Langston Hughes Mary Ruby

The turn of the 20th century ushered in a new wave of civil rights movements following the end of the Reconstruction era. The great migration of African Americans to the North gave rise to the Harlem Renaissance, or the New Negro Movement, where publicly and critically acclaimed poet Langston Hughes, “one of the most gifted writers of the period. emerged as the most brilliant of Harlem's Renaissance poets” (Presley, 262). Hughes’ appealing poems and popularity with all races led him to be “the first African American to make a living from his writing and lecturing alone” (Ruby, 1993). However, wealth was not his main aim, rather, he was “concerned with” depicting “the black metropolis” (Davis 276). A sort of “a folk study in verse of Negro life” …show more content…
Similarly, Mary Ruby notes how the line break also “allows Hughes to playfully mislead his reader”, as Hughes continues by stating “not like the same things other folks like who are other races” emphasizing that “simply because they might “like” the same things” doesn’t mean he is like them either, mirroring the complexity of identity through his confusing and sarcastic diction (Ruby, 195). Furthermore, the narrator then addresses his audience, his white instructor, stating, “I guess you learn from me/ Although you’re older – and white –/ and somewhat more free/ This is my page for English B” (Hughes, lines 38-41). Again, the narrator unconfidently begins his sentence with “I guess” emphasizing the uncertainty in themselves. Then, by proceeding to list their differences with the “older – and white” instructor, the speaker emphasizes the unignorable racial divisions. Yet, ironically, the speaker describes them as only “somewhat free”. Although seemingly hopeful, the diction implies the opposite. Mary Ruby furthers this point, stating, “The final line, then, is full of

Show More

Related Documents: Langston Hughes Mary Ruby

Comparing Langston Hughes And Dudley Randall