Chris Semansky's Critical Essay On Theme For English B

Langston Hughes and Yusef Komunyakaa, much like any two poets when compared, are very different. However, they composed two poems that are very similar. Langston Hughes’s poem, “Theme for English B”, and Yusef Komunyakaa’s, “Facing it”, can be compared in many different ways. The most outstanding similarity of the two poem’s, is the fact the speakers are outsiders and very much unlike everyone else in the poem because of their race. With the quotes “I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem” (Hughes 7), and “My black face fades” (Komunyakaa 1), It is very clear both writers want their audience to know early on in the poems that each are speaking from an African-American perspective. In the early to the middle of the 1900’s when the poems were written, things were different for a person from African-American decent, in Hughes case it was college and in Komunyakaa’s case it was the Vietnam war. Being of African-American decent is a minority that most people wouldn’t understand because of the history in their race. Both poets have endured experiences of oppression in the past that have effected their writing styles. Other similarities in the poems include the use of the same literary techniques such as narrative structure, symbols, metaphors, and tone to prove that the speakers are different and unlike the majority because of their past experiences in the past. Both poems use the speakers past to further capture their feelings and emotion towards each subject. Hughes and

Langston Hughes is one the most renowned and respected authors of twentieth century America not simply one of the most respected African-American authors, though he is certainly this as well, but one of the most respected authors of the period overall. A large part of the respect and admiration that the man and his work have garnered is due to the richness an complexity of Hughes' writing, both his poetry and his prose and even his non-fictions. In almost all of his texts, Hughes manages at once to develop and explore the many intricacies and interactions of the human condition and specifically of the experience growing up and living as a black individual in a white-dominated and explicitly anti-Black society while at the same time, while at the same time rendering his human characters and their emotions in a simple, straightforward, and immensely accessible fashion. Reading the complexity behind the surface simplicity of his works is at once enjoyable and edifying.

Throughout my life I have experienced many trials that are quite different to that of the narrator in “Theme for English B”; however, there are some similarities such as his life experiences, that can be compared to those of the narrator. In this poem Langston Hughes writes of a man who is given an assignment with very abstract and philosophical instructions for writing this paper. Accordingly, the narrator has some difficulties at first because he thinks of how different he and the professor is, saying “It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what I feel and see and hear” (16-18). Consequently, the narrator realizes the difference between his life in Harlem and the life of his white professor. This causes the narrator to be skeptical of how the professor may receive the narrators’ interpretation of the assignment. Though the narrator and I share similar characteristics and experiences it is the differences that make the most impact throughout this paper. Three major differences are his teacher’s assignment, the colleges view of him, and his life in general. While Hughes does provide much background information on the narrator’s past, he gives multiple examples of his life a student and as a citizen living at the YMCA in Harlem.

My response to Langston Hughes ' in Theme for English B is we have a variety of interests that are relatable to both of us. We encountered and conquered the greatest battles in our lives. We confronted segregation and rejection in view of the color of our skin and identity. After reading his poem, I was reminded of how I experienced discrimination and rejection throughout public school and I was labeled an outsider. I was discriminated and rejected not only just the color of my skin, it’s because of my disability. Langston Hughes’ Theme for English B made me feel the same way at public school. I wonder, precisely who am I? Where do I fit on this Earth? Indeed, these are a couple of questions that Hughes struggles with, aside from the world in which he was posing these questions. I was lost, but now I found my identity and build great character. My identity, which includes my race, disability, and my values are either accepted or not in this broken world. These three things affect how I read Langston Hughes’ poem because I was faced with deep ambivalence toward the prevailing society, but now I feel that I’m open and positive about society and my place in it.

Langston Hughes is famous for his many great poems and was a very talented man. He wrote a poem in college called “Theme for English B”. In Langston Hughes’s poem, he uses imagery of racial differences and a bold tone to undermine the teacher’s authority. He also to expresses the universal idea that intolerance often comes out of individual assumption. Langston’s confusion of the topic of the paper causes him to write the entire paper about the paper.

A difference in the two poets definitely comes into play when we look at of the speakers in these poems. Hughes’ persona is that of a black male looking back on how the black race was treated badly, but he is expressing the beauty in their struggle. Hughes talks about why black Americans should achieve their goals, “On the Cultural Achievements of African Americans”

Langston Hughes is a famous poet known mostly for his contribution to the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote many inspirational poems that are still read and used for educational purposes. Many of his poems were inspired by his life and his story. One of his many poems entitled “Theme for English B” talks about how his teacher instructed him to write a page about himself and it will be true. In a “Theme for English B”, Hughes uses tone, and characterization to display a relationship between race and writing.

Hughes, Langston. "Theme for English B". The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. D. . Nina Baym. 7th Ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007.

Through his poem “Theme for English B”, Langston Hughes expresses his will to exterminate discrimination by proving that despite different skin colors, Americans all share similarities and learn from each other. Langston wrote the poem in 1900, when black Americans were not considered Americans. He talks about a black student being assigned to write a paper about himself. The audience is thus the student’s professor – the representation of the white Americans. Since the professor said: “let that page come out of you---Then, it will be true.”, the student began wondering “if it’s that simple”. He then describes himself to explain why it isn’t simple: he is “twenty-two”, “the only colored in class”, and lives in the poor community Harlem.

The first essay I picked is “Computer Vision Syndrome Affects Millions” by Jane E. Brody. In this essay, Brody introduces a disease called “computer vision syndrome” that people who spend three or more hours a day in front of computer monitors may suffer. He states “Studies have indicated 70 percent to 90 percent of people who use computers extensively, whether for work or play, have one or more symptoms of computer vision syndrome. The effects of prolonged computer use are not just vision-related. Complaints include neurological symptoms like chronic headaches and musculoskeletal problems like neck and back pain”. Similar to Carr’s perspective, Brody believes advanced technology brings negative effects on people, but his essay focuses more

This paper examines the perspective of Langston Hughes and how his style of writing is. It looks at how several interrelated themes run through the poetry of Langston Hughes, all of which have to do with being black in America and surviving in spite of immense difficulties. Langston Hughes is one of the most influential writers because his style of work not only captured the situation of African Americans; it also grabbed the attention of other races with the use of literary elements and other stylistic qualities. Langston Hughes became well known for his way of interpreting music into his work of writing, which readers love and enjoy today.

My background as a tenacious student and a minority has allowed me to connect to the poem in ways that I could very much relate to. I have personally lived through the motions of life that he refers to in “Theme for English b”.Langston Hughes’s poem is more about the differences he knows other people see in him or rather on him, and what they are missing. By doing this, Hughes make it clear that the color of his skin plays a crucial role in the way that people think he is like. He finishes by boldly stating what he had been

After taking careful consideration of these theories and the effects they will have on Luke as well as the stakeholders on either side of his decision. I advise that Luke remain loyal to ABC company’s confidentiality regarding the plans to construct the adult entertainment store. In doing so Luke can tell his brother to make any decision he feels comfortable with regarding his home, without disclosing any confidential information. Luke will avoid the major consequences of breaching confidential information with the help of utilitarianism and the universal ethics theory. Because of utilitarianism Luke will make sure that the majority of the stakeholders continue to benefit from his decisions, while also keeping himself within the law thanks

When I first read Langston Hughes' poem "Theme for English B", I did not particularly like it. But after reading it a second time and discussing it in class, I came to appreciate the poem on several levels. The way Hughes describes the setting of Harlem/New York is brief, but evocative. He also gives us insight into the thoughts and emotions of the main character, the young "colored" student, and ends the piece with several thought provoking passages.

How would it sound to take a bunch of medication that will alter your body chemistry against your will? Not enjoyable. That is what is happening to thousands, if not millions, of aquatic species. Pharmaceuticals are being disposed of in ways such as flushing them down toilets which transport them into waterways. There is not a filtration system in place to remove pharmaceuticals and they are even finding their way back into the drinking water of humans. There are no proper disposal systems implicated worldwide and it is causing the genetic makeup of animals to be changed as the chemicals leak into their homes.