Maya Angelou And Langston Hughes Comparison

He wrote many pieces of work that connected with African Americans. Langston Hughes was an important literary figure during a time of African American celebration.

His experience with being born in Harlem and his role in the Civil Rights Movement influenced his writing to bring awareness to the events occurring in the black community and the reasoning behind them. With this, he draws attention to the idea of the lack of individualism black people faced in that time period which unfortunately continues today. Lastly, although they both were written in the same time period, they effectively demonstrate two different

Although the content of the poems are totally different they still share the same theme

Langston Hughes wrote Let America be America Again explaining that he was never an equal or free in America. He also didn’t just focus on blacks, he also wrote “I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek.” (Hughes 8). Hughes explained that nobody in America is treated right unless a wealthy white man.

But they also both deal with choices and endurance of consequences from that choice. One of several particular elements in each of the stories that best emphasize the theme is the usage of figurative language in each text. Some of the different types of figurative language each author used is simile, personification, and metaphor’s. Another way that the author expressed the theme is in the story is the limitations of the American Dream for African Americans. Whereas in the poem, the author used sort of a cause and effect scenario.

During a time of severe racial tension and class conflict, the Harlem Renaissance was an era where many literary authors’ works flourished as they utilize literature to challenge societal issues as well as a way to celebrate African American culture. Many literary works during this time, the most notable being poetry, all share a common purpose: to criticize society’s treaments of African Americans as well as the poor and to emplify the importance of the growing cultural movement. One writer in specific who has made his mark in history during the Harlem Renaissance was Langston Hughes, an African American writer and poet from Harlem himself. Hughes indeed utilized these themes in his many of his poems, establishing himself as a very important

The Power of Art ¨Trumpeter of Lenox and 7th / through Jesse B. Semple,/ you simply celebrated Blues and Bebop / and beling black before / it was considered hip.¨ (Wesley Boone). Although the poems ¨Long Live Langston¨ by Wesley Boone, and ¨The weary Blues¨ by Langston Hughes were written in different time periods and with different purposes, the poems show similarities such as using similar figurative language to express an idea, and differences such as communicating different themes. Here are some examples of the similarities and differences shown throughout the poems. To begin with, in the poems ¨Long Live Langston¨ by Wesley Boone, and ¨The Weary Blues¨ by Langston Hughes, the authors include similes in their work, which helps the reader understand the similarities between the poems.

They both tried to be uplifting and pushed for nonviolence. Both speeches dealt with blacks and their freedom. The speeches were intelligently written and full of phrases that expressed the authors’ feelings. Both felt that God wanted all people to be free and treated equally.

Langston Hughes was a poet that wrote I, too, sing America “ I too sing America, They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes , I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.” After Hughes wrote this poem, Americans can now see that African Americans are embarrassed but will overcome and become stronger than ever before. This poem influenced many other African Americans to also write about their experiences that were happening in their everyday life. Also during The

America is a symbol of freedom. The poems “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes and “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou both describe how America was rather unfair during their times. Langston Hughes was a key figure during the Harlem Renaissance and Maya Angelou did not become famous or recognized until her first autobiography. Even though “I, Too, Sing America” and “Still I Rise” have completely different tones, they both convey the message of how inequality was prevalent in America. Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou both talk about how in the future they will come back and be free.

Yet, they were nowhere near acceptance because the one thing that divided America was color. It was and is a problem when one is black in America. Hughes wrote one of his most popular pieces of work during this time, a poem

Langston Hughes Langston Hughes experienced everything an African American in the early 1900s could and then some. I would call his life unique. Hughes experienced the realities of not having a dollar in his pocket, and the advantages of the high life with money not being an issue. He saw both sides of American life but what made him famous was a product of the lower points in his life and the experiences given to him by a racist society. Hughes was raised in Kansas, a state that was not very friendly to black people, but then again what state truly was.

Langston Hughes poems “Harlem” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” are two poems that have a deeper meaning than a reader may notice. Hughes 's poem “Harlem” incorporates the use of similes to make a reader focus on the point Hughes is trying to make. In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Hughes shows how close he was to the rivers on a personal level. With those two main focuses highlighted throughout each poem, it creates an intriguing idea for a reader to comprehend. In these particular poems, Hughes’s use of an allusion, imagery, and symbolism in each poem paints a clear picture of what Hughes wants a reader to realize.

Poems can be analyzed in various ways ranging from their complexity to the emotions they convey to readers. The poems, “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes and “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay will be analyzed based on their similarities and differences to name a few. The poems may describe different events; however the overall connection between the two can be identified by readers with deeper reading. Comparisons between the poems may easier to analyze and identify compared to the contrasts based on the reader’s perception. Overall, the concept and much more will reveal how the poems are connected and special in their own way.

Historically countries, such as America, have muted and failed to addressed the social injustices against minority groups. Although America is considered to be the “melting pot,” it continues to face issues regarding freedom and justice for all of its citizens. Langston Hughes, who was a writer and social activist, wrote poetry during the Harlem Renaissance which addressed the social issues facing African Americans and minority groups. Allusion, anaphora, and rhyme scheme are employed by Hughes in his poem, “Let America Be America Again” in order to show how false America’s claims of equality and “Justice for all” are.