Preview

Comparison Essay: The Negro Artist And The Racial Mountain

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
440 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparison Essay: The Negro Artist And The Racial Mountain
The Climb
To be successful you cannot let anything or anyone get in the way of that. There is going to be a struggle and a “hill that you must climb” to get where you would want to be. Some people might be more challenging than others, but that does not make a difference you still have to perceiver and get through it. In the essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” and the poem “Mother to Son” written by Langston Hughes both have a common image of “climbing” to represent that the African Americans had to struggle to find their place in American society during the 1920’s.
In Hughes’ poem “Mother to Son” it is describing how a mother is talking to her son saying that life is not easy and it’s going to be a struggle and lots of hard

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    2. The blacks did not like white people coming to Harlem to watch them in their clubs…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Overcoming Obstacles Makes Better Individuals “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome” (Booker T. Washington). Obstacles are a required part of life if you wish to grow and develop. If you do not face challenges, you will not become a strong person. Individuals pushing to achieve the goals we set and overcoming the roadblocks ahead of us are what make us who we are. In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and in my own personal experience, people encounter obstacles, and eventually overcome them.…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The duality in this poem creates an illustration of the poet’s struggle which refers to the rising and falling of the African American culture; Johnson wonders how the world sees African American during this period as a people or things. It shows that the poet is worried about the direction the African American culture will be moving. Men or things is the comparison which is “Do they really think that African American people are worthless than white american people?” So the poet uses the word “thing” it mean that whites do not appreciate and insult African American people that they do not value as a human. It might be a question the the poet wants to ask others if it will take a long time to change their thinking or if it will take great efforts, strides, and sacrifices.…

    • 212 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When he was young, Hughes’s life consisted of traveling across the country with his mother as she looked for a job opportunity. There were many cases in which Hughes had to live with relatives or close friends because his mom was tied up in finding a job and could not commit to taking care of her son for the time being. Later in his childhood, when Hughes was old enough to be employed, him and his mom worked together to support themselves financially ("Langston Hughes"- EXPLORING Short Stories, Gale, Detroit, 2003.). In other words, Langston Hughes knew exactly what it was like to grow up poverty-stricken. His poem, Mother to Son, perfectly relates to how the issue of poverty influenced his poetry. This piece of literature portrays a meaningful conversation between a mother and her son, in which the mother tells her child that he will have to learn how to overcome obstacles in his life just as she once had and still does to this day. It is highly likely that Langston and his mother, Carrie, had this type of conversation when he was growing up due to their substandard living…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Many great achievements can be traced back to overcoming disadvantages. Frederick Douglass was born a slave and he had no legal rights. He was taken from his mother shortly after birth, he was uneducated, and oppressed by society, but he did not let his disadvantages in life keep him from his ambitions. Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and became an acclaimed abolitionist speaker and published author. Richard Wright was born a Negro in the South during segregation. Although he was not denied an education, he was denied the same rights as white members of society, but he did not let his disadvantages stop him from becoming an acclaimed author, publishing several books. Helen Keller had different disadvantage in that…

    • 1684 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harriet Tubman Obstacles

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Every obstacle can be turned into an opportunity through perseverance and dedication. Human nature is associated with the stubbornness to succeed. For example, Harriet Tubman did not let any racial barriers overthrow her. Also, during the colonial period the colonists did not allow themselves to be dominated by the British. Another example is of Andrew Carnegie who headed the Carnegie Steel Industry in the nineteenth century.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "The right of people to live where they want to, without fear, is more important than my science." is a quote from African American chemist, inventor, and the greatest African American, Percy L. Julian. Percy's research and studying helped the creation of drugs to treat glaucoma and arthritis. A Percy lived during a time of racism and segregation, he never let racism and it's many challenges get in the way of his shaping of our world today. With his many achievements and awards, I personally believe Dr. Percy L. Julian is the Greatest African-American.…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Negroland

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Negroland, written by Margo Jefferson, is a memoir about her life, as wells as others in 1947 Chicago. In the book, Negroland residents acquire “provisional privilege” and aim to live their life’s away from the shadows of their poorer, darker counterpart. What particularly stood out to me the most about Negroland was their black skin, but despite the racially charged era, Negroland members utilized the freedom of opportunities allowed that other African Americans were not afforded. Nevertheless, the privilege they acquired were restricted every time they grabbed those opportunities, and further detained black elites from supporting their middle to lower class African Americans.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Of all the groups, African-Americans, had the most treacherous economic ladder to climb. Immediately following the Civil War they had the freedoms necessary to obtain economic success. They were ready to take advantage of their newly found rights as Americans after the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. Many African-Americans began to find jobs away from the plantations or even re-negotiate deals with their previous masters. The photograph, “Hampton Institute, 1900”, depicted a painting of blacks working on a stair case. This is a metaphor to the way the ex-slaves had to start at the bottom and work their way up. They were complacent with this because they thought if they worked hard, it would be possible for them to seize the “American Dream”. By the turn of the decade, hundreds were elected to office, including two state-lieutenant governors and fifteen into the House of Representatives.…

    • 1562 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The theme of “Mother to Son” is perseverance to live life without giving up. The mother compares her life to a ragged staircase which has “tacks” and “splinters” representing her life hardships and challenges such as financial strain and maintain a household. She is still determined to be “climbin’ on” the stairs despite the pain caused by the “tacks” and “splinters” along the way of every step. The mother encourages her son to never “set down on the steps” from the uphill challenges in life such as living through a struggle. She hopes to see her son face these obstacles rather than turning…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Why is it so hard to be a Black person living in America? It is an idea that the Whites do not want to see the Blacks as equal or superior. To prevent such thing from happening, Whites set up obstacles that stand in the way of Blacks ever reaching their full potential. Therefore, Blacks must go through White supremacy and stereotyping on the daily basis in order to survive. This is evident in the novels and stories read in African American Literature course. First, in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Younger family is denied their rights of freedom when the Welcome Committee does not want them to move into their new home in the White neighborhood. Second, in The Emmett Till Murder Case by Douglas O. Linder, Emmett Till is killed when he attempts to talk to a White…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    They had to overcome institutional structures like economics education and social before they could attain reach their dreams. As mentioned previously, education was played a major role in the African American community; without education, African Americans would never have a chance at success. Because education opportunities were available predominately for White American, it wasn’t uncommon for African American got live their lives uneducated. Seldom, African Americans who worked exceedingly hard were able to access higher education (Bryan). Since a large number of African Americans lacked a formal education, they were limited to service position such as maid services or factory worker. Because they were limited to certain position, many were unable to surpass a particular socioeconomic class. However, there were rare occasions where African Americans had careers as professionals (Bryan). Aside from education and economic structures, African American dealt with socials structures that created obstacles within their daily lives. It goes without saying that discrimination shaped the experiences of African Americans. Because of the socio-historical foundation of slavery, African Americans were always viewed as inferior to White Americans. Although African Americans dreamed of living the American Dream, they were unable of achieve success because of the establishment of inferiority by…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    From brushing out my thick hair to find secrets lying underneath it, to being expected to answer all of the slavery questions students and teachers inquire in class, I wouldn’t fully be expressing myself if my African American background was absent. My curly roots, my long brown legs, and my plate happily filled with black eyed peas, paints my beautifully black self. As a young black child, many obstacles were presented to me in ways in which failure seems like the immediate option. But through my heritage and my background, I always seemed to prevail. From becoming an innovator at such young ages to replicate items I didn't have, to becoming strongly socially connected individual, I wouldn’t be completely me without including my worthy background.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Trumpet Player Poem

    • 167 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hughes's main theme of this poem is to convey that no matter how hard times are, you can find something that comforts you and turn your pain into something beautiful. This poem conveys the idea that the past will always being with you, but music is a way to…

    • 167 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    How To Measure Success

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages

    People describe the American dream as being able to start with nothing, and, through hard work and dedication, they are able to call themself successful. This brings to mind, however, the question of how to measure success in life? In an excerpt from The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Booker T. Washington wrote of how he began life as the son of a slave. Nevertheless, through hard work and a will to succeed, Washington became one of the most revered leaders of the African-American community. I believe success should be measured by the ability of an individual to overcome obstacles as demonstrated through resiliency, earning respect from others, and learning not to take anything for granted in life.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays