The three poems also have a reference to the homeland and home and this refers to belonging somewhere hence identity. In the third poem for instance, the author states, “America am I…American youth…”. Katz in his book “Why freedom matters” indicates that freedom is worth the life of an individual. He makes reference to the poem (29) let America Be America Again to emphasis the need to fight for freedom. Fighting against oppressors is a characteristic subject of these three poems. In the poem, The Negro Mother, the narrator urges the dark children to match forward and break down bars. In the poem Let America Be America Again, the author states that people must redeem. Redeem in this context refers to fighting for all the hopes and believes they held for all those years, and that have not yet come true. In the poem Dark Youth of the U.S.A., Langston Hughes, states that in the event that someone oppresses, “I will defy”. The fight in this three poems aims at attaining freedom. These are freedoms of believes, identity and equality. The Negro Mother by Langston Hughes refers to freedom from slavery and racism. The author says that the black woman carries a seed of freedom in the form of an offspring. This can be a reference to the humanity within her that upon the lights illumination is the true color of all human beings and not the skin color. Let America Be America Again refers to freedom from oppressions from the rich and powerful. He refers to the powerful as conniving kings and tyrants who crush the underprivileged. Dark Youth of the U.S.A. refers to the right of education, utilizing opportunities and attaining rightful status in society. However, similar these poems are the main them and the intended message by the author differs in each of them. He has used different themes to pass across the main message of the poem to the reader. Symbolism is a prominent theme in the poem, The Negro Mother, which represents race and racial discrimination. The author uses the night and sun symbols to represent darkness and light. The darkness alludes to the life of the slaves, where they had no freedom while the light represents the changing situation of the slaves. The light is civilization that encompasses the freedom of slaves and their acquisition of commodities such as education. The night is also a representation of the skin color, that which in essence made black persons slaves. Hence the light shining on their faces is a way of indicating looking beyond the skin color and focusing and focusing on humanity. The seed also represents the future of the black woman and her generations as a free people. It is essential to acknowledge that this poem has a distinct narrator, a Negro mother. Miller (35) believes that this is the author way of evoking emotions such as pity, admiration and fear. He further asserts that these are the feelings due to the racism situation and the suffering of the African American. The main theme in the second poem is equality emphasized by the theme of lies and betrayal. This is equality to enjoy the fruits of the labor of the different people that make up America. The author points out that the reason why this equality is not possible is because of the theme of lies. Scott (101) reflects on the theme of deception derived from this poem. He argues that the working class has lost U.S under the pretext of unifying ideologies such as democracy. The aim of these lies is to keep people working, believing that they will get rewards for their toil, but in the real sense, they work in vain. Liberty, as the author states is defines false patriotic wreath, and opportunities are not real as the nation believes. McLaren (140) postulates that the aim of this poem is to not only shine light on the dire situation of the black youth but also on their empowerment. On the other hand, the prominent subject in the third poem is education. The Author postulates that education has the power. The synonyms that describe education in this poem all relate to power. He describes this power as the ability to right wrongs and staircase to a rightful status. Though, the first poem also states the strength education offers the dark child, this poem’s emphasis on education is concise. The author refers to books, studying and qualities associated with having an education such as wisdom and knowledge. Works Cited Katz, Daniel R. Why freedom matters. New York: Workman Pub, 2003. McLaren, Joseph. Langston Hughes, 1921-1943. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997. Miller, R. Baxter. The Art And Imagination of Langston Hughes. Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2006. Rampersad, A. The Life of J. M.Langston Hughes (revised). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Scott, Jonathan. Langston Hughes. Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2007. Read More