Good Time And Theme For English B

Katelynn Zeisig
Mrs. Harmon
AP English
March 9, 2015
“good time” and “Theme for English B” “good times” by Lucille Clifton and “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes both contain similar claims. Both poems are about the struggle of life and discrimination black people undergo. The poem “Theme for English B” is more successful of painting the full picture of discrimination and the struggle of life, then the poem “good times”. The poem,
“Theme for English B” is more successful than, “good times” because “Theme for English B” has better structure, the speaker is more distinct, and the diction brings the reader in for a more personal experience.
The structure of “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes is more successful of pulling the reader in for a more personal experience, then “good times” by Lucille Clifton.
“Theme for English B” has no form, the speaker is simply saying anything on his mind, telling a story. For example, lines 11­14, the speaker explains his journey home from a college he goes to, where he is the only colored man. Also, the speaker makes the poem more casual, more of a conversational piece, bringing the reader in for a more personal experience. For example, the speaker asks several questions throughout the poem, such as, “I wonder if its that simple?” (Hughes, 6), and also, “so will my page be colored that I write?” (Hughes, 27).
When the speaker asks questions throughout the poem, it engages the reader, making
“Theme for English B” a more successful poem than “good times”. The poem “good times” doesn’t engage the reader like “Theme for English B”. For instances, “good times” is a free

verse poem, containing pauses and line breaks, the poem does not contain a flowing pattern.
Therefore, not pulling the reader in for a more personal experience.
When reading, “Theme for English B” and “good times”, “Theme for English B” is more successful of telling the reader who the speaker is. For example, the speaker of the poem makes it easy for the reader to imagine what the speaker is like, “I am twenty­two, colored, born in Winston­Salem” (Hughes 7). The speaker is open­minded and brave, while he confronts reality, ever while surrounded by white students, and being taught by a white instructor. In “good times” it’s unclear who the speaker is, the speaker could be an older women, but also, could be a younger child. For example, in the first stanza the speaker sounds like a child who can’t seem to remember a man’s name. But also, in the last stanza the speaker sounds like an older lady reminding the children to remember the good times.
“Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes is more successful of telling the reader who the speaker is and drawing the reader in for a more relatable, and personal experience then
“good times” by Lucille Clifton.
Lastly the diction of “Theme for English B” and “good times”. The diction in “Theme for
English B” makes the poem more successful than “good times”. In “Theme for English B” the word, “colored” is said several times throughout the poem. In this context the word is describing the race of the speaker. “I am the only colored student in my class” (Hughes, 10).
Again, the reader sees the word, “colored” instead of, “black, or African American”, giving the reader a vivid image of one black person in a class full of white people. “I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like / the same things other folks like who are other races” (Hughes 25 and 26). The question here, “So will my page be white that I write” (Hughes 27), gives the reader direct questioning about the theme of the poem. The speaker asks if the page that he writes will be colored. He is asking if the page he writes is going to be different because its

written by a black person. “although you’re older ­­ and white ­­­ / and somewhat more free”
(Hughes 39 and 40). The reader reads, that white and colored are more than just colors.
Being older and white makes the instructor more free. In “good times”, the speakers informal choice of words and improper grammar, make the reader not search for a deeper meaning.
Instead, the poem sounds in such as a conversation. Thus making, “Theme for English B” a more successful piece of poetry.
“good times” by Lucille Clifton and “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes both contain similar claims. Both poems are about the struggle of life and discrimination black people undergo. The poem “Theme for English B” is more successful of painting the full picture of discrimination and the struggle of life, then the poem “good times”. The poem,
“Theme for English B” is more successful than, “good times” because “Theme for English B” has better structure, the speaker is more distinct, “I am twenty­two, colored, born in
Winston­Salem” (Hughes 7) and the diction brings the reader in for a more personal experience.