BLAST THE LATEST IN MODERNIST FASION
MODERNIST POETRY
HOW MANLY WAS HEMINGWAY IN REAL LIFE
IN THIS ISSUE: LEARN HOW TO WRITE A POEM
CONTENTS A Letter From The Editor 2
Short Stories Shir ley Jackson 3 “The Lottery”
F. Scott Fitzgerald 4 “Absolution”
Er nest Hemingway
5 “The Old Man at the Bridge”
Flanner y O’ Connor 6 “The Late Encounter With the Enemy”
Langston Hughes 7 “Thank You Ma’am”
Eudora Welty 8 “A Worn Path”
Poetry Modernist Poem Introduction 9
Rober t Frost
10 “Stopping By The Woods On A Cold Snowy Evenging” “A Minor Bird”
E.E. Cummings
12 “A Total Stranger One Black Day” “Humanity I Love You” “It”
Maya Amgelou
15 “Passing Time” “Phenomenal Women”
Langston Hughes 17 “Minstrel Man” “Brass Spitoons”
“Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too?” “Still Here”
Contents 1
Letter from the Editor Greetings! Welcome to our very first issue of Blast magazine. The focus of Blast magazine is modernist literature from the late 19th to the early 20th century. Some parts of this magazine include modernist stories analyzed by high school english students, modernist poetry, and art work. To be honest, it has been interesting and surprising working on this magazine. I remember the first time I read Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou and I remember not liking it. It seemed like she was just narcissistically talking about herself. When I read through Eric Henderson’s analysis, it changed my opinion. It made so much more sense and helped me understand beyond the lines of that poem. I just started to like it, because with that analysis, I understood that those works might not be the easiest to understand but once you do, you know that they all possess a powerful message because the difference between modernist works in general with some other type of literature is that they talk about society as they really are. Modernist writers and artists talk about the side of society that nobody in that time period wanted to talk about, the taboos etc. It helps you understand the history of that time period, the people of that time period and the challenges they have been facing. You just soundaintly understand way more than you thought you did. And some of them, like Phenomenal Woman, are very inspiring. When reading through the analysis, I understood that he was talking about women in general and challenging ideas about women. That is what we want you to experience: read and get something out of it ( pleasure and knowledge) and we know that is not easy for everybody to understand a Robert Frost’ poem. We hope that by reading it, you will learn more about modernist poetry, short fictions and art and their vision of life and society.It was scary, fun, interesting and amazing to work for the first time on the publication of a magazine. I guess it was not easy for anybody but we are proud of the result. So go ahead and read on. We hope you will like it and learn something from it! Ouley NGOM, Editor in chief
Page 2
“The Lottery” Weakness Is a Crime Written by Shirley Jackson Analyzed by Bella Barbiere
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magine having a city tradition and gossiping together when you realize people are not what they seem? In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson written in the 40’s clearly identifies weakness, impact on society and selfishness. Weakness was notable and often was a common thing written about in the 40’s. The villagers keep on doing the same lottery tradition and no one ever stands up for it wanting it to change. People back then did not try and voice their own opinions and disapprovals. So many people were held under so much power by their husbands and rulers they were too afraid to take a risk. Instead there is anxiety and fear of the worst to happen. Furthermore, there was a impact on society. When Tessie handed
in her sheet in blank and the villagers threw a rock at her head killing her it took a major toll on some people. Townspeople ganged up on Tessie following everyone else knowing it was wrong but felt they could not change it because of being under too much control. Additionally, selfishness is present. Mr. Summers was given the description, “He was a round faced, jovial man, and he ran the coal business, and people felt sorry for him, because he had no children and his wife was a scold”. He actually was a cruel ,selfish man who pursued to killed a innocent person. It shows how evil society is and how people in that time could be really selfish and only cared about themselves and entertainment. Imagine having a city tradition and gossiping with everyone on a bright summers day when you realize people are not what they seem?
Short Stories 3
“Absolution” Written by Scott Fitzgerald Reviewed by Nico Salerno
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magine the sensation of thinking you will be banished to hell to rot and suffer for all eternity because you told a lie. This is the feeling Rudolph Miller must endure in the story “Absolution” by Scott Fitzgerald. He feels alone and scared with nobody he can lean on to help him. Rudolph is a naive boy with little experience coping with difficult situations and entrusts in others in attempt to solve his problems and worries. He is trusting and listen to what the priest has to say about lying in confession which only causes him to stress more over the matter. This demonstrates that confiding in others is not always the right action to take in life because society is often times corrupt. Furthermore, the priest turns out to be senseless to a degree by scaring Rudolph and making very big accusations regarding his future. For example, he claims that Rudolph could be sent to hell for lying in confession. This represents
how religion isn’t always the best path to take in life. Along with being scared, Rudolph also feels forsaken by others in his life. For instantes, his father beat him for trying to elude the confirmation at his church. Fitzgerald uses this as a symbol for how individuals in society can betray you and relying on others is meaningless. Rudolph has to withstand the hardships of being petrified of what his future has to hold in store because of the priest and has nobody to help him get through the situation. Fitzgerald cleverly uses this story as symbolism about how society can mislead you in life.
This painting shows the value of religion and how it used to be bigger than the world, it also shows the connection between F. Scott Fitzgerald’s piece “Absolution”.
Short Stories 4
“The Old Man at the Bridge” By Ernest Hemingway Reviewed by Josh Rumppe
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magine the struggle of being forced out of your home and moved away from the only things that you know. That is what happened to a 76 year old man in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man at The Bridge. The man is tired of walking and just wants to go back to his animals. The old man is an innocent and somewhat confused war refugee, as are many others leaving their homes. Repeated many times throughout the story is the phrase, “I was just taking care of my animals.” Although it seems like a very simple thing he is sharing with the soldier, it is really one of the largest symbols in the whole story. When he says that he was just taking care of his animals, that is used to represent him and all of the other innocent civilians displaced or devastated by the war. They were just living their normal lives, and did nothing that caused the war, but were still greatly affected by it. Following the first demonstration of modernism in the story, this one is probably the strongest symbol of them all. While talking to the soldier, he shares that he has four pairs of pigeons, a cat and two goats. He feels fine about the cat, because it can take care of itself as well as
the pigeons because they can fly. He is most worried about the goats and he says, “it’s better to not think about the rest” because they are not able to roam free and don’t know what’s going on therefore they can’t protect themselves. The goats are used to represent the man because he is confused about why he is being affected by a war he didn’t do anything to start. By not crossing the bridge, he is leaving himself defenseless, just like the goats are. The soldier in this story has to deal with knowing that because the old man isn’t going to cross the bridge, he will most likely end up dying right there near the bridge. The old man will not think about the defenseless goats dying helplessly, the soldier knows that’s what he should do about the old man, although he will still be thinking about him like the man and his goats. Hemingway incorporated a lot of good modernist symbols to show how much a war can affect society, especially the most innocent people who were forced away from their homes to go to a new place.
Short Stories 5
“The Late Encounter with the Enemy” By Flannery O’Connor Reviewed by Mary Lawlis
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ife asked Death, “Why do people love me but hate you?” Death responded, “Because you are a beautiful lie and I am a painful truth.” This is saying that it is true that people live day to day, thinking about what to do tomorrow, or making plans for the weekend, but very scarcely do people try to think about how all of this will have to come to an end. In the short story A Late Encounter With the Enemy by Flannery O’Connor, it was Sally Poker Sash’s big day graduating from college and all she wants is to have her hundred and four year old grandfather, General George poker sash by her side. This story symbolizes Modernism through the sense of loss, the use of the iceberg theory, and foreshadowing. Many modernist writers write about loss or death, to make the reader feel. In A Late Encounter With the Enemy, you can’t help but feel sorry for Sally. She studied for twenty years to make George proud of her but the day she gets her diploma he dies. Nothing ever went right for her, not even her biggest goal. She loved her grandfather and lived in his house to take care of him. Sally grew so used to having him around for so long, now she must cope with the fact he is gone. The Iceberg Theory was used in A
Late Night Encounter With the Enemy. O’Connor built up foreshadowing because she wanted to make it clear to the readers without exactly saying that the grandfathers death was on stage. Because of that Flannery O’Connor used the iceberg theory style of writing. She did not exactly say it, but she lets the readers know it did happen. The foreshadowing occurs several times throughout the story. One example is when Sally emphasizes on the fact that she always gets let down in life and her only goal is to have her grandfather on stage with her. It didn’t come to much surprise that he died on her big day. Another example is the use of black. The color of black is usually associated with the idea of death and its repeated throughout the whole story, like the black graduates robes.The title of the story is also a given because the reader can infer that a major enemy in life, is death. Death is a “painful truth” and is unavoidable, even though it can be late in life.
Short Stories 6
“Thank You Ma’am” Hope Lives On Reviewed by Bella Barbiere
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magine walking down the street in the dead of night, with your purse strapped over your shoulder and all of a sudden you feel a major tug. Then you hear a thud. As you look down you see a little boy on the ground holding your purse. Since he lost his balance you have a chance to grab him, kick him hard and get your belongings back. Would you turn him in? The short story “Thank you M’am” by Langston Hughes was written in the 1950’s and it relates to modernism through the new knowledge and Prejudice throughout the Great Depression time era. Langston revolves around new encaptured knowledge in society, by the main character Mrs. Jones, an old large African American women teaching a young boy named Roger who tried to steal her purse, right from wrong. She tried to show the importance of saying there our other more positive ways to get money. The author makes her the symbol of new change in the environment that would leave a mark on Roger and would pass on for many generations. The prejudice in this story is clearly present. Langston has the two main characters as colored people. Hugues wants to leave a message that any black person can make his own way in society and have their own standing in playing an active role in their environment. During the Harlem Renaissance,
African Americans wanted to have their own say in society but it was always whites making all the choices. Mrs. Jones and Roger are examples of being there own person looking out for their own views and not what other people think. In this story the time period was the Great Depression. Everyone acted like animals to get money living in the depths of poverty. Rodger is poor with a unwashed face who takes Mrs. Jones money which was a symbol of that time and how people lived. Society had to always be aware of their surroundings. Stealing was not an uncommon prospect especially with over 9.5 million people out of work in America. If you were walking down the street and someone grabbed your purse would you judge or would you help and educate? “Thank you M’am” by Langston Hughes gives us hope and faith for a change of the future of modernism.
Short Stories 7
“A Worn Path” Overcoming Obstacles for the Ones You Love Analyzed by Mary Lawlis Written by Eudora Welty
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ave you ever walked into a room and felt instantly judged, or given dirty looks for how you look or what you wear? The short story “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty was written around the 50’s and relates to modernism through breakdown of social norms, culture indifferences, and through the Great Depression time period. Welty centers on the breakdowns of social norms, her main character Phoenix, an elderly African-American woman was trying to take care of her grandson. During the old lady’s journey she is definetly not accepted in her days society. She is looked at as not a real person because of the color of her skin and was unjustly mistreated. She ran into a hunter in the woods and he talks down to her, he thought because she was old that she couldn’t hear or understand him. The culture differences in this little family clearly stands out. The part of the story when Phoenix went into town she was instantly persecuted, not just because of her race but also because shes poor. Picking up free medicine that was given out at a doctors office while dressed up in worn clothes made her look pitiful. The younger woman at the office saw her as a charity case and gave her a nickel. Taking place during the depression, Eudora portrays how some American Southerners had to live. Times were tough and people had to take whatever they could get.
In conclusion, this short story showed how even though everything is against you, still don’t give up. “Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far,” Phoenix said going up a hill while the trip was getting rough. She persevered for her grandson.
Short Stories 8
Modernist Poems By Lauren Miller
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odernist poetry was written in the time period of 1918-1970s. Modernist poets portray feelings of our past and dream of things of our present, using modernist writing styles. Authors of this period express hardships, changes in society, decision making, and while doing all of that they broke from traditional literature styles. These authors write in a way that there is always someone that can relate to the message they are trying to portray. One of my writers, Matthew Walters, writes about the hardships African Americans experience in his article Brass Spittoons revision. “All of the work a man of his color has to do to make a living in his racist society.” He writes about the poem Brass Spittoons by Langston Hughes reflecting on the way Langston expressed his views in his racist society. Have you ever had to make a massive decision that would lead you down to paths, then read Olivia Dameron’s article about Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken. It expresses the extreme strain a huge decision can put on a per-
son. “So he chooses a path but he thinks he will maybe come back to the other path some other day.” This shows the doubt many people feel after making a life altering decision. Another one of my writers, Tyler Denmark, writes a revision on A Total Stranger One Black Day by E.E. Cummings. He explains the difficulty of fighting with a friend and eventually ending that fight. “He then talks about how hard it can be to forgive someone.” This is expressing how hard it is to take the high road, especially if you’re still frustrated. In all three of these articles the authors express a type of hardship that anyone could relate to in some way. Modernist poetry expresses new challenges, situations, and feelings people felt at this time period.
Poem 9
“Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” Written by Robert Frost Analyzed by Olivia Damron
He doesn’t think the owner will mind if he stops for a while to watch the snow fall. The man’s horse thinks it’s weird to be stopping there though, in a dark, empty, snowy woods with no farmhouse nearby. Next, the horse rattles his harness My little horse must think it queer bells to get the man’s attention but other To stop without a farmhouse near than the sound of the bells there is only a Between the woods and frozen lake sound of a light wind. The darkest evening of the year. Frost finishes the poem by telling us how much the man admires the woods: He gives his harness bells a shake “The woods are lovely, dark and deep.” But To ask if there is some mistake. he can’t hang around and watch the snowThe only other sound’s the sweep fall all night because he has other places to Of easy wind and downy flake. go and things to do: “...I have promises to The woods are lovely, dark and deep, keep and miles to go before I sleep.” If you have read another of Frost’s But I have promises to keep, works “The Road not Taken” you will reAnd miles to go before I sleep, call that that poem’s narrator had choices to And miles to go before I sleep. make, also in the woods. Today’s character also needs to decide if he is going to stay in the bitter cold, snowy woods where he may ust when you thought you have had enough of winter, today I am freeze to death or get lost or if he is going going to tell you about Robert Frost’s to make his way home to do the things he needs to do. While we get the feeling the he Poem “Stopping by the Woods on a likes being alone in the woods we know he Snowy Evening”, a nice little poem can’t stay. about a man and his horse on a cold winter night. Robert Frost was a poet who loved nature, and the reader will notice that right away. Every paragraph describes nature in one way or another, and that is what I’ll tell you about here. He starts off the poem by telling us that he is trespassing through woods that belong to someone else. Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.
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Poetry 10
“A Minor Bird” By Robert Frost Reviewed by Olivia Damron
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t’s a perfect time for Robert Frost’s poem, “A Minor Bird” to come to mind, especially now that the weather is getting nicer and we will have our windows open more often. One thing that Frost always likes to do in his works is make nature symbolize what happens in everyday life, and he does so in the very short poem, A Minor Bird.
they want. Knowing how Frost likes to incorporate nature into everyday life, it isn’t surprising he would equate a bird’s off key tune with noisy people he might disagree with. It’s pretty clever, actually, and something he probably hopes the reader takes note of.
This piece is kind of funny, in that it opens with the narrator being annoyed by a bird that is singing near his front door and he has tried over and over to get it to go away: “I have clapped my hands at him from the door when it seems as if I could bear no more.” The narrator is really frustrated that this bird (who he thinks is singing off key) won’t go sing somewhere else. He finishes this short poem by admitting that possibly there is something wrong with himself in “wanting to silence any song.” The narrator decides to take some of the blame, because the bird can’t help how his song sounds. We even get the idea that possibly the bird represents humans and their freedom of speech. We might not like what the people around us say, but they have their right to say what
Poems 11
“A Total Stanger One Black Day” Written by E.E. Cummings Analyzed by Tyler Denmark
“A Total Stranger One Black Day” a total stranger one black day knocked living the hell out of me-who found forgiveness hard because my(as it happened)self he was -but now that fiend and I are such immortal friends the other’s each
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ave you ever had a huge fight with your friend, and thought you would never be able to forgive him or her again? Feels horrible doesn’t it? E. E. Cummings addresses this situation in his poem “A Total Stranger One Black Day.” The first two lines show how it feels to have a fight with a friend when he says “a total stranger one black day...” Cummings shows how fighting is one of the worst feelings by comparing it to being knocked out. He then talks about how hard it can be to forgive someone in lines three and four when he says “who found forgiveness hard because…” E. E. is telling us that forgiving that person makes everything better and that you shouldn’t just do it for them, but also yourself. As the poem comes to an end
in lines five and six, Cummings says “but now that fiend and I are such…” to explain the benefits of forgiveness. He says that your enemy might become your best friend if you just forgive them, which makes both yours and their lives better. Odds are you and your friend have already made up, and I bet you both feel a lot better now. As Cummings demonstrates in his poem, “A Total Stranger One Black Day,” life becomes better for everyone with forgiveness, and if you haven’t made up with your friend, hopefully this poem has made you reconsider your next move.
Art Analysis Written by Miles Wolfram
It relates to story because one of the lines talk about a stranger being knocked out in a fight. This picture shows two men about to fight which is obviously a main part in the poem. Poem 12
“Humanity I Love You” By E. E. Cummings Reviewed by Tyler Denmark
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any people feel we are destroying ourselves and the world around us. E. E. Cummings talks about how displeased he is with humanity, and how we have destroyed ourselves in his poem “Humanity I Love You.” He uses metaphors and puts strong mental images in our minds during this poem. Cummings uses a unique writing style to depict how stupid we are, his disgust with us, and how our social classes are a wreck. Over our existence on this earth, we have become increasingly less intelligent due to money and power, and Cummings shows this in his poem “Humanity I Love You.” “When you’re hard up you pawn your/intelligence to buy a drink and when/you’re flush pride keeps/you from the pawn shop.” This example shows how humans would give away their most important things just for a temporary fix to our problems, and we would do it without even blinking an eye or thinking twice. Cummings tells us that he is incredibly displeased with the progress of humans over our time here. The lines where he says, “you/ are perpetually putting the secret of/life in your pants and forgetting/it’s there and sitting down/on it,” clearly shows just how ignorant we are, and how careless humans have become over our lifetime. Cummings uses a very unique writing style and metaphor here to show us his point. Humans have developed many amazing things that have stood the test of time, but
we have also created many horrible things that destroy others and us all. One of the things Cummings says is horrible is the social classes. “You would rather black the boots of/success than enquire whose soul dangles from his watch-chain.” This quote shows how social classes have made the weak weaker and the rich more powerful and selfish. He shows his point by writing in a way that puts a very descriptive image in our minds to really emphasize his point about our social classes. As you can see from the above paragraphs, E. E. Cummings is extremely displeased with the progress of humanity and what we have evolved to be. He uses metaphors, his usual unique writing style, and incorporates lines that put a powerful mental image into the readers mind to help them really understand how disappointed he is with humans. In “Humanity I Love You,” Cummings tells us exactly what he thinks about humans, which is that we are becoming more and more stupid, we are failing, and our social classes are destroyed.
Poem 13
“It”
Written by E.E. Cummings Analyzed by Tyler Denmark
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ave you ever wanted to change the world? In E. E. Cummings poem “If,” he describes how the world works and how much it affects our lives without us even knowing about it. He uses comparisons to show how much different we would be if the world wasn’t like it is now. Cummings talks about how the world should stay the way it is now, how the hardships made us into us, and how wishing for things is a losing battle. In “If,” Cummings says that the world needs to stay the way it is because if it changed, we would change and not be ourselves anymore. When he says, “For if here was there/We wouldn’t be we,” he shows us that we would change our lives if we tried to change the way the world operates right now. E. E. also talks about how our struggles in life and throughout history have shaped our lives and the lives of those around us. He says that we needed to go through these tough times to make us stronger and prepare us for the next obstacle. “And measles were nice and a lie warn’t a lie,/Life would be delight-/ But things couldn’t go right/For in such a sad plight/I wouldn’t be I.” This clearly shows that if the terrible things in life like measles and lies were actually good, everything would be different for you and the rest of the world. Another point E. E. brings up is
If freckles were lovely, and day was night, And measles were nice and a lie warn’t a lie, Life would be delight,— But things couldn’t go right For in such a sad plight I wouldn’t be I. If earth was heaven and now was hence, And past was present, and false was true, There might be some sense But I’d be in suspense For on such a pretense You wouldn’t be you. If fear was plucky, and globes were square, And dirt was cleanly and tears were glee Things would seem fair,— Yet they’d all despair, For if here was there We wouldn’t be we. that if you go through life just wishing for everything, its like running on a treadmill, you’ll never get anywhere. Cummings says “If earth was heaven and now was hence,/And past was present, and false was true,/ There might be some sense/But I’d be in suspense/For on such a pretense/You wouldn’t be you” to show us that wishing for the world to be perfect would change us for the worst, and that you can’t go through life just wishing for everything, you have to go out and get whatever it is you’re seeking in life. Cummings uses his usual unique writing style and descriptive comparisons to show us how much different we would be if we tried to change our world, and how that would be a bad thing. He gives us many things to take away from this poem, but the most important are that we shouldn’t change our world, we should just grit our teeth through the tough times, and that we shouldn’t go through life wishing for good things to happen. These are things that can improve our world dramatically, that everyone in the world can do, and they require just a little bit of self control and determination.
Poem 14
“Passing Time” By Maya Angelou Reviewed by Eric Henderson
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uring the 1930’s, people of color were not treated fairly or equally, and in Maya Angelou’s poem, Passing Time, Angelou uses metaphorical phrases and logical thinking to explain this intolerant perception of race, and show why it is wrong. Angelou compares white skin and black skin to different times of the day. “Your skin like dawn, mine like musk.” White skin is like the dawn of morning, and black skin is like the dusk of night. They are equally as important and beautiful, however Angelou uses the word “musk”, which is a twisted spelling of “dusk.” This represents society’s view of black people as inferior. Race should mean nothing because in the greatest view of life itself, we will all share a beginning and an end. “One paints the beginning of a certain end. The other, the end of a sure beginning.” These lines show that whether someone is white, black, asian, a man, or a woman we are all on this earth together, and we should respect each other. During the 1930’s, black people were treated extremely unfairly and Angelou created a poem that clearly outlines how race was perceived, and how it should be
perceived. Today racism is still very prevalent everywhere in the world, however tolerance towards people of color, and pretty much anyone who isn’t male, caucasian, or heterosexual has improved amazingly.
Poem 15
“Phenomenal Women” By Maya Angelou Reviewed by Eric Henderson
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n the 1920s women were segregated, ignored, and not treated as equals, but poems like Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman challenged those ideas. Angelou uses descriptive sentences to describe why being a woman should be celebrated and that all women are beautiful. A lot of women feel very insecure and discouraged just because they are women, but Angelou tries to prove that all women are beautiful. Angelou describes her perception of her body, the interactions of people around her, and uses an iconic sentence that is repeated. In every paragraph Angelou describes her body in descriptive and empowering ways. “It’s the fire in my eyes, and the flash of my teeth, the swing in my waist, and the joy in my feet.” Angelou gives these descriptions in positive and almost seductive ways, and she implies that all women have a fire in their eyes and a flash in their smile. Angelou also describes how all women deserve to be treated as queens. “I walk into a room just as cool as you please, and to a man, the fellows stand or fall down on their knees. Then they swarm around me, a hive of honey bees.” This example shows that just by her walking into a room, every man falls on their knees in love with her, and that every woman deserves such attention. Finally, Angelou repeats a phrase at the end of every paragraph which describes the
importance of women. “I’m a woman phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me.” This sentence encompasses the whole poem and it means that every woman is phenomenal, regardless of what they look like or social standing. When this poem was written in 1928, the most common view of women was that they are useless and just objects for men, however, this poem challenged that mindset and explained that women aren’t just objects, but rather real people and they should all be treated like queens. Today, women in America are regarded with more respect than ever in history.
Poem 16
Minstrel Man
By Langston Hughes Reviewed by Austin Kolodzinski
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ave you ever had to put on a different face to hide your pain or sadness from other people? In the poem “Minstrel Man” by Langston Hughes, the author explains how many people did this, and wrote about how people can be deceived by a simple smile.
don’t see it because of the people who cover up their suffering. Perhaps you too can relate to the wonderful poem and realize that all you need to be successful in life is a true smile and complete happiness.
After reading the poem, it can be concluded that the true meaning of the poem is about a slave of an unstated race that hides his emotions and pain through a smile. This relates to today’s generation because many people who are hurt often hide the pain in public by smiling and laughing, just like Hughes writes in his work. In other words, Hughes is saying that many people in his time period hide all their pain by smiling and laughing to make it seem like they’re happy so others will not confront him or feel there is anything wrong. Hughes also doesn’t understand how people can’t tell how much pain others have been through and how something as simple as a smile can cover it all up. The poem is very modernist because the overview of the poem is saying how the world is depressing and many people
Poem 17
“Brass Spittoons” By Langston Hughes Reviewed by Matt Walters
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hen people have a job now a days they complain about how terrible it is and how little they get paid. Well in Langston Hughes’ poem Brass Spittoons, Hughes uses dialogue that is commonly used toward African-Americans, and all of the work a man of his color has to do to make a living in his racist society. In the 1920s and 1930s African-Americans could not have a high paying job, or have a career in many places in the country, so he is getting payed little money and he has a lot of responsibilities to handle, which is tougher to handle when they weren’t receiving the same treatments. Hughes explains the correlation on how he is paid and treated at work and alln of the responsibilities a black man has in his life. While white men are “in charge” of the world that black men work in, it doesn’t mean that they work as hard or are the boss of african-american’s lives. “Clean the spittoons. The steam in hotel kitchens, And the smoke in hotel lobbies, And the slime in hotel spittoons: Part of my life. Hey, boy! A nickel, A dime, A dollar, Two dollars a day. Hey, boy! A nickel, A dime, A dollar, Two dollars. Buy shoes for the baby. House rent to pay. Gin on Saturday, Church on Sunday My God!” He first keeps getting told the jobs he must do in a very demeaning fashion, then he goes through the money he has made, and at the end he states all of the responsibilities he must attend to. Hughes is trying to portray the fact that black men have a lot to handle. They aren’t getting any
help, and are being discriminated against by whites. Now there is no denying that the United States of America has a long dark history of racism toward African-Americans. While many of the events in black American history that are studied are about slavery in the south and the civil rights movement, this poem gives a good perspective of African-American life in the early 1900’s America. Now next time you go to work and think about complaining just remember, you do not have it as bad as others had before you.
Poetry 18
“Will V-Day be Me-Day Too?” Respect for a Soldier By Langston Hughes Reviewed by Matt Walters
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et’s say you are in a art museum and someone starts destroying all of the art. You stop the man from breaking everything, but you end up paying for it. Would you still do it? That is what Langston Hughes is getting at in his poem “Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too?”. During World War II, African-Americans in America were still being mistreated. Hughes is confused on how black men are still being mistreated when they are considered brothers to fellow soldiers, and fight and die for their country. African-Americans are being mistreated and Langston can’t understand how they can do that while they sacrifice so much for them. “When we see Victory’s glow, Will you still let old Jim Crow Hold me back?” When Langston Hughes says “Will you still let old Jim Crow hold me back?” he is referring to the Jim Crow laws placed to segregate African-Americans from whites and to not give them an equal and fair opportunity to live a good life. When men fight along side together there is a special bond between them no matter the color of their skin, but when they get home they are disrespected and forgotten. “As a soldier, and a friend. When this war comes to an end, Will you herd me in a Jim Crow car Like cattle?” He is explaining how what they do for each other in war means nothing when they get home and he doesn’t understand that.
African-Americans are part of the army, they fight and die for one another just like white men, but back home white men are killing black men just for being black. “I wear a U. S. uniform. I’ve done the enemy much harm, I’ve driven back The Germans and the Japs, From Burma to the Rhine. On every battle line, I’ve dropped defeat Into the Fascists’ laps. I am a Negro American Out to defend my land Army, Navy, Air Corps--I am there. I take munitions through, I fight--or stevedore, too. I face death the same as you do Everywhere.” He explains how back home on a normal day he is in constant danger of being killed if it was just like war. It took many years and protest to allow African-Americans into the military, and even after they fought for us we treated them like crap. No matter what the color of their skin is or what religion they are, if they fought for you, you owe them your respect and gratitude.
Poem 19