Starting from the late 1700’s until the mid 1900’s was a difficult time for the African American community. People were dying for no specific reason, there were no jobs’ and the life conditions were very harsh. The Analyzing of two different poems A Black Man Talks of Reaping by Arna Bontemps and A Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes helps us better understand the difficulties in Harlem during the 19th century. The comparison of the similarities and differences between both creates a solid and experienced idea for the reader to understand. The fact that in one poem the author ‘speaks’ and the other one the author ‘talks’ can prove different experiences that these authors have lived trough. Both poems use specific examples and comparisons to give a global image of Harlem in the 1900’s.…
This poem, Theme for English B by Langston Hughes first displays a event where he had a write a page for his college class in Harlem then continuing on to be the actual paper. Through imagery of his day and Langston explaining who he is, Theme for English B ends with an intriguing idea of oneness and difference in the world. There is parts of two differences that are unified in the grander design of life. Langston opens the poem through the words of his instructor to write a page. Continuing to the next stanza he creates imagery for his young adult self going through Harlem to get to his classroom. A image inviting the reader into his life, a part of him “-The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem through a park…”, he writes about his identity…
For instance in line 2, “wretchedness” and in line 3 “sons of despair” as a way to not only describe the pain and the emotional damage upon the African Americans being sold to slavery, but also causes the reader to have an emotional response. By placing the reader at an emotional…
This poem is weighted with racial tensions in America during the eighteenth century, especially between blacks and whites. During this time of diabolical slavery, it was rare to find any educated woman, much less a black educated woman. “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” is about a massive amount of change; Wheatley went from a setting where there is nothing but people of color to a setting where people of color are the minority, this influences her poem heavily and discusses racial issues. The use of the word “benighted,” in line two of the poem, helps bring this out; being black in a setting of white people is seen as a curse from the point of view of the white majority. The use of the term “diabolic die” in line six refers to some people’s thoughts about African Americans. They looked down upon them as if they had been dyed by the devil. The word “sable” in line five has the definition of the color black or black mourning garments and it is also a dark-colored animal. Through her vivid imagery, Wheatley portrays her race as…
“We Wear the Mask,” is a wonderful poem written by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The poem deals directly with racism that African- Americans faced throughout that time. Dunbar told this poem about racism and the pain and suffering that he and others felt. Langston Hughes uses a specific vocabulary, informal language, and specific structure to present the pain and suffering slaves felt.…
The poem also shows that racism is prevalent, the text states, “we are the wrong people of the wrong skin on the wrong continent.” The line shows how African Americans were uncomfortable in their own skin. You were judged by the color of your skin and it affected your wealth and authority. There are still stereotypical views on appearance shown here: “I should have been lighter…
Everyone lies to one another, keeping a sweet simple face to hide the truth. The poem, “We Wear the Mask” describes hardships blacks went through in America and how the blacks hide their sadness, grief, and sorrow behind a mask to survive and live from the whites. Confederate states in the south tried to keep slavery in order to keep the whites a superior and smarter race. Slaves lived a harsh life of work, and chores all day as somewhat expressed in “We Wear the Mask.” Many slaves believed in god or were religious in some aspect of life. The slaves would sing songs of praise to pass the time and keep their minds off the hurt that the whites put on them. Slaves did what they were told and shouldn’t be treated like work horses but as equals in life.…
The brittle mold of society that the white men live in frightens the narrator. He was not raised the same way that they were, it is all so foreign to him. The white men live in a society…
Secondly, the issue of racial and gender inequality is evident in the poem. The speaker appears to be an African American girl. The poem begins with "I am fourteen/ And my skin has betrayed me". This line could be interpreted in two ways. First, it could indicate that the speaker is dealing with pimples and blemishes, another example of a teenager's concern about physical appearance. On the other hand, a more interesting interpretation is that the speaker is indicating that she is black. This reference to race indicates the speaker's awareness that racism has caused and will cause her many frustrations in life. Another line in the poem…
Racism is based on fear. Fear of the known and fear of the unknown. It can greatly describe the mid-1960’s when black woman were not welcomed anywhere. The year 1960 can also describe the setting in this poem. During this period Smith (1991) was a young black girl, 9 years of age trying to come to terms with her own nationality, she is also the main character in the poem. The plot of the story is that like most girls Smiths age, she wanted to belong. “What it’s like to be a black girl” is Smith’s own mixed…
The poem is an illuminating poem in which the narrator details herself and her clouded identity. Because Georgia Johnson is mixed, she cannot fully identify herself as part of one culture. She acknowledges the enmity that either side can have towards her, and so she further defines herself as an individual with no real identity. Even though Johnson’s identity is clouded, she looks at the bright side of this cloudiness by recognizing that this identity cloudiness helps her view the world through a nonpartisan viewpoint.…
1. Can you paraphrase the poem if necessary? Yes. The poem is about a person describing all the jobs she has had over the years, concluding that the one job she would not do again would be a phone telemarketer because she did not like to hear the disappointment in the voices on the other end of the phone when they realized it was just a salesperson calling.…
“Black Skin, White Masks” also explores the role of the black man in white culture. The title itself is an indication of how Fanon feels about the role; how black people wear white…
The mask is an object worn over or in front of the face to hide the identity of a person and by its own features to establish another being. This essential characteristic of hiding and revealing personalities or moods is common to all masks. As cultural objects they have been used throughout the world in all periods and have been as varied in appearance as in their use and symbolism.…
The poem, is depicting a man, maybe of old age (or maybe the whole ethnicity of the African race) who tells that he wants to find out a way on how to bring back the joy in his face. I think, the man is the whole of Africa, it says that the foreign people, those who colonized them, treated them cold. They are like those people who greet other people for the sake of greeting them; just a cold stare runs on them. The old man is then influenced by these people. For me, the poem is like a warning to the future generations, as the old man is saying it on that tone, or should we say, manner.…