Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, on February 1, 1902, the second son of James Nathaniel Hughes and Carrie Mercer Langston Hughes (Berry 1). Langston was the last child of his parents' marriage. Berry maintains that Langston Hughes' earliest impressions were of Lawrence, Kansas, where his mother took him to live after his father moved out when he was slightly more than a year old (Berry 3). She argues that the frequent moving about from one place to another, the absence of a father, and the presence of poverty and racial discrimination--each in its way marked him for life, but never made him bitter (Berry 3). The Big Sea, for example, offers a genial, moving account of his life from his birth in Joplin before his mother took him to Lawrence (Rampersad xii).

In the absence of a father, Langston Hughes spent his formative years until the age of puberty under matriarchal influence. This influence would later manifest itself in some of his fiction--most notably in his first autobiographical novel, Not Without Laughter (Berry 6). Lonely as a child, Langston turned for comfort turned to "books, and the wonderful world in books" (Rampersad 1). Later he would recall the inspiration of the Bible in his early life, as well as the inspiration of W. E. B. DuBois, whose The Souls of Black Folk defined for many people the essential drama of people born black in America in the aftermath of the Civil War (Rampersad 1).

Related Essays

Langston Hughes Langston Hughes: A Unique American Voice Langston Hughes, born James Mercer Langston Hughes, in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902, was a vital part of the .... (715 3 )

Langston Hughes Poetry Langston Hughes was born at the turn of the century in America. .... In this way we see that many perceive the works of Langston Hughes as limited. .... (1377 6 )

Langston Hughes Langston Hughes or to give him his full name, James Mercer Langston Hughes, was one of the shining lights of the Harlem Renaissance, itself one of the shining .... (1904 8 )

Langston Hughes This study will provide a critical analysis of the work of Langston Hughes with respect to his views on those negative forces (racism, conformity, fear) which .... (2283 9 )

Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was often labeled the Poet Laureate of Harlem, particular because his poetry retained the rhythm, idiom, and dialect of his culture -a fact .... (1359 5 )

er in 1919. The poem can also be read as an articulation of the racial conflict in America. In 1968, two black psychiatrists aimed to write a clinical handbook spelling out certain aspects of the psychiatric treatment of blacks (Grier & Cobbs xi). The book sold to an extremely large audience upon its publication and was subject to numerous positive critical reviews. Of the condition of blacks in America following the abolition of slavery and leading up to the 1960s, the authors state: The culture of slavery was never undone for either master or slave. The civilization that tolerated slavery dropped its slaveholding cloak but the inner feelings remained. The `peculiar institution' continues to exert its evil influence over the nation. The practice of slavery stopped over a hundred years ago, but the minds of our citizens have never been freed (Grier & Cobbs 26). If one keeps the above-quoted passage in mind while reading "Mulatto," one is more likely to notice that although the poem does not once mention slavery, one tends to assume that the poet is referring to the relationship between master and slave. Specifically, the rape of the black woman slave and the denunciation of the male child who is born as a result of that

Category: People - L