Langston Hughes Humor
Langston Hughes is represented in Black Voices by the Tales of Simple. Hughes
first presents his character Jessie B. Simple in the Forward: Who is Simple? In this tale the reader is given its first look at the character Jessie B. Simple who is a black man that represents almost the "anybody or everybody" of black society. Simple is a man who needs to drink, to numb the pain of living life. "Usually over a glass of beer, he tells me his tales... with a pain in his soul... sometimes as the old blues says... Simple might be laughing to keep from crying" (98, 99).
Jessie B. Simple, also known as Simple, has just the right combination of qualities
to be Black America's new spokesman and unsung hero. Simple seems to possess just
enough urban humor and cynicism, down-home …show more content…
Hughes, by using Simple, shows his discontent of the black man's world, yet in showing these feelings Hughes never portrays himself to be angry, overcome by fear, or overwhelmed by racial paranoia. During these desperate and hard years (post-war years), Simple who is from the urban ghetto is himself free of the problems that plague many ghetto dwellers during this time. Simple is a man who avoids the inhibitions of welfare, crime, and drugs which is something that many of his neighbors do not do, yet in no way is Simple ever shown to possess the intelligence of a genius, not even for his seemingly
flawless character. Hughes' character is a simple man who is never shown to have
complete misery while at the same time he also never has the greatest life either. Rather, he symbolizes an innocent comical view of both black and white America, which is the basis of Hughes' perspective of the Black man's existence.
During Hughes' career as a man of great literature, Hughes wrote of a life
first presents his character Jessie B. Simple in the Forward: Who is Simple? In this tale the reader is given its first look at the character Jessie B. Simple who is a black man that represents almost the "anybody or everybody" of black society. Simple is a man who needs to drink, to numb the pain of living life. "Usually over a glass of beer, he tells me his tales... with a pain in his soul... sometimes as the old blues says... Simple might be laughing to keep from crying" (98, 99).
Jessie B. Simple, also known as Simple, has just the right combination of qualities
to be Black America's new spokesman and unsung hero. Simple seems to possess just
enough urban humor and cynicism, down-home …show more content…
Hughes, by using Simple, shows his discontent of the black man's world, yet in showing these feelings Hughes never portrays himself to be angry, overcome by fear, or overwhelmed by racial paranoia. During these desperate and hard years (post-war years), Simple who is from the urban ghetto is himself free of the problems that plague many ghetto dwellers during this time. Simple is a man who avoids the inhibitions of welfare, crime, and drugs which is something that many of his neighbors do not do, yet in no way is Simple ever shown to possess the intelligence of a genius, not even for his seemingly
flawless character. Hughes' character is a simple man who is never shown to have
complete misery while at the same time he also never has the greatest life either. Rather, he symbolizes an innocent comical view of both black and white America, which is the basis of Hughes' perspective of the Black man's existence.
During Hughes' career as a man of great literature, Hughes wrote of a life