Theme For English B Essay

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Theme For English B Essay

In the poem, "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes, the theme is if you're a person of color, it doesn't mean you're different from somebody who's not. We're all human. When Langston began the poem, he gave reasons to why he isn't any different than a white citizen. He wrote, "Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life. I like a pipe for a Christmas present, or records Bessie, bop, or Bach." Though he is a different color, it doesn't mean that he isn't a normal human being. A black still includes all the characteristics and interests as a "normal" person, no matter their color. During the middle of the poem, Hughes give the point of view of a non–colored person. He writes, "So will

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Imagine the year 1949 and you are the only colored student in the class. Some would say you are beyond fortunate to be in a room full of white students with a white instructor. How would you feel? Furthermore, what thoughts would flow through your mind? Possibly, you may wonder if you shall quit the class. Given the timeframe in history, you would likely feel at a disadvantage. After all, the laws of segregation were not dismissed yet. This is the scenario the speaker in Langston Hughes, "Theme for English B", is experiencing. While expressing his thoughts, the speaker portrays resentment, but an understanding towards the instructor. Throughout the poem, the speaker uses sarcasm in his words, showing resentment towards his instructor. As...show more content...

With each line of resentment, he backdoors with a line of understanding. For instance, he questions the truth in line 16, but then explains. "Well, I liked to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. / I like to work, read, learn, and understand life" (21–22). He continues, "I guess being colored doesn't make me not like / the same things other folks like who are other races" (25–26). Not only does the speaker address he has the same basic human needs as anyone, but he also expresses regardless his race he likes the same hobbies as those of other races. In addition, he explains acceptance, "You are white– / yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. / That's American" (30–33). Obviously, the speaker sees the transformation in America and realizes races will eventually learn to interact with one another. As he continues the assignment, he clarifies the mutual understanding of wanting to avoid opposite races, but knowingly interaction must happen. Furthermore, he clarifies the teacher will teach him and supposes the teacher may learn from him as well. Even though the student is sarcastic in particular aspects, he still understands the desperate need for a cordial

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How To Write Theme For English B Analysis

Theme For English B

In the current political climate, it seems that there is no room for moderation. You're either watch one side or the other, and there is no room for the other's side's views. These political affiliations continue to separate Americans further and further apart, yet renowned African American poet Langston Hughes seemed to find a solution for these problem seventy years ago in his poem "Theme for English B," where a young black student is tasked with writing an assignment for English class. Written in a time of great racial uncertainty, Hughes uses the seemingly innocuous experience of writing a paper to challenges ideas regarding the complexity of racial unity as Americans and encourages the exploration of a shared national identity. The title of the poem seems to provide a frame of reference for all that takes places, as the narrator, a young black college student, is tasked to write a paper where the only rules are to "let that page to come out of you" (Hughes l.4). With this assignment in mind, the audience is introduced to the narrator's world, where he quite literally starts out by describing his lengthy route back home from Colombia University back to his apartments in Harlem. As he gets started on his assignment, he makes a clear point of hisrace and his experience as he can "feel and see and hear, Harlem"(Hughes l.18). As he continues to write about himself, he writes of wanting "a pipe for a Christmas present, or records–Bessie, bop or Bach" (Hughes ll.23–24)

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Theme For English B

Throughout my life I have experienced many trials that are quite different to that of the narrator in "Theme for English B"; however, there are some similarities such as his life experiences, that can be compared to those of the narrator. In this poem Langston Hughes writes of a man who is given an assignment with very abstract and philosophical instructions for writing this paper. Accordingly, the narrator has some difficulties at first because he thinks of how different he and the professor is, saying "It's not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty–two, my age. But I guess I'm what I feel and see and hear" (16–18). Consequently, the narrator realizes thedifference between his life in Harlem and the life of his white professor. This causes the narrator to be skeptical of how the professor may receive the narrators' interpretation of the assignment. Though the narrator and I share similar characteristics and experiences it is the differences that make the most impact throughout this paper. Three major differences are his teacher's assignment, the colleges view of him, and his life in general. While Hughes does provide much background information on the narrator's past, he gives multiple examples of his life a student and as a citizen living at the YMCA in Harlem. Initially, the professor's assignment provides a unique view on what normal diagnostic tests usually are, and the instructions for his assignment allow me to think of what I would write as a

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Theme For English B Thesis

Thesis Statement: Both Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" and Langston Hughes' "Theme for English B" depicts the way society is so stereotypical to a person based on race, gender, sexual preference, cultures, religions, and how some people will never understand a person's plights because they don't come from the same environment.

Theme for English B:

The 22–year old male, black, college student from Winston–Salem, North Carolina questions his professor about his assignment because the assignment required him to speak about his truth; but the student is skeptical about the requirements because he believes and understands that they live in a different environment and also their realities differ. To understand someone's background or cultural upbringings you must either come from that environment or do intensive research.

In so many words it basically explains the way society in America is today because the media is quick to judge a person by theirrace or cultural upbringings when the person is of color. When they speak on the police killing innocent people and riots that follow, they're quick to say something about their past criminal activity, "thuggish pictures" they post on social media, or...show more content... These people will say something like "If he would've just obeyed the officer's commands, that wouldn't have happened," not knowing the daily harassments black men face in America; not because they did something wrong but just because in hopes of finding something to arrest them for and if not they'll provoke the situation, which is called entrapment. But tere's always people who'll never understand but always have an opinion as to why and how. This is similar to when the student says my reality may not be your reality because they don't come from the same environments even though they may have plenty in common, he's not being viewed by intelligence but his

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Langston Hughes was an American poet during the Harlem Renaissance. His literature and other artistic forums filled Manhattan during the 1920's and is still admired today. His writing not only promoted African–American culture but also brought attention to the injustice and repression of the African–American race. Hughes poems "I, Too" and "Theme for English B" further his views on equal civil rights and the horrible treatment by law on the African–American race. In Hughes' poem "Theme for English B," the use of the word "I" implies that the speaker is referring to himself. This poem is written in the first–person voice and gives a completely different effect. Hughes writes this poem as if it were a narrative: "I am twenty–two, colored, born in Winston–Salem" (7)....show more content...

He uses this poem to have an intelligent dialog with his teacher. Creatively using the first–person point of view to intensify the effect of the story thus Hughes uses words such as "I" and "them", "me" and "you," to point out the differences; whether they were obvious or not, between he and his teacher. Lines thirty one through forty give a particular incessant juxtaposition of the words "you" and "me." This well written excerpt not only highlights the obvious differences between the narrator and his teacher but cleverly puts the narrator in a position of authority. During the time this poem were written this was a controversial hot spot and the execution of words was handpicked in an eloquent way, a brilliant sign of strength and source of

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Theme For English B,

Langston Hughes, born in 1902, live through the most divisive part of American history. Hughes grew up during such a time when Jim Crow laws still existed in the South, prohibiting African Americans from mixing with Whites in public places. He was able to live through this and see the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movements. Compared to other poets before and of his era, who were predominantly White, Hughes is able to provide insight on the race relations between Whites and Blacks based on his experiences. While other poets, such as Walt Whitman, might have expressed disgust in their poetry in regard to the mistreatment of African Americans, it does not seem as genuine coming from them as it does coming from Hughes. Hughes was able to provide...show more content...

He was assigned to write a page and let what was written on it reflect who he is on the inside. In the third stanza of "Theme for English B", Hughes mentions that he hears Harlem, a predominantly Black neighborhood in New York City, and identifies with it and its people. He also identifies with the rest of New York City even if he is not acknowledged by the rest of New York City, which can be assumed as being the "White" part of New York City. This shows the dichotomy of Hughes's personality, feeling at home in these two very different worlds yet only being accepted by one. In the same stanza, he compares himself to the rest of New York City. He shows that he isn't much different from them as he has the same tastes and interests as them. In a call back to the first stanza, this leads Hughes to ask, "So will my page be colored that I write?", in regard to who he is based on his interests. He asks this because of the dual nature of who he is as a person, but it all comes down to race when people view him. Hughes goes on to say that his professor is white, yet they are both a part of each other. Both Black and White cultures along with many others are a part of what it means to be an American. In the fourth stanza, Hughes again shows the hope he has for the future as he demonstrated in "I, Too" with the line "I guess you learn from

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"Theme for English B" is a free style writing, while "Ballad of Birmingham" is a poem, so it contains more rhythm. Though both of them are about civil rights. In "Theme for English B" the writer says "You are white– yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That's American". He is a colored person but when he say this in his paper to his teachers it shows that no matter what color they are that they are still Americans and part of the same country. And in "Ballad of Birmingham" shows how dangerous and hard it is to gain civil rights. The mother in the writing sends her daughter to church instead of a rally, "No, baby, no, you may not go, for I fear those guns will fire. But you may go to church instead, and sing in the children's choir.",

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Langston Hughes Theme For English B Analysis

Best known for bringing tough issues into his writing, Langston Hughes has an important place in the history of American poetry. Growing up as a young black man in southern America, he saw and experienced firsthand the struggles of a colored man trying to find his place in the world. As a member of the Harlem Renaissance, which was a group of black writers in New York City,Langston Hughes, helped lead the Civil Rights Movement. In Theme for English B, told from the point of view of a young black student, Hughes can relate first hand to the speaker's struggles. Following this further, Theme for English B focuses on the interaction between a white professor and a black student whose assignment to "write down what comes out of him" forces him...show more content...

(7–10)

Clearly, in line 7 the word "colored" gives the reader an image of the point in time that this poem has taken place, the term "colored" is racist in the current day and time. Further showing racial imagery, Langston Hughes uses the speaker to inform the reader he is the only black student in the class. Additionally isolating the speaker, he questions his ownrace, stating, "I guess being colored doesn't make me NOT like / the same things other folks like who are other races." (25–26). The reader can feel that the speaker connects to other races, showing he "likes the same things" thus, he is like any other American. Langston Hughes uses the poetic element of voice to illustrate the theme of race. Narrators tell their stories, by expressing the literary device of voice in the form of a poem. Frank E. Perez stated that voice, which is dominant in Expressivism, brings up students' ethics, and voice originates from ethics (344). Expressing the theme voice, Langston Hughes gives his audience insight into the speaker's state of mind. Felt in the following lines:

I feel and see and hear, Harlem I hear you: Hear you, hear me–we two–you, me, talk on this page.

(I hear New York, too.) Me–who?

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Theme For English B

Throughout my life I have experienced many trials that are quite different to that of the narrator in "Theme for English B"; however, there are some similarities in my life that I can compare to those of the narrator. In this poem Langston Hughes writes about a man who is given an assignment with very abstract and philosophical instructions for writing a paper. Accordingly, the narrator has some difficulties at first because he thinks of how different he and the professor are, saying "It's not easy to know what is true for you or me/ At twenty–two, my age. But I guess I'm what/ I feel and see and hear you" (16–18). Consequently, the narrator realizes the difference between his life in Harlem and the life of his white professor, which causes...show more content...

Although the time periods are spread over sixty years, I can see the shared characteristics of the narrator's life and mine. While the narrator faces certain struggles due to his race and background; many others face that same problem today, which is the target of Hughes' poem. In lines 34 and 35, the narrator says "Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me. / Nor do I often want to be a part of you, but we are, that's true!" In this statement, Hughes targets the blatant racism and hatred of minorities, while also indirectly asserting how badly Americans had treated minorities in the late sixties. In addition, the narrator worries the professor will grade his work unfairly due to his race; however, this does not deter him from writing his paper and pointing out certain topics that other students would hesitate to put in a paper. At the same time, I realize this topic for English 1102 is extremely similar to that of the assignment the narrator receives in English B. I feel this way because we must know ourselves and realize what is similar or different to the narrator's experiences in Harlem to be able to compare our lives to Get more content

Theme For English B Essay

Although he was criticized by both whites and blacks, the role pivotal role Langston Hughes played in the Harlem Renaissance is undeniable, for he remained loyal to writing about the nuances of black life and its many hardships. He was particularly known for his simplicity in capturing the troubles of Black Americans; doing so through mundane subjects such as work, relationships, money, and everyday life. This same simplicity is applied to his poem, "Theme for English B". Through the use of subtle word choice, imagery, and wordplay, Hughes' poem simplifies the complex theme of race and identity as he guides the reader through the stream of consciousness of a perplexed individual. As the first stanza opens up, we see the instructor's directions for the assignment: "Go home and write / a page tonight. / And let that page come out of you–" (2–4). Most readers would agree that the assignment sounds vague, but simple enough. However, it is what the instructor says next that creates the lengthy 41–line stream of consciousness the reader is ultimately subjected to. "Then, it will be true." (5). The word "true" (5) is what prompts the speaker to question the difficulty of the "page" (3) he needs to write tonight, hence the opening of line the third stanza. "I wonder if it's that simple?" (6). Already, there is a conversation starting between him and seemingly no one else as he searches for the answers. The third stanza unfolds itself to the reader with each line providing a piece of historical and societal context to establish a foundation for what is "true" (5) for the speaker. The first line of the stanza reads, "I am twenty–two,

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Theme For English B Summary

The title of my poem in called "Theme for English B' written by Langston Hughes. Hughes was born in February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri, and died on May 22, 1967. He wrote and sold his first poem in 1922 called "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." Hughes is one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art called jazz poetry(Wikipedia). The theme of the poem is that everyone should treat people with respect, no matter your skin color or what race you are.Everyone should treat people how they want to be treated, like in the poem the student is getting treated differently because of his skin color. In the poem you are able to find the theme by looking at the connotations and the different shift throughout the poem.

In the poem "Theme for English B" there are a lot of connotations like similes and metaphors. For example in stanza 5 when he says " I guess being colored doesn't make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races" (468), he is saying that he should be able to do whatever he likes and should not be treated differently because of his race. He wants to be able to do what he likes, he does not want people to stop him from doing what he loves. He is also saying that just because he is not white doesn't mean he is different from everyone else....show more content...

And let that page come out of you– Then it will be true" (467) he is saying to that the page should come from your heart. The instructor is not actually want a page to come out of their bodie. He wants the students to express their feeling. Overall, one way that you could be able to find the theme of the poem is to look and the different

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Critical Analysis of Theme for English B Essay

When I first read Langston Hughes' poem "Theme for English B", I did not particularly like it. But after reading it a second time and discussing it in class, I came to appreciate the poem on several levels. The way Hughes describes the setting of Harlem/New York is brief, but evocative. He also gives us insight into the thoughts and emotions of the main character, the young "colored" student, and ends the piece with severalthought provoking passages.

In the first stanza we find the student, who is also the narrator, having gotten his homework assignment to write a paper, is returning home to Harlem. The school he attends is "on the hill" (line 9), and apparently is in a "better" part of town, so he has to travel through the...show more content...

In addition, the typical person who lives at the YMCA is poor and destitute. Imagine how much more destitute the person must be who lives at the YMCA in Harlem! I like these subtle meanings that are "hidden" within a few well–chosen words and the way they make the reader think.

Once the student is back in his room, he begins pondering his life's situation. He is sensitive to his current environment, and imagines Harlem and New York talking to him, as if they were friends. They are the two worlds he is a part of, and he tries to resolve the differences by acknowledging the similarities. He recognizes that his life has many things in common with other people; working, loving, reading, learning, eating, sleeping, etc. Only the objects of expression are different.

The last stanza seems to change focus, moving to the page he is going to write. He makes pointed reference to the colors of the paper (white) and what he will be adding to it (not white).

The paper is from the instructor (white) and the words are from the student (colored). As he did earlier, the student recognizes other similarities between the two cultures; both are American, yet neither wants very much to be part of the other. He comes to the conclusion that although each has something to contribute, neither of them is really free. The student will never be white (the paper), but the instructor can gain

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Theme For English B Analysis

As seen in "Theme for English B, it takes place in 1951, a time in which racism was experienced in everyday life. Also, how that title implies that the poem is about English class or something related. What got my attention when reading this poem was how it started with an instructor telling a young and colored student to write a poem at home. From the title of the poem I can tell that this is a student and a professor relationship. However, the student was not given a specific topic to write about. The next two lines, "And let that page come out of you– Then it will be true," provides what he will be writing about, himself. Line six transitions to the student, now the speaker. The author has created a persona, which is a fictitious character...show more content... He's in the stage of figuring himself out. Line nineteen describes the speaker wanting to be heard by the classmates. Next, line twenty he is unsure how all of us are separated. Verse twenty one starts off in an almost sarcastic tone. Then line twenty–two through twenty–six follows with doing things others (non–colored) would enjoy to do further implying that races should not be apart in the first place. However, verse twenty–seven says "So will my page be colored that I write?" The author is asking the question of whether or not when he turns his poem into his professor, if it will hold the same importance as if a non–colored student would turn theirs in. Transitioning to verse twenty–eight, "Being me, it will not be white," I think the speaker is trying to say that because the poem was written by him, whether it is proper or not, will still be considered as a poem written by a "black" person. Verses twenty–nine and thirty–two goes even more in depth to his internal struggle of being colored. He is debating to himself that the paper won't be white because it's coming from him and then somewhat it will because the things he likes to do, non–colored like to do as well.

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We've have all experienced inequality in some way because we are all inherently different from another. However, do these minor differences justify prejudice and segregation? Is it fair to outcast members of a society because their circumstances differ from ours? These are the themes that Langston Hughes explores in his, Theme for English B. In the text, Hughes makes the statement, "will my page be colored that I write?" What he means by this is that just because he is colored, it doesn't mean that he does not like the same things that people of other races like. This causes him to question if his page will be "colored" since he is not white; in other words, will the pigmentation of his skin determine the value of his paper? The message that he is portraying is that there is little difference between you and I and that we should not divide ourselves based upon appearances, and that it is wrong for other people to make assumptions about him based off the color of his skin. I do not think that his page will be colored because though he lived during the 1900's when racism ran rampant, he was brown, a mixed race which was considered to be above being black at the time. Despite this disadvantage and lack of opportunities, Hughes became a successful and influential writer.

In my service site, both the residents and the service members are learning from each other, but according to the poem, I believe that Langston would make the assertion that the residents are learning more from

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Langston Hughes Theme For English B

In "Theme for English B" Langston Hughes dramatizes race and self–identity. Hughes is struggling to relate himself to his teacher and everyone around him, so he starts off by telling readers about his background such as his age and where he has lived. "I am twenty–two, colored, born in Winston– Salem" (2). Through the first stanza of the poem we know that Hughes is living through a time where race is a big issue and not too many African Americanadolescents are in school like he is. He is learning more and more about himself by asking questions about the society he lives in and if and how he fits in it. He is trying to discover truths about his self–identity by comparing himself and his white teacher several times. "You are white– yet a...show more content...

Also, there are references to the YMCA, Bessie Smith, and Bop Music. These allusions show an insight into the elements that affected the student in this piece and their everyday life and culture. The rhyme, rhythm, and allusions shown in this poem allow a reader to follow a more relatable and understanding of the poem. There are many symbolic elements incorporated into "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes. For example, there are many "black and white references" in the concern of racial bias. In line 10, a reader will see the word "colored" instead of African American. This a vivid symbol that shows that the student in isolate in an all–white class and makes them seem alone. The word colored was meant to be a description of the student, but during the time period it was written the word "colored" was also derogatory and degrading. Imagery is prominent in the piece. Lines 11–15 provide the ready a scenic walk through Harlem. The author does this by providing lines such as 11–15, "The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem, / through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas, / Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y, / the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator/ up to my room, sit down, and write this page:" Allegory is also a major element found in this poem. Get more content

Theme of English B

The two authors, Langston Hughes and Sterling Brown, both have earned the right to be included in the same category as white poets. They were both very important members of the Harlem movements. This movement is defined as a style that compares the similarities of the two different races, back and white. Both poets are considered dominant black poets and their works consist of day–to–day life of a typical African American man. These two poets discuss in very different ways the differences between white men and black men of their time.

In "Theme for English B", the writer (Langston Hughes) is assigned to write a page about himself. The instructor wanted him to do this because he thought whatever the student chose to write about would be...show more content...

Another example in the poem of the similarities and differences between races is a when the author talks about the finances of Mister Samuel and Sam. 'Mister Samuel deal wid high finance, Sam deal in a two–bit game; Mister Samuel crashes, Sam goes broke, But deys busted jes' de same' (Brown, 220) compares how the finances are much lower of the black man compared to the white man. This stanza continues by providing the similarities between the men. It discusses how both the white man and the black man experience financial downfall as a result. Both Brown and Hughes show the similarities and differences of white men and black men from two different angles and they allow the reader to compare races in different ways. They both show styles of writings that were expressed by poets of the Harlem movement.

Works Cited

Brown, Sterling. "Mister Samuel and Sam". The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. D. . Nina Baym. 7th Ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 2021–2022. Hughes, Langston. "Theme for English B". The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. D. . Nina Baym. 7th Ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007.

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Through his poem "Theme for English B", Langston Hughes expresses his will to exterminate discrimination by proving that despite different skin colors, Americans all share similarities and learn from each other. Langston wrote the poem in 1900, when black Americans were not considered Americans. He talks about a black student being assigned to write a paper about himself. The audience is thus the student's professor–the representation of the white Americans. Since the professor said: "let that page come out of you Then, it will be true.", the student began wondering "if it's that simple". He then describes himself to explain why it isn't simple: he is "twenty–two", "the only colored in class", and lives in the poor community Harlem....show more content...

Sometimes, the difference make them not want to be a part of each other, yet "that's true": they are living in America– a multicultural country that values equality and liberty. That is why they should learn to deal with the differences and take advantages of the similarities as well as to experience different points of views: "as I learn from you, I guess you learn from me". Through this process, both of them win and neither loses. The professor is "older and somewhat more free" than the student, so he should be free of biases towards the student's poverty and background. Throughout the poem, the author chooses simple diction. This makes the tone straightforward and blunt, like a black America who simply expresses himself instead of sermonizing about discrimination. Thereby, readers can accept the poem's argument more easily. Furthermore, the author writes the poem mostly in long sentences to emphasize on short yet important sentences such as "That's America.", "Be we are. That's true!" The poem has a tied and effective structure. It opens with a familiar scene: a professor asks students to write assignment. However, as the student's question "I wonder if it's that simple" triggers readers' curiosities, since the assignment seems to be simple. As the poem progresses, we understand more of the assignment's difficulties. The conflict comes to the climax at the sentence "will my page be colored what I write?" and is solved right after that, from line 28

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Essay on Theme for English B

Theme For English B Summary

In Langston Hugh's poem "Theme for English B" he introduces a speaker that is assigned to write a poem for his English teacher. In the poem, the relationship shared between the teacher and the student is only true during limited moments when their two worlds collide. It is in these rare moments, what is true for the teacher is also true for the student. In the classroom the teacher and student share a physical room, where dialogue and understanding can occur. Outside of these temporary connected intervals of time, between the instructor and student, exists a world separated by differences. The student argues in his poem that his truth cannot be absolutely understood by the instructor because the difference of race and location tears their two...show more content...

The student declares, "I guess being colored doesn't make me [un]like [other races]" (Hughes 25). In this line the speaker introduces race and its misconceptions. He states that he similarly enjoys the same music and hobbies his classmates do, yet he feels divided by race. He believes that because of his location–Harlem–which is synonymous for his blackness, his poem will sound similar to his classmate's but have a different meaning. Therefore, the speaker's race will obscure the poem's true message from the teacher. He warns the teacher that if the poem must come from him, "Being [him], it will not be white." (Hughes 28). The speaker is slowly unravelling the complexity of race. The reader may wonder, if he is similar to other races why will his paper not be white? Comprehension of his life in Harlem can be heard, but the speaker is attempting to explain that in his world cannot be bridged just by reading about it. The student believes that the instructor will interpret his poem as if it contains impartial truths, but the student counters this assumption and attempts to explain that his reality is defined by race. The student argues that the difference in race that divides him from his class will inevitably prohibit the instructor to understand the student's view. The speaker believes that there are realities in his life that others have not experienced. To understand the speaker one must look into the black community. Within the black community exists a very opposite culture. This culture was first demonstrated in the Harlem renaissance–a movement where black individuals showcased black work and black pride. Through the Harlem renaissance "blackness" or acceptance into black culture, is granted to those with melanin in their skin. Race in this poem acts as a one sided mirror, where the speaker can see the white Get

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Theme For English B

Langston Hughes is famous for his many great poems and was a very talented man. He wrote a poem in college called "Theme for English B". In Langston Hughes's poem, he uses imagery of racial differences and a bold tone to undermine the teacher's authority. He also to expresses the universal idea that intolerance often comes out of individual assumption. Langston's confusion of the topic of the paper causes him to write the entire paper about the paper. In the poem Langston Hughes has several ways that he uses imagery of racial differences. Langston writes many examples of how him and his class are different. We find out details of Langston with him pointing out the fact that he is colored. He later goes on to say that he is in fact the only colored student in the class. Not only does it make him different from his entire class, it also makes him stand out. He also describes where he lives, which suggest that he also lives in a different area from the rest of his class.

At the end of the poem he points out that the professor is older and white. He also makes the statement that he is also somewhat more free. This may be referring...show more content...

The teacher's first assumption was telling Langston to "go home and write". In this statement the professor is assuming that he had a home to go to. When Langston describes how he gets to his room, he never calls it home, suggesting that it is just where he slept. Another assumption the professor makes is, if you let the page come out of you, then it will be true. Langston was skeptical of the assumption and asked if it was that simple. He asks if his paper will be colored because he is colored. He is also asking if his colored truth would be the same as a caucasian truth. He is suggesting that everyone's truth may be different due to different perspectives. Earlier he drew a picture of his perspective in Harlem and that is different from everyone in his Get more content

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