Langston Hughes Case
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Langston Hughes was one of the most influential individuals during the Harlem renaissance, a time of revival of African American art in the 1920s. Hughes was a very well-known poet during a time of segregation, and he is credited for his ability to take real life and turn it into art. The weary blues is a poem that takes place on Lenox Avenue in 1923. It describes an evening of listening to a blues musician in Harlem. However, the poem has a deeper meaning relating to the position of African Americans during this time period.
The Roaring Twenties was a time of great wealth for the United States. It is characterized by mass production of consumer goods, mass consumption of goods, and a time of great parties lingered with underground illicit activity, such as the sale of illegal alcohol. It was also a time of a booming economy. The Stock market had hit record high numbers. Women, better known as “Flappers” during this time period, had gain political rights and managed to change how society viewed the role of women up to now.
However, the Roaring Twenties was limited to being “Roaring” as long as one was white. During this time period the Harlem Renaissance was also taking place in African American culture. This was also a time of great segregation, and a time where it was tough if you were anything but white. The Weary Blues manages to capture this idea in the underlying story it portrays.
Just by reading the title of the poem, one can depict Hughes point on the topic of African Americans during this time. He uses the word “weary”, defined as tiredness, fatigue, jaded. This symbolizes how weary one became because of all the injustice against African Americans, such as having to cope with the KKK.
“I got the Weary Blues And I cant be satisfied. Got the Weary Blues And cant be satisfied– I aint happy no mo And I wish that I had died.” This particular line of the poem really “hits one hard.” One does not know anything of the man playing the piano except that he is unhappy and wishes to die. However one can infer that he is tired from the mistreatment and injustice all around the nation towards African Americans. Personally, this particular line reminds me of Chief Josephs I Will Not Fight No More Forever, in the sense that chief Joseph was unhappy and tired and fatigued, and that his options to counteract the oppression was limited, because of superiority by whites.
Lastly, Hughes also includes references to the historical context within the time the poem was written. The piano player is called a “Negro.” During this time, the word Negro meant of servitude and submission. This alone portrays the musicians status in society. Also symbolic is the hands of the piano player on the piano keys. At a time when blacks and whites were segregated, Hughes allows these two to come together. “His ebony hands on each