Great Gatsby, Passing, and Poems of Langston Hughes - Essay Example

The culture of the normal 'Certainly there is, for the American Negro artist who can escape the restrictions the more advanced among his own group would put upon him, a great field of unused material ready for his art. Without going outside his race, and even among the better classes with their "white" culture and conscious American manners, but still Negro enough to be different, there is sufficient material to furnish a black artist with a lifetime of creative work. And when he chooses to touch on the relations between Negroes and whites in this country with their innumerable overtones and undertones, surely, and especially for literature and the drama, there is an inexhaustible supply of themes at hand. To these the Negro artist can give his racial individuality, his heritage of rhythm and warmth, and his incongruous humor that so often, as in the Blues, becomes ironic laughter mixed with tears. But let us look again at the mountain.'(1) Plot overview of 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Passing': Larsen's second novel (The Passing) tells the story of two light skinned women: Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry. Clare Kendry is of mixed heritage, while Irene Redfield is fully African American but both are light enough to pass. Clare fully commits herself to passing and marries John Bellew, a white man who knows nothing of her heritage and affectionately and jokingly calls her "Nig" for her "tan" complexion. Irene lives in Harlem, commits herself to racial uplift, and marries a black doctor. The novel centers on the meeting of the two childhood friends later in life, and the unfolding of events as each woman is fascinated and seduced by the other's daring lifestyle. The novel traces a tragic path as Irene finds out about the affair between Clare and her husband and Clare's race is revealed to John Bellew. The novel ends with Clare's sudden death by "falling" out of a window. The end of the novel is famous for its ambiguity, which leaves open the possibility that Irene has pushed Clare out the window or the possibility that Clare has killed herself. As for the Great Gatsby,Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, moves to New York in the summer of 1922 to learn about the bond business. He rents a house in the West Egg district of Long Island, a wealthy but unfashionable area populated by the new rich, a group who have made their fortunes too recently to have established social connections and who are prone to garish displays of wealth. Nick's next-door neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby, who lives in a gigantic Gothic mansion and throws extravagant parties every Saturday night. Nick is unlike the other inhabitants of West Egg-he was educated at Yale and has social connections in East Egg, a fashionable area of Long Island home to the established upper class. Nick drives out to East Egg one evening for dinner with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom, an erstwhile classmate of Nick's at Yale. Daisy and Tom introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, a beautiful, cynical young woman with whom Nick begins a romantic relationship. Nick also learns a bit about Daisy and Tom's marriage: Jordan tells him that Tom has a lover, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with Tom and Myrtle. At a vulgar, gaudy party in the apartment that Tom keeps for the affair, Myrtle begins to taunt Tom about Daisy, and Tom responds by breaking her nose. As the summer progresses, Nick eventually garners an invitation to one of Gatsby's legendary parties. He encounters Jordan Baker at the party, and they meet Gatsby himself, a surprisingly young man who affects an English accent, has a remarkable smile, and calls everyone "old sport." Gatsby asks to speak to Jordan alone, and, through Jordan, Nick later learns more about his mysterious neighbor. Gatsby tells Jordan that he knew Daisy in Louisville in 1917 and is deeply in love with her. He spends many nights staring at the green light at the end of her dock, across the bay from his mansion. Gatsby's extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are simply an attempt to impress Daisy. Gatsby now wants Nick to arrange a reunion between himself and Daisy, but he is afraid that Daisy will refuse to see him if she knows that he still loves her. Nick invites Daisy to have tea at his house, without telling her that Gatsby will also be there. After an initially awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy reestablish their connection. Their love rekindled, they begin an affair. After a short time, Tom grows increasingly suspicious of his wife's relationship with Gatsby. At a luncheon at the Buchanans' house, Gatsby stares at Daisy with such undisguised passion that Tom realizes Gatsby is in love with her. Though Tom is himself involved in an extramarital affair, he is deeply outraged by the thought that his wife could be unfaithful to him. He forces the group to drive into New York City, where he confronts Gatsby in a suite at the Plaza Hotel. Tom asserts that he and Daisy have a history that Gatsby could never understand, and he announces to his wife that Gatsby is a criminal-his fortune comes from bootlegging alcohol and other illegal activities. Daisy realizes that her allegiance is to Tom, and Tom contemptuously sends her back to East Egg with Gatsby, attempting to prove that Gatsby cannot hurt him. When Nick, Jordan, and Tom drive through the valley of ashes, however, they discover that Gatsby's car has struck and killed Myrtle, Tom's lover. They rush back to Long Island, where Nick learns from Gatsby that Daisy was driving the car when it struck Myrtle, but that Gatsby intends to take the blame. The next day, Tom tells Myrtle's husband, George, that Gatsby was the driver of the car. George, who has leapt to the conclusion that the driver of the car that killed Myrtle must have been her lover, finds Gatsby in the pool at his mansion and shoots him dead. He then fatally shoots himself. Nick stages a small funeral for Gatsby, ends his relationship with Jordan, and moves back to the Midwest to escape the disgust he feels for the people surrounding Gatsby's life and for the emptiness and moral decay of life among the wealthy on the East Coast. Nick reflects that just as Gatsby's dream of Daisy was corrupted by money and dishonesty, the American dream of happiness and individualism has disintegrated into the mere pursuit of wealth. Though Gatsby's power to transform his dreams into reality is what makes him "great," Nick reflects that the era of dreaming-both Gatsby's dream and the American dream-is over. Art is a visual literature that enables one to be in connection for their own sake with their inner side. To be a reader means and inquires after the logistics and capacity of comprehension that one has to enable them to read sentences from life on the world beyond and on the life they live in. 'The Negro artist works against an undertow of sharp criticism and misunderstanding from his own group and unintentional bribes from the whites. "O, be respectable, write about nice people, show how good we are," say the Negroes. "Be stereotyped, don't go too far, don't shatter our illusions about you, don't amuse us too seriously. We will pay you," say the whites. Both would have told Jean Toomer not to write "Cane." The colored people did not praise it. The white people did not buy it. Most of the colored people who did read "Cane" hated it. They are afraid of it. Although the critics gave it good reviews the public remained indifferent. Yet (excepting the work of Du Bois) "Cane" contains the finest prose written by a Negro in America. And like the singing of Robeson, it is truly racial.'(2) What is life Ethics answer stating and saying that it is the longing for the perfectionist inside us to emerge to live among other perfectionists. So, is perfectionism a sickness, as many say that it is unattainable Reaching for a source of illumination requires one to define what illumination is, what reaching is, what are reaching's abilities (what does it require to reach) and why does a person decide to reach something. With a mood for every time there is a decision for each interval of time whether it is in a sad mood or in a happy mood that one wants to reach a goal that he sees as gold. The shortest way between two points is a straight line and the straight line has to be a parabula or an ascending figure in the graph chart which plots the mind's interal ability to solve problems andf state facts in an effective manner positively building the solution that does not require going in endless and needless circles in to reach. This is what ethics and fine smartness is about, which constitute the essence of literature and humanitarian issues. Both The Passing and The Great Gatsby show the disgust of unethical actions which contrast with the efficient way of the Hughes' poems on facing the african american legacy of values throughout the white history of America. While a man who comes from African American descensions is weak and unable to act for his own dignity he finds consolation in the words of his poems and in his singings and his being an icon through poetry and what is related to feelings.the white american finds more understanding through the money and power through the works of encouraging a better name in the business and the actions which are unethical in the form of love affairs and ability to pour lust into his life through what he sees from actions out of the small community of friends he is surrounded by. Gatsby accepts going into an affair while langston stands up for the fact that black americans could not accept the fact of being unaccepted in the society as blacks and wanting to be accepted as humans and not as a color,to be seen in their talented abilities to follow the facts of how to become well-known through their styles and abilities to express themselves and talk about what they know and have from ideas and be accredited for it by their own names and beings and not be robbed of it by being said to have no right to it because of their being non-white. Cross (3) My old man's a white old man And my old mother's black. If ever I cursed my white old man I take my curses back. If ever I cursed my black old mother And wished she were in hell, I'm sorry for that evil wish And now I wish her well My old man died in a fine big house. My ma died in a shack. I wonder were I'm going to die, Being neither white nor black The culture of the normal starts thus: a feeling in the heart that concentrates its powers to lead the mind into a crucial decision of taking in what the heart believes in;usually this is how it goes.culture is all that builds us up and relates us to the outisde of us, whether nation or family (both are two big families), and we as holders of our shares of ideas in the medium of our daily dealings helps us take what we say, even out of inexperience, seriously that it's difficult to take in any advices from any other person until the ax falls and chops something into halves.yet a lot speedily save themselves and couldn't remember how they did it or how it happened, vaguely, and they end up falling into the same pit everytime and await for the fate or destiny to bring them out of what they fell into. Normal is all we take for granted, either because it repeats a lot that it seems familiar and nothing could stop the thinker from taking a stand with themselves and make their heart aware of the disaster or disease that occurs in them that sometimes it is too late to fix what the axe fell on top of and turned to smitherenes. the culture of the normal is a song that repeats in our heads when least wanted and especially when one wants to take a step out of their cocoon and turn into a butterfly in winter(!) yet the warmth of what we familiarize ourselves with is what makes hibernation a cozy process that makes us fall backwards and lie down unwanting, not unable, to get up. The culture of the normal is the culture that is the simplest of answers that the person doesn't take time to form or weave, rather readily take the dress and dress into it rather than weave it.it is a culture of grey medium: grey,that is, because it is deluding the person and it drives them to sleep for hours,maybe years,before God interferes and wakes up the person's web of info-connections in their mind. But God interferes when the person takes a stand with themselves and wakes themselves up then God takes their hand and helps them wake up from their hibernation. Cultures seek perfection, and everybody is a walking legacy of experiences and informations(opinions) that they pride in because it's their identity. Since identities differ, could there be a culture that could connect people togethercutlures help keep the ethics of a group of people unified and tied together properly.the further they leave that culture the more dispersive it is and easier for the family to disperse and be divided and fall. A normal culture would harmonize the heart with the mind and would lead a clean-hearted mind and rationally-built heart and urge them to work side by side not against each other with dilluted imagination or fantasies that could kill the spirit of the harmony in the sinews and cords that connect them.a normal culture voices its sculptor of words and meanings that unify it.the culture of the normal nowadays is for the strong to show that they too could bang and clash heads with the strong and equate themselves with them,the more it brings stubbornness to hearts of oponents that could never be won as allies. Negro Speaks of Rivers (4) I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human rivers My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. The Weary Blues (5) Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, I heard a Negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other night By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light He did a lazy sway .... He did a lazy sway .... To the tune o' those Weary Blues. With his ebony hands on each ivory key He made that poor piano moan with melody. O Blues! Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool. Sweet Blues! Coming from a black man's soul. O Blues! In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan-- "Ain't got nobody in all this world, Ain't got nobody but ma self. I's gwine to quit ma frownin' And put ma troubles on the shelf." Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor. He played a few chords then he sang some more-- "I got the Weary Blues And I can't be satisfied. Got the Weary Blues And can't be satisfied-- I ain't happy no mo' And I wish that I had died." And far into the night he crooned that tune. The stars went out and so did the moon. The singer stopped playing and went to bed While the Weary Blues echoed through his head. He slept like a rock or a man that's dead. Defining identity comes in defining your powers: logical,physical and psychological. People are like milk, water or a strong alcoholic drink with themselves and each other either destroying themselves and others, clear to others and themselves,healing to themselves and others. What is life about Faith Fate What is absolute and what is relative Is there an absolute ideais there an absolute mind Will there be an absolution in life before one dies, or before life perishes from the bodies of the universe Do things accidentally occur or essentially occur for a reason or purpose Is it all fate that it occurs for,or because of Do we acquire our character or are we born or fated with it Is change accidental or intentional Does what it lead to is the product of what was meant to be Meaning : is -even our actions- everything destined Is everything attached to strings Are we sensible to ourselves and to others Do we make sense to ourselves or to those surrounding us except for ourselves Wouldn't it be dangerous to be clearly understood by someone whom you consider precious and count on for balance to find out that they're using your being as clear as clear water against you, deluding you that its for your own benefit Wouldn't it be worse if the person deluding you and using you against yourself who's determined to bring you down is youthis is true about the characters of the Gatsby controversial novel:that Gatsby dies a death which is befitting him because as he took the blame of the car accident which his lover did to her husband's lover,both couples lose their own lovers and lose their lives in return. The ending is poetic justice where both die (Tom and Gatsby) because one took the blame for a wrong thing and the other couldn't stand innocence in his lover gone by the treachery of his wife reflected in the fact that his wife is also treacherous as he is to her,although he started it(the treachery). Langston Hughes speaks of taking blames and understanding your own size when facing a problem and its consequences and what it is to truly feel able to overcome it with your own feebleness towards it,especially if helpless and unable to react or withstand the problem's strength and width. This is true in Langston Hughes' poems:The Negro Speaks of Rivers"(1921, 1926), "The Weary Blues" (1925, 1926), "Cross" (1925, 1926), "Bad Man" (1927).this reflects something important:that the actions of the blacks when compatred to the whites will be regarded by the blacks as the same that the poor whites would regard and see the community of the rich whites.the american dream's degradation in front of the fact of racism and inability to cope peacefully with different cultures and social standards and sociasl ranks in the society causes the people who still believe in the morals that should rule society to be the most important part which occurs in the values which one holds in his home and reflects on his friends and environment.gatsby was unable to find peace of mind in living a good life without corruption and langston hughes finds no understanding of what the black man should do if he ever intermingles with the white community,especially that at his time only the poor black and the poor white could marry one another without getting any interferences from the upper ranks o society being both 'negligible' in society and unable to face what the capitalism of the society enforces on their small crowded communities when they unite under one umbrella because they share the same ideas and thoughts of a certain strictly untouchable status in society called 'the rich whites'. When is your action out of passion good When is it bad Could you tell while you're acting Could you be just with yourself then When change occurs accidentally to someone would they change substantially or will be reformed totally Do you truly know what it takes to get through or out of a problem you are rooted in Do you flee or do you stay, stand up and fight back Will you be another Hamlet Is our adequate or inadequate knowledge of something due to fate or due to ideas which are incomplete or both What are we the product of What is your theory of yourself that you try to prove while you grow up and decide to personalize When you're a young man or woman, what has adolescence left you with what impression of yourself What impression did your adolescence and past years leave on you Is your mind a sponge,log or more sophisticated than that Do you know how to control your feelings and mind when the grounds are erupting volcanic lava underneath you When lava is erupting in your head and pouring into your heartwhen both one is not fully in heart belonging to her nation's agonies and passes over tyo the other side and the other is strictly punctuate about marrying into her race's good and bad and then each tries to find a daring ground as a challenge for their ideas which contrast to fit what they believe is true in a moment of weakness,both women have exemplified that they could not find peace and harmony in the grounds they live in. Race means something to the white doctor and the affection of marrying a black doctor means something more than important to the friend who is in love with the husband of her childhood's best friend. The passing signifies how such endings of Larsen's novel show the downfall of the Langston Hughes' poems about what is a black man supposed to do in a white society:also being faced with confrontational ideas among one another inside the society and how they are disunited to face the problem as half see it as alright to pass being 'light-skinned' and see it as a priviledge to be on the other's side,while the second half which is also light-skinned sees the other side as 'socially unacceptable but eager to learn more about.'the falling out of the window is the falling of the expectations of the future out of hope's window to crash on reality's ground when unable to float in air and face the problems which face them when stating the facts that face them everyday in the Harlem Renaissance when such issues rose and still do. The time moves on but the action is one:standing still,talking about the problem and no action is being taken properly to solve it except by winning rights to enter and be admitted as citizens of society by appreciating the literature written,even after decades from the time of its writing. There is nothing worse than fearing an unknown outside of you.When a fear gets over your mind your feelings fester in that direction which you fear and your mind is collapsing on a number of thoughts and building up another sum of thoughts that rotate in a cirlcie and race inside the skull at a high speed. Sometimes fear is the number of joints of several strings that -when found out and eradicated- end the fear totally.When at least one of those strings is still not removed it is continuously vibrating and is plucked by the subconscious and the fear is magnified and dumbing the conscious mind from thinking properly. Immersing oneself into repeated situations that relate to fear enhance thoughts of fearing everything that has a common factor feared by the person.Some people find it most difficult to cry when they fear which could result in repulsions to difficultly-believed beliefs.It also defines our characters,kindness limits,everything. Pride with fear don't necessarily collide.Imagination based on pride and ego that could die like a needle pricked a soap bubble allows ego to probe more and find grounds of bravery to face the fears that the fearing person is going through.The grounds are firmer the more the reaction of the person fought or feared assists the image of the reaction that is in the mind of the fearing. Inclination to fears enlarges the gap between self-reliance on building a safe and healthy character and balanced self-pride.How,what and why reactions go forth to ruin your life must be found out,try not to justify your fears so that you could be able to grow out of them.Fears that are minimized but not eradicated could pop up again and enlarge with the help of your fearing them and feeling your fearing them.Your reactions in your imagination get you on your nerves from the other feared and you become a reactor only with no ability to act on your own leaving your acting will to your imagination and stripping by your own free will your ability to act.Try not to make your actions reactions. Speaking is sculpting.Thinking is sculpting.Wording is sculpting.Each relies on the other. Much of our experiences come from our decisions that we take when we suffer or move from trauma to safety or trauma or from experience to experience.Lots of times decisions build upon each other with what they have from commonness inside them and a solution is usually what you find logical from all those experiences you've been through and what you got from data and database to confront and support yourself through such and such events. The novels are an ironical factual recovery of historical memory of relationships between white and black in sense of good and evil,thought and eelings,sense and sensibility,pride and prejudice and actions and reactions and the positive and negative sides of each and every action stated in the paragrapg.this shows how such works reflect an understanding of the problems since taking action and dealing with such things could only influence individuals and not nationwide coherence of thinking and realizing the same facts of the problem on all sides since the fact that such understandings are humane and concern humans which are portrayed according to how each writer sees the other sna differentiates their comprehension of meanings and words to what the others might use to make ends meet in understanding oneself's speech and another's.the poems were a chronicle of the times of the past which reflect the renaissance initiation in thought and that passed times never died and that every time has its agonies which are carried along into the future and fall as 'dark hopes from the window onto reality's floor' such as occurred in the ending of 'The Passing' in Larsen's novel and the degeneration of the american dream in 'The Great Gatsby'. BIBLIOGRAPHY: (1),(2) The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, Langston Hughes, June23 1926, The Nation. (3),(4),(5) Langston Hughes poems, www.PoemHunter.Com, 2004 Passing,N Larsen The Great Gatsby,Fitzgerald. Read More