Paper Summary:

This paper examines how, from the perspective of an African-American male, Langston Hughes writes about social struggles and hardships, but also imparts a message of hope for the future of blacks in America. 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. Through a review of the poems, "I, Too, Sing, America", "Mother to Son", and "The Weary Blues", it demonstrates how Hughes writes specifically about racial discrimination and about being black in a white-dominated society.

From the Paper:

"The soul of the black man or woman in America is tainted by a legacy of racism and intolerance; Hughes captures this unfortunate reality in his poetry. In "I, Too, Sing America", Hughes notes that as the "darker brother", he has been forced to eat in the kitchen "when company comes". Not only is he employed as a servant, but his master humiliates him further through segregation. This is only one small example of the type of segregation that haunted American society in the Jim Crow days. In "I, Too, Sing America", Hughes uses this situation as a metaphor for greater racial discrimination in society. Moreover, as the "darker brother", Hughes notes that whites perceive blacks in a negative light and use segregation to keep blacks subjugated and shrouded in darkness."

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