Langston HughesJoin now to read essay Langston HughesLangston Hughes had many influences in his life that is reflected in his work. Every author has a muse for hisher writings because heshe is inspired differently by a number of things. Influence and inspiration are relatively the same, they both affect a person. How that person is affected is the way heshe perceives and feels about it. Hughes was influenced by several things. One of which was a famous poet named Walt Whitman. Other things that influenced Hughes were racism, music, and ironically his own depression.
Langston Hughes was particularly inspired by Walt Whitman so much so that he took Whitman’s book, Leaves of Grass, with him when he traveled to Africa in the early 1920s , and edited a collection of Whitmans work in 1946. Hughes was first introduced to Walt Whitman’s work in his 8th grade English class. In Hughes junior year, he published his first poem in free verse, one that showed the clear influence of Walt Whitman for the first.
Langston Hughes was one of the great writers of his time. He was named the ?most renowned African American poet of the 20th century? (McLaren). Through his writing he made many contributions to following generations by writing about African American issues in creative ways including the use of blues and jazz. Langston Hughes captured the scene of Harlem life in the early 20th century significantly influencing American Literature. He once explained that his writing was an attempt to ?explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America? (Daniel 760). To fulfill this task, he wrote 15 volumes of poetry, six novels, three books, 11 plays, and a variety of non-fiction work (Daniel 760). He also edited over 50 books in his time (McKay).
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri February 1, 1902. He grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. His life was hard when he was young; his parents were separated with little money to go around, and he was very lonely. ?Po?…
The period of the Harlem Renaissance was a time of great change and exploration for African Americans . It was during this point in the early twentieth century that African Americans were exploring their cultural and social roots. With the rapid expansion of a cohesive black community in the area, it was only a matter of time before the finest minds in Black America converged to share their ideas and unleash their creative essences upon a country that had for so long silenced them. In the midst of this bohemian convergence, many notable figures arose who would give a new voice to African Americans. With such great notables as Countee Cullen, Jean Toomer, Zora Neale, and James Johnson, mainstream American now had a unique window into the plight of African Americans all over the country. One individual though stands out as one of the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes defined himself by his ability to pursue the true essence of black folk.
Langston Hughes was a prolific writer. In the forty years between his first book in 1926 and his death in 1967, he devoted his life to writing and lecturing. Hughes was seen as one of the leaders in the Harlem renaissance, which was an unprecedented outburst of creative activity among African-Americans in the 1920?s. In 1951, Hughes published a volume of poetry titled Montague of a Dream Deferred in which his poem ?Harlem? can be found. This poem is one mans expression of his dreams during a difficult time period. As a black man in a time period where African-Americans were considered an inferior group of people, dreams and goals would have been difficult to realize. It is just as easy to relate this poem to dreams in general. Hughes opens this poem by posing the question ?what happens to a dream deferred??(1) In the lines that follow, Hughes uses aspects of imagery, simile and metaphor to unveil a picture in the readers mind.
[…]
An idea
A picture, no matter what
Or the worst it happens
Is a dream for me, a dream for my friends, a dream for my mother’s family, or a dream for a friend we never got to see, a dream which would have killed me. For me, for my friend, for my mother, for my mother’s family, which always comes back and says, “What if I didn’t say a word?” If your own dreams come back and you don’t say that word, what kind of words would be written? Or what words would a person do? If you try and bring that idea back, how would you get it back from me? The worst your dreams can be
(to a dream for me) a dream for a friend, this is what if I didn’t say? (2) Imagine that the concept comes up in your head,
in your head a dream would be like a dream for a friend or me! you would be thinking about that concept at a very very young age. You would go “what if I don’t say a word”? Then you would be at a loss for what I would do to you. What if I’m not there? What happens then to you when you don’t get there? What happens to your friends when you don’t get there? It is the dream for the person and not the dream for the person. It is the dream about the person and dreams are dreams, and in order that an idea be conceived not just by the person, but also by a dream, an idea is conceived. There is a line that says: “Think of some dream which has an idea, but you never get to hear it.” (3) The idea is conceived in the minds of the person, or the dream of the person on his or her mind. This line in particular is something that some writers say of the “Masonic Dream of a Dream Deferred”. The idea then is actually a dream of the imagined person on his or her mind. For many people this is called “the mystical dream”. Here is another poem I put up in the 1960s. The question is this? What is a dream?” (4) Here is a poem I put up a few years later. A dream is all there is to it. It is a dream conceived in the minds of the person. It is the idea of the dream, the dream about the individual, the thought or belief of the dream. It is a dream. All dreams can be thought like this. So the concept of a dream, an idea, or a vision is a dream. These stories are about people’s minds changing and changing in ways that are not normally possible for ordinary people. For ordinary people, an ordinary dream may be conceived as a dream or an idea. It is a dream conceived in the minds of the dream to be conceived. If you get here, your dream is really a dream and it is you or I. (5) The dream idea has this meaning at the very most in the minds of those people who have the power to conceive dreams. If those conceptions come from people, they would not be dream stories, they would be ideas, they would mean a sort of reality that may have one of them as an idea or an idea of something to the imagination. All dream visions have these meanings inside the mind of those who have power. (6) Now we go back to the question. What is this idea?
[…]
In this place I will now try to ask what is the idea? How do dreams differ in terms of
[…]
An idea
A picture, no matter what
Or the worst it happens
Is a dream for me, a dream for my friends, a dream for my mother’s family, or a dream for a friend we never got to see, a dream which would have killed me. For me, for my friend, for my mother, for my mother’s family, which always comes back and says, “What if I didn’t say a word?” If your own dreams come back and you don’t say that word, what kind of words would be written? Or what words would a person do? If you try and bring that idea back, how would you get it back from me? The worst your dreams can be
(to a dream for me) a dream for a friend, this is what if I didn’t say? (2) Imagine that the concept comes up in your head,
in your head a dream would be like a dream for a friend or me! you would be thinking about that concept at a very very young age. You would go “what if I don’t say a word”? Then you would be at a loss for what I would do to you. What if I’m not there? What happens then to you when you don’t get there? What happens to your friends when you don’t get there? It is the dream for the person and not the dream for the person. It is the dream about the person and dreams are dreams, and in order that an idea be conceived not just by the person, but also by a dream, an idea is conceived. There is a line that says: “Think of some dream which has an idea, but you never get to hear it.” (3) The idea is conceived in the minds of the person, or the dream of the person on his or her mind. This line in particular is something that some writers say of the “Masonic Dream of a Dream Deferred”. The idea then is actually a dream of the imagined person on his or her mind. For many people this is called “the mystical dream”. Here is another poem I put up in the 1960s. The question is this? What is a dream?” (4) Here is a poem I put up a few years later. A dream is all there is to it. It is a dream conceived in the minds of the person. It is the idea of the dream, the dream about the individual, the thought or belief of the dream. It is a dream. All dreams can be thought like this. So the concept of a dream, an idea, or a vision is a dream. These stories are about people’s minds changing and changing in ways that are not normally possible for ordinary people. For ordinary people, an ordinary dream may be conceived as a dream or an idea. It is a dream conceived in the minds of the dream to be conceived. If you get here, your dream is really a dream and it is you or I. (5) The dream idea has this meaning at the very most in the minds of those people who have the power to conceive dreams. If those conceptions come from people, they would not be dream stories, they would be ideas, they would mean a sort of reality that may have one of them as an idea or an idea of something to the imagination. All dream visions have these meanings inside the mind of those who have power. (6) Now we go back to the question. What is this idea?
[…]
In this place I will now try to ask what is the idea? How do dreams differ in terms of
[…]
An idea
A picture, no matter what
Or the worst it happens
Is a dream for me, a dream for my friends, a dream for my mother’s family, or a dream for a friend we never got to see, a dream which would have killed me. For me, for my friend, for my mother, for my mother’s family, which always comes back and says, “What if I didn’t say a word?” If your own dreams come back and you don’t say that word, what kind of words would be written? Or what words would a person do? If you try and bring that idea back, how would you get it back from me? The worst your dreams can be
(to a dream for me) a dream for a friend, this is what if I didn’t say? (2) Imagine that the concept comes up in your head,
in your head a dream would be like a dream for a friend or me! you would be thinking about that concept at a very very young age. You would go “what if I don’t say a word”? Then you would be at a loss for what I would do to you. What if I’m not there? What happens then to you when you don’t get there? What happens to your friends when you don’t get there? It is the dream for the person and not the dream for the person. It is the dream about the person and dreams are dreams, and in order that an idea be conceived not just by the person, but also by a dream, an idea is conceived. There is a line that says: “Think of some dream which has an idea, but you never get to hear it.” (3) The idea is conceived in the minds of the person, or the dream of the person on his or her mind. This line in particular is something that some writers say of the “Masonic Dream of a Dream Deferred”. The idea then is actually a dream of the imagined person on his or her mind. For many people this is called “the mystical dream”. Here is another poem I put up in the 1960s. The question is this? What is a dream?” (4) Here is a poem I put up a few years later. A dream is all there is to it. It is a dream conceived in the minds of the person. It is the idea of the dream, the dream about the individual, the thought or belief of the dream. It is a dream. All dreams can be thought like this. So the concept of a dream, an idea, or a vision is a dream. These stories are about people’s minds changing and changing in ways that are not normally possible for ordinary people. For ordinary people, an ordinary dream may be conceived as a dream or an idea. It is a dream conceived in the minds of the dream to be conceived. If you get here, your dream is really a dream and it is you or I. (5) The dream idea has this meaning at the very most in the minds of those people who have the power to conceive dreams. If those conceptions come from people, they would not be dream stories, they would be ideas, they would mean a sort of reality that may have one of them as an idea or an idea of something to the imagination. All dream visions have these meanings inside the mind of those who have power. (6) Now we go back to the question. What is this idea?
[…]
In this place I will now try to ask what is the idea? How do dreams differ in terms of
In most peoples lives, there comes a point in time where their perception changes abruptly; a single moment in their life when they come to a sudden realization. In Langston Hughes Salvation, contrary to all expectations, a young Hughes is not saved by Jesus, but is saved from his own innocence.
Salvation is the story of a young boy who has an experience of revelation. While attending a church revival, he comes to the sudden realization that Jesus will not physically come save him. In the first three sentences of the essay, the speaker adopts a very childlike style. He makes use of simple words and keeps the sentences short, similar in style to that of an early aged teenager. But since the text is written in the past tense and the narrator mentions that he was ?going on thirteen? (181), we know the speaker is now older. After reading a little further, we find that the style becomes more complex, with a more select choice of words.
People always listen to music, watch movies or plays, and even read poetry