Rivers of Old

             Langston Hughes, a black poet of the early to mid 1900's, wrote of his nationality and background as coming from an African-American culture. In Hughes' poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", he puts to use imagery in his words to show that his race is deserving of respect because they have survived a long period of time and have continually progressed on like that of a river. This respect is what the white man had at the time and what the colored folk did not have. The poem was created during a time of widespread prejudice and segregation movements throughout the United States. It explains the importance dealing with that of the history of the black race before this time and how it will continue to endure in America. This poem itself may have also impacted how the white people felt about the education of black men at the time.
             Langston Hughes progressed in his poem through a history of events that were various rivers provided in the world's civilization through time. All of these rivers have played a role in African descent in the past. He started where it all began, the center of civilization in the Middle East. He stated in his first image of a river, "I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young(line 5)." This river was the major source of water at this period of time and where the people of color historically began. He then shows a migration to the Continent of Africa where a lot of black ancestry is known to have began also. He wrote, "I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it(line 7)." The Nile River is a long river that extends from the Middle East area in North Africa down through Central Africa. He then goes on, "I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep(line 6)." The Congo River is in central Africa that flows off into the Atlantic Ocean. This then leads us on to where they were now in America. He used im
             ...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Rivers of Old. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 06:19, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/14408.html