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14 October Poetry of Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was a poet who lived in the New York Borough of Harlem during Renaissance of Poets and Writers of the 1920s through the 1940s. His poetry is colorful and full of meaning. All of his poems contain some sort of social injustice message. I have chosen four of his poems to look at and analyze to see what the actual social injustices he is talking about are. The poems are “Dream Deferred”, Fire-Caught”, “Democracy”, and “Let America Be America Again.

” In each of the following sections of this paper we will look at each one individually.Dream Deferred Langston Hughes’ major concern in this poem is about people’s dreams and desires for a rich and fulfilled life being squashed before their eyes. He feels that people, in general, do not live up to their potential; but rather they allow their dreams and desires get squashed by others as they go about their daily lives trying to do the menial jobs which will put food on the plates of their family.

Fire-Caught “Fire-Caught” by Langston Hughes is a poem about a burning passion that is unrequited. This unrequited love eventually falls for the one she has previously spurned as the fire of the passion between the two begins to ignite. This shows us that through persistence and vigilance, we able to acquire those things which we seek. Also, through vigilance and persistence great things can happen.Democracy Hughes shows us in this poem that even though a person tries to stand upon their own two feet and tries to things their way they usually aren’t allowed.

Oppression is the subject of this poem. Oppression beats people down. Fear and compromise, with the help of oppression, can beat a person down. Thus, the major constant fear in today’s society, like in the time of Hughes was being poor and a derelict. Furthermore, oppression forces us to not take any risks to try and gain the freedom to control our own destinies where we just are working for someone else just to make ends meat.Let America Be America Again In “Let America Be America Again”, Hughes tries to show the injustices happening to the American people, regardless of their race or color that is created by the U.S. government.

The United States government has had a troubled past. Thus, the oppressed people of the United States who are working for those making the money are trying to right the ship in which everyone lives, which would allow all in our great Nation to be on equal footing.Conclusion In conclusion, Langston Hughes’ poetry showed us the major social; injustices of his day. Although some of those elements were particular to his time, some are still relevant to today as well. His descriptions are rather vivid and his words sharp.

But during the Harlem Renaissance, his poetry was powerful and strong bringing out a side of the Negro man which is vastly misunderstood.Works CitedHughes, Langston. "Democracy." Famous Poetas and Poems.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct 2011Hughes, Langston. "Dream Deferred." Famous Poetas and Poems.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct 2011Hughes, Langston. "Fire-Caught." Famous Poetas and Poems.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct 2011Hughes, Langston. "Let America Be America Again." Famous Poetas and Poems.com. N.p., n.d. Web.

14 Oct 2011