Work of 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 prevent an individual (black or white) from living life freely and creatively. Although Hughes is usually seen as a "black writer" concerned with "black problems," this study will consider him as a "human writer" writing about "human problems," including, of course, problems such as racism which damage both blacks and whites.

In Hughes's poem "Dream Deferred," the theme is the destructive impact of racism on blacks and their dreams of fulfillment in the world, although the work can certainly be applied to any person whose dreams are shattered. The people about whom Hughes writes are not able to fulfill their dreams, are not even able to try to fulfill them. Again, although Hughes is indeed writing specifically about blacks, the poem's theme can be applied to anyone who has had his or her "dream deferred" in any way or who empathizes with those who have. The dreams deferred are, says Hughes, like "raisin[s] in the sun."

The theme deals not only with sadness but the outrage which comes from the knowledge that this massive deferring of dreams of a great bulk of an entire race of people does not have to happen and did not have to happen. There is an implied warning in the last line, "Or does it explode?" (Hughes "Dream" 943).

Of course, the poem cannot be separated from Hughes' views on racism, nor from his own role as

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rship: : "Emphasizing that a distortion of Christianity was the poet's point of attack, [Hughes' defender] added, 'I can join Langston Hughes . . . in saying "Goodbye Christ"--the Christ as held up by the white supremacists. . . . " (Emanuel 91). In Hughes's poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," the poet explores the themes of hope, inspiration and a sense of the interconnectedness of generations of people through the centuries. Hughes's theme carries the message that blacks were not born into slavery and were not the helpless victims of injustice from the moment they appeared in the world. To the contrary, they have had a proud and accomplished history in which they and their civilizations reigned supreme. The theme of hope also creates a spiritual feeling that comes from the poet's words about his soul and the soul's kinship with both the earth and the religious realm---through the literal and metaphorical uses of the image of "rivers." Hughes's theme brings a feeling of strength derived both from the history of the black race and the spiritual/religious legacy which accompanies that history. Perhaps it is stretching the point a bit to argue that a highly specific poem such as "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" can be applied universal

Category: Literature - W