Langston Hughes: the Art of Words to Express Want for Freedom

Langston Hughes: The Art of Words to Express Want For Freedom A writer can convey a whole set of ideas and moods within their art, whether it is joy, sadness, defiance, or anger. During the Harlem Renaissance, many African-American writers, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Jean Toomer, and Langston Hughes used words and writings to convey their feelings in different styles of literature. Such literature varied from short stories to novels, poems to essays, and so on. Langston Hughes especially (during the Harlem Renaissance) used his art of words to convey his peoples want for freedom. His moods and tones varied from poem to poem that he wrote, which made the readers feel a variety of emotions with each poem, to get at the “whole person” and not be just a “robot”. He also expressed his people’s wish to truly be free as well. In his works such as the poems “The Weary Blues”, “Song for a Dark Girl”, “Epilogue: I, Too, Sing America”, “Dream Variation”, and “Harlem Nightclub”, the reader can see the wide variety of emotions Hughes uses in each poem individually, and can still see how he ties it together as his call to his people to stand up in their own ways for their beliefs. In the poem “The Weary Blues”, the poem talks about the narrator listening and watching an old Negro man playing the blues at night, singing how he “ain’t got nobody in all this world, ain’t got nobody but ma self”. This line especially sets many of different tones throughout the piece, going back and forth from melancholic to a calming tone. One might even feel a tired tone, as if the author is conveying a sense of closure to something. It could be a closure of life, or even just the end of a long, tiring day. This poem also means something more, however. The song the old man is singing relates to how many people feel at the end of a long day- alone. The old man says “I got the Weary Blues/ And I can’t be satisfied”. Can he be conveying to the reader that he understands what many people have a need for, which would, in this case, be the satisfaction of some company? He also sings that he is not happy and unsatisfied and wishes “that I died”.
What a depressing poem that this is turning out to be. As the stars and moon go out, the old man goes to bed, signaling the end of a dark time and the start of something new. Yes, this does sound very rhetoric, but there is something more within the usual “tomorrow is a brand new day” saying that is commonly used. The old man is sleeping during the day and is awake during the night, when it is dark. During the day, it is bright and can represent the time of when the African-Americans are free from racism and treated equally. People are easily unsure of themselves in the dark, as they cannot see what is in front of them, which is like the time of slavery, or even in more recent times with the Civil Rights Movement, where people were unsure of what was in store for them in the future. Being in the dark, it is easy to feel more alone, and even more so when the feeling of doubt and uncertainty takes over. The old man in the poem feels alone and wants to escape his troubles. When he sleeps, the narrator alludes that he is dead, or at least is sleeping so heavily, like a “rock”. It can be interpreted as the death of hope for a better tomorrow that many African-Americans may have felt as they were discriminated against during that time period. Hughes uses the sadness and the feeling of closure in order to tell his people to not let it end, but to keep fighting through the night so that they can make it to see the light of day again. Hughes also uses historical time periods to call out to his people, especially in the poem “Song for a Dark Girl”. This short, sad poem refers to the lynching in the Southern States in the United States from the 1880’s to the 1920’s and questions why this was happening to them? African-Americans were religious and prayed to Jesus, but felt they were being turned down by Him as Jesus was “white”, so to them, what was the use of prayer? He questions why they praise one who is above them but yet a higher being that is the race against the minority. Why pray to Him if they know that He would turn his back against the African-Americans too? Hughes challenges the reader to question what love really is and if the said love that Christians believe in is true or just superficial. “Love is a naked shadow/ On a gnarled and naked tree”. Why choose to believe in love when the love is never really there? To love and to be loved can be seen as a recurring theme in several of Hughes’ works, including the poem he wrote in response to Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself” which is called “Epilogue: I, Too, Sing America”. Whitman’s poem talks about America’s ordinary people, the working class happy to live in America and be a part of the majority of the country’s population. Hughes takes Whitman inferring that the ordinary people are white and responds about the African-Americans dream to be a part of the larger population. To the Caucasians, the African-Americans are lesser, and do not receive the same benefits that the former does. There is a lack of love towards their “darker brother”. Hughes may have used “brother” in the context of wanting everyone to be like a family, and have an intimate relationship with each other. Using “brother” is a strong way to state the African-American’s role in society compared to the Caucasians; it refers to a bond that is stronger than friendship, and Hughes is envisioning a loving utopian society where love can be found everywhere. Hughes calls to not only his people this time, but to all of America. He wants to make all of the American society to be proud of who they are, and to see that even though the black people may look different, that they are just as beautiful as the white people; maybe even more so and should be ashamed for thinking in the context that the white population are more superior, that the black people are proud to be who they are, whether or not they live in the utopian society. The African-American’s were free, but not free. They were free from slavery and being owned, but in gaining their independence, they were on their own and still discriminated against. Hughes expressed their dream to be truly free in “Dream Variation”. “To fling my arms wide in some place of the sun, to whirl and dance till the white day is done” may be referred to the black peoples yearning to be free in a white dominated society and the want to “dance” until the day that the domination of white people over blacks was over. The reader can feel the want that Hughes conveys to be truly free, to dance to their heart’s content all the time, where nothing and no one can hold them back. They realize that they are on a different social class level from the white supremacy, as he says “Night coming tenderly black like me”. It helps the reader shape who the narrator is, in that him having darker skin, he is lesser to those with light skin. This poem gives the tone of yearning of peace and everyone living together in harmony. Hughes expresses what living together would be like, if just for one night, in “Harlem Nightclub”. Dance today, for who knows what tomorrow will bring! Hughes imagines the day that his people are free, but of course, there usually is some doubt that wanders in, leaving them wondering how long that this joy would last. He is sending out the message to live up today as if tomorrow life would go back to how it was before with the racial inequality. He talks about interracial interaction with “Dark brown girls in blond men’s arms” and “White girls’ eyes call gay black boys”. He calls out his dream of the day that both races will mix, whether becoming friends or creating intimate relationships with each other, and to do it now because “What do you know about tomorrow where all paths go?” Live as if there is no tomorrow; joy today, darkness tomorrow. In conclusion, Langston Hughes used the art of words to express the African-American’s want for true freedom- freedom from oppression from the white majority. In writing the poems “The Weary Blues”, “Song for a Dark Girl”, “Epilogue: I, Too, Sing America”, “Dream Variation”, and “Harlem Nightclub”, we can see a similar message calling for freedom and for the African-Americans to stand up and work towards the equality that they want. It is like Martin Luther King Jr., who used his sermons and his famous speech “I Have a Dream” to inspire others to make a difference with the lives of others, like how Hughes did.

Bibliography:
Ferguson, Jeffery B., “9” In The Harlem Renaissance: A Brief History With Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. 68-72, 95-96.

Bibliography: Ferguson, Jeffery B., “9” In The Harlem Renaissance: A Brief History With Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. 68-72, 95-96.