Literature has always effectively portrayed social realities in human
            
 life through subjective interpretation of literary writers/authors.
            
 Throughout history, human society has witnessed events that influenced the
            
 behaviors and actions of people, such as the abolition of black American
            
 slavery, or worldwide events such as the Vietnam War.  These events have
            
 been illustrated into various literary forms, and each form conveys a
            
 different meaning/s that is/are subjectively important to the
            
       "Harlem," a poem by Langston Hughes is a perfect example of a
            
 literary work that illustrates the social realities of human life during
            
 the period where Hughes composed the poem, which is in 1920s.  As one of
            
 the main proponents of the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes contributed
            
 significantly to the anti-black slavery movement of his period through his
            
 poetry.  "Harlem" embodies the historical and social situation in the
            
 American society in the early 20th century, where black American slavery is
            
 still prevalent and radical movements against black American slavery are
            
 starting to emerge.  Harlem Renaissance is a cultural movement in American
            
 history where African-Americans asserted their rights through literature,
            
       This paper discusses the issue of social prejudice in the poem,
            
 "Harlem," where the poem not only mirrors social realities in the US in
            
 1920s, but also has bigger implications in my life as I struggle against
            
 prejudices that are still abound in the American society I live in now.
            
 Through examples in the poem and personal experiences from my life, the
            
 theme of struggle against prejudice is analyzed, particularly in the
            
 context of subject and message of the poem.
            
       The poem "Harlem" voices out Hughes' thoughts and feelings about the
            
 oppression, discrimination, and prejudice that he experiences in his
            
 society.  As an African-American in a predominantly white American society,
            
 Hug...