Langston Hughes expresses his life experiences by voicing his feelings about how African-Americans remain just as much a part of America as any white person. Hughes starts communicating his opinions in the very first poem he ever wrote entitled “Negro Speaks of Rivers” by saying, “I’ve seen its muddy/bosom turn all golden in the sunset.” The muddy river represents Hughes’s race, and the transformation of the river in the sun mirrors how blacks, once slaves of the whites, gained freedom because of
Langston Hughes’ The Negro Speaks of Rivers “was the first poem published in Langston Hughes's long writing career a relevant poem (Gale 2003) because it connects readers to African American history. Hughes serves as a voice for all African Americans, as he traces their heritage to the roots of Negro civilization by quoting “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than flow of human blood in human veins”(Hughes 1994). . In order to understand where Hughes is coming from, it is important
Langston Hughes is a well-known African American poet that was around during the Harlem Renaissance. Growing up, he understood that, at the time, living in America was very different if you were an African American or a white person. African Americans were being discriminated against and are being oppressed. Hughes believed that African Americans deserved equality, and he showed this through his poems. The characters presented in these four poems know of their difficulties – from racism to poverty
are not in chains, there is still racism and inequality. This is shown in Hughes’s poem, “Negro.” The theme, of racism, slavery and the things that were accomplished by the Negroes is very evident and expressed throughout the poem using repetition, symbolism, and allusions. First, Hughes uses the literary element of repetition to get his point across. Hughes starts off in the first stanza saying, “I am a Negro / Black as the night is Black / Black like the depths of my Africa.” (Lines 1-3 & 17-19)
The poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, written by Langston Hughes uses rivers across different geographical regions to explore the history and heritage of the African American from their early existence among other civilizations up until the twentieth century. Hughes created the Poem itself while he was crossing the Mississippi River aboard a train on route to see his father and had it published the year after, during 1921. Hughes got inspiration while crossing the river and supposedly whipped up
The Negro Speaks Of Rivers” by Langston Hughes argues the fact that rivers are a symbolic representation of Africans enslavement and their freedom, he conveys this message by using literary devices such as repetition, simile, symbolism, and personification. Throughout the poem Langston Hughes conveys his message by demonstrating the freedom and slavery through different forms. The writer demonstrates it by showing that freedom is what Africans have always had, freedom being a part of them, history
Mason Hughes Mrs. Whaley English 3 Hon. 13 November 2017 Langston Hughes Langston Hughes, who wrote in the mid 1900’s, can be better understood by studying his struggles with racism and segregation, his foreign affairs, and his involvement with anti-racist movements like the NAACP. One of his most popular poems, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, can be better understood by studying his childhood, his impact on young writers,and his influences. Langston Hughes is easily understood with knowledge of his
In the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Langston Hughes illustrates that though life may be filled with hardships, life will get better in the end. The author shows this by talking about the trials and tribulations of people of color. In the poem, the author goes back in time to describe a period before and during slavery. Langston Hughes brings the setting back by starting off the poem with “I’ve known rivers.” (Hughes,769) The past tense of the word know tells me what the author has become close
Langston Hughes in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is speaking about the path that African Americans had to take to get to where they are and how he too has faced and seen many things in his lifetime. He uses repetition in his statement “I’ve known rivers”, which he uses three times throughout the short poem. Reminding the reader to pay attention to the long journey they overcame. He first speaks on how the struggles of African Americans began in ancient times. Referencing them going back before the
The Rivers Tell The Story “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes is said to be one of his earliest and most anthologized poems to be written (Taylor-Thompson). Throughout the poem, Hughes puts extra importance on the river’s role in African American society. Hughes uses repetition, simile, and metaphor to support the poems theme of memory and the past. First, Hughes uses the element of repetition to support the theme of memory and the past. In Hughes short poem, the line “I’ve known rivers”