Langston+Hughes

Langston Hughes

//16. Life is Fine// //*//The poem is narrated from the first person perspective, making it much more personal. *Can be separated into three sections, each section consists of two 4-lines stanzas and a 1-line stanza. *The first two sections describes the speaker's attempt to commit a suicide. The first attempt is to jump into a lake and drown himself, which is in a natural setting. Although he took the courage and jumped, the coldness of the water saved him. "If that water hadn't been so cold [he] might have sunk and died." *The second attempt took place on a building where the hight of the elevator stopped the speaker from jumping. It is within a civilized setting. *In both sections, the words 'High' and 'Cold' were capitalized, placing emphasis on these difficulties. This demonstrates the harsh obstacles the speaker has to overcome in order to meet his death, and because he was unable to over come them, he lives. *During the last section, the speaker confesses "for livin' [he] was born." Although he may 'holler' and 'cry' along the way, life is still "fine!" *The words 'holler' and 'cry' were used three times through out the poem, which symbolizes the obstacles that one will face while living, but that is just a part of life.

//17. Dream Deferred// *Questions what happens to a dream that has not been achieved, or a dream that has been set aside. *Uses multiple metaphors and similes to describe the possible outcomes. Dries up like a 'raisin in the sun?' 'fester like a sore'? 'stink like rotten meant?' *Examples in the beginning predict the dream to disintegrate and rot, but the last line brings about another possibility, 'or does it explode?' *Hughes is saying many believe a dream disregarded will stay in the back of the mind and slowly rot away, but there is a great possibility that a disregarded dream will not disappear, instead it may very well swell and eventually explode.

//18. Mother to Son// *The speaker is the mother, who is speaking to her 'son' about the hardship in life. The fact the speaker is speaking from the first person perspective makes the poem appear a lot more personal. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*Uses the setting of a house as analogy for life. "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair." <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*Contrasts the cleanness and clarity of 'crystal' with wood that has 'splinters.' Saying that life is not predictable, it is not transparent like crystal, instead it will have unexpected difficulties waiting, like invisible splinters that will peak through since there is 'no carpet on the floor.' <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*But all the time she has been 'climbin,' 'reachin' and 'turnin.' The verbs used can be applied to climbing a mountain, which again emphasizes the hardship she has been through. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*The first section of the poem is a description of how she has lived, and for the second part, she speaks to her son directly, telling him 'don't you turn back.' 'Don't you set down on the steps.' <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*She is urging her son to not give up, for she herself is 'still climbin.'

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//20. Still Here// <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*The rhyme scheme of the poem gives it a certain rhythm, making it sounds like a chant or a short song. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*Like Langston Hughes' other poems, this poem's theme is also about prejudice and discrimination. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*In the first stanza, he lists out obstacles presented by nature, 'Snow has friz me, Sun has baked me,' <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*He then moves on to talking about how 'they' tried to make him 'stop laughin', stop livin', stop livin,' which perhaps refers to the white bullies he has faced. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*While the previous lines are all descriptions of difficulties and defeat, the last two lines are empowering, chanting 'But I don't care, Im still here!.' <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*The purpose of this poem is to urge his fellow African Americans to continue 'livin' and laughin'' despite the difficulties and obstacles they are up against.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//21. Justice// <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*Langston Hughes commentate on justice in a metaphorical sense, where it takes the form of a 'blind goddess.' <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*The second line says 'it is a thing to which we black are wise.' Here, Hughes is again making note of the racial differences. 'Wise' in this case mean 'aware,' he is saying that the African Americans are all aware of this current injustice. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">*The justice goddess is wearing 'bandages' which emphasizes her blindness, but it is not covering her eyes, but 'two festering sores' which 'once perhaps were eyes.' These two lines expresses the speaker's opinion on the corruption of justice. By comparing it to a rotting wound, the speaker presents a situations with corruption instead of a simple lack of justice.