milarities between the characters in Not Without Laughter and the real people that Hughes grew up with as a child (100).
Calverton has claimed that Not Without Laughter was unique in its time because it deals with the poor black experience rather than depicting Negroes of the upper classes (59). Although this is true for the most part, the Negro upper classes are nonetheless represented in the character of Tempy. Tempy, Sandy's aunt, leaves her poor family in pursuit of wealth in the city. When Sandy visits Tempy's house, he is awed by her high manner of living. In this way, "it appears that Hughes intentionally satirized in her some of the members of the Negro middle class" (Farrison 103).
One of the most prevalent themes in Hughes' novel is that of the racism and prejudice which Sandy, as well as his friends and relatives, must face in the course of their lives. Sandy relates in a matter-of-fact tone the daily clashes that he and his friends have with some white boys who call them "niggers" (Hughes 39). Another scene shows Sandy helping his mother (Annjee) do domestic work for a white family. When the white woman, Mrs. Rice, unfairly chastises Annjee, Sandy cries helplessly because his hardworking mother is unable to answer back (Hughes 70-71). In school, when the teacher assigns the students their seats in alphabetical order, the three black children in the class are placed after "Z." The children realize they are being segregated in this way because they are "niggers" (Hughes 134-135). On Children's Day, the black children line up expectantly at an amusement park in order to attend a party that they had heard about. They are excited and wearing their best clothes. However, the man at the gate rudely tells them that the party is for white kids only (Hughes 209). In an important scene, it is apparent that Sandy is becoming fed up with the way he has been treated by
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