African American History in the Poems of Langston Hughes Essay

African American History in the Poems of Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was an African American poet who was one of the first black voices to be heard in America. He was distinct among his contemporaries with his writing about the blacks' experiences and history. His pride of his race and history was apparent in most of his works. In his poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" his pride of his history and civilization is apparent by the repetition of the pronoun "I" in most of the lines. He is proud that his roots go back to the ancient civilizations which where associated with the great Rivers of Asia and Africa namely the Euphrates, the Nile and the Congo. Hughes repeats, "I've known rivers" which indicates the connection of black people with the beginning of human history. He also repeats, "My soul has grown deep like the rivers" which suggests the wisdom that is related to rivers; it also suggests that his soul bears the imprint of the sufferings of slavery and racism. The poem implies the whole history of African Americans' slavery without mentioning the word itself. He narrates this history from the beginning of time, when he "bathed in the Euphrates" and "built [his] hut near the Congo" as he was living a normal life. Then he "looked upon the Nile and raised the Pyramids above it", as the building of the Pyramids was the act of slaves. Then "Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans", this precise line implies the blacks' history of slavery in America. It tells of existence of the slavery for a long period in America and of the efforts to abolish it, which ended by the Civil War in 1865 and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation for freeing the slaves. Therefore, it is the history of people who were fr... ... "Dreams". Since dreams are the first step in any act, then black people have to dream in order to gain their freedom which is symbolized here by the" bird". He also hints in the poem at the oppression of white people to blacks. He considers America a "barren field" that is devoid of warm feelings and mercy. This" barren field" is" frozen with snow"; this symbolizes the white people who practise all sorts of oppression on the black race. Thus, it is evident that Langston Hughes in his poetry aimed at sending a message to the audience who most of them were whites. He was telling them about the history and civilization of the African Americans. He was speaking of the blacks' sufferings from slavery, discrimination and racism. He was aiming at showing his pride of his black ancestry and the contributions of the black people to the American civilization. African American History in the Poems of Langston Hughes Essay African American History in the Poems of Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was an African American poet who was one of the first black voices to be heard in America. He was distinct among his contemporaries with his writing about the blacks' experiences and history. His pride of his race and history was apparent in most of his works. In his poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" his pride of his history and civilization is apparent by the repetition of the pronoun "I" in most of the lines. He is proud that his roots go back to the ancient civilizations which where associated with the great Rivers of Asia and Africa namely the Euphrates, the Nile and the Congo. Hughes repeats, "I've known rivers" which indicates the connection of black people with the beginning of human history. He also repeats, "My soul has grown deep like the rivers" which suggests the wisdom that is related to rivers; it also suggests that his soul bears the imprint of the sufferings of slavery and racism. The poem implies the whole history of African Americans' slavery without mentioning the word itself. He narrates this history from the beginning of time, when he "bathed in the Euphrates" and "built [his] hut near the Congo" as he was living a normal life. Then he "looked upon the Nile and raised the Pyramids above it", as the building of the Pyramids was the act of slaves. Then "Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans", this precise line implies the blacks' history of slavery in America. It tells of existence of the slavery for a long period in America and of the efforts to abolish it, which ended by the Civil War in 1865 and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation for freeing the slaves. Therefore, it is the history of people who were fr... ... "Dreams". Since dreams are the first step in any act, then black people have to dream in order to gain their freedom which is symbolized here by the" bird". He also hints in the poem at the oppression of white people to blacks. He considers America a "barren field" that is devoid of warm feelings and mercy. This" barren field" is" frozen with snow"; this symbolizes the white people who practise all sorts of oppression on the black race. Thus, it is evident that Langston Hughes in his poetry aimed at sending a message to the audience who most of them were whites. He was telling them about the history and civilization of the African Americans. He was speaking of the blacks' sufferings from slavery, discrimination and racism. He was aiming at showing his pride of his black ancestry and the contributions of the black people to the American civilization.