Air Raid Over Harlem
Protests of 1935: "An Analysis of Air Raid Over Harlem" When the Italian forces invaded the nation of Ethiopia in 1935 it disturbed many African Americans throughout the United States. This incident caused many blacks to protest in the streets of Harlem, New York. In Langston Hughes poem, "Air Raid over Harlem" (1935), he uses the literary devices of colloquial language, capitalization, and rhyme to illustrate the feelings, thoughts, and actions of many Americans during the time of these rebellious acts. Hughes uses a great deal of colloquial language throughout the poem to show how Americans felt during this time period. The narrator, a black man, shares many of his feelings with the reader during the poem. He has many conversations with a white man about the different aspects of the protests and of the different things that take place. For example, the narrator tells the white man of how his people have been quiet and peaceful too long and if they have to use physical force to get their point across then they will. The white man replies, "You're just making up/ A fake funny picture ain't you? Not real, not real? (58-60). The white man thinks he jokes around and makes up some magical fairy tale that doesn't make any sense. Th
In an angry voice the white man replies, "Say, what are yuh tryin' to do? Start a riot? You keep quiet! You niggers keep quiet! From the words of the white man we see that he gets mad and soon becomes very rude. This passage comments on the tough times blacks went through during the time of slavery. Again, the white man's words and actions prove that he lacks education. The narrator also says, "And a long billy-club/ Split his head wide/ And a white hand draw/ A gun from its side" (72-75). Many slaves had to endure countless hardships and misfortunes, just like getting kicked in the mouth. Here the narrator comments on a situation that takes place during the protest. After hitting the person and splitting their head causing them to bleed, the police pull their guns and arrest them. The bombs seem to represent the mayhem the African Americans cause during the protests and soon bad things will emerge from it. His choice of words and the way he uses them shows that education levels for white Americans weren't that high during this time period. During the protest many white people didn't see or care about the African American's viewpoint. A black person begins protesting in the streets of Harlem then the police starting beating him with their billy-clubs as a way to get things under control. He uses a fourth example when the narrator says, "A sleeping giant waking/ To snatch bombs from the sky/ And push the sun up with a loud cry/ Of to hell with the cops on the corners at night/ Armed to the teeth under the light" (103-107). Hughes uses a good example of colloquial language when the narrator tells the white man about the horrible things that happen to his people during the protest. The bombs refer to the chaos and turmoil the protesters cause, while the sunlight represents the goals the African Americans try to accomplish through the protests. Throughout this poem Hughes uses many examples to show the feelings, thoughts, and actions of both black and white Americans during the nineteen thirty-five protests in Harlem, New York.
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