langston hughes
"Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes, is a poem about an assignment given to a student by his teacher to write a one-page paper about himself that captures who he is. The student then responds to this assignment by giving a brief biography, such as where he lives and his favorite things to do. The student compares himself with his white teacher, almost in an effort to gain approval. There are several themes that lie within this poem. One of the most evident themes is that self- understanding is a long process. Other themes presented in this poem, as well as a number of his poems, are the racial inequality that was present at that time, as well as need for blacks and whites to live together in America in harmony. Although this poem is easy to read, as Hughes intended it to be along with most of his other poems, it is necessary to look at elements of poetry such as diction, setting and situation, speaker, rhythm, and tone in order to understand the themes presented in the poem.The poem indicates that the speaker is a twenty-two year old person of color. Although the poem does not indicate whether the speaker is male or female, at the time not as many women attended college as they do now, and it seems like
This slowing down of pace shows that the reader is trying to figure himself out. Nor do I often want to be a part of you. The only thing that gives evidence of the speaker being male is that he calls the "Y", or Young Men's Christian Association, home. Also just as the young learn from the older, the young also teach their elders. Nicholas, Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and [I] come to the Y, where [I] take the elevator" (Meyers) is typical of the struggles that people of color had to overcome at that time in order to attend college, or be successful in any other way. The confusing arrangement of the word shows that the speaker may be having difficulty tying to figure himself out. In the beginning as mentioned before, the speakers' tone is sort of confused. Most of the poem has a smooth rhythmic tempo. In saying this it seems that the speaker feels a deep connection to Harlem and feel like he is one with Harlem. This is how he ultimately defines himself. That theme is that learning is a two way process.
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