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Langston HughesA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“She worked for the Studevants, who treated her like a dog. She stood it. Had to stand it; or work for poorer white folks who would treat her worse; or go jobless.”
This line establishes one of the story’s themes: African Americans’ perceived dependence on white society for survival. It also establishes the initial state in Cora’s character arc, her belief in this dependence. Cora spends most of her life responding with humility to the unjust way in which the Studevant family treats her. With society’s marginalization of Black people, she doesn’t think she has the resources to get by on her own.
“One by one, the girls left too, mostly in disgrace. ‘Ruinin’ ma name,’ Pa Jenkins said, ‘ruinin’ ma good name! They can’t go out berryin’ but what they come back in disgrace.’ There was something about the cream-and-tan Jenkins girls that attracted the white farmhands.”
This line carries multiple layers of meaning and relevance to the concept of shame. Its euphemistic implication about white farmhands impregnating Cora’s sisters glosses over the possibility of rape. Sexual exploitation of Black women by white men is an acknowledged historical reality. Pa’s comment demonstrates how women may be revictimized as they are judged for what happened to them, even by their own community and their own family. This helps set the tone for the story and serves as social commentary.
“Cora didn’t go anywhere to have her child. Nor tried to hide it. When the baby grew big within her, she didn’t feel that it was a disgrace. The Studevants told her to go home and stay there. Joe left town. Pa cussed. Ma cried.”
Also relevant to the thematic concept of shame, this line demonstrates how everyone besides Cora sees the birth of her baby as a shameful thing. It sets Cora apart as unique and positions her as the hero of a story that critiques society’s values.
By Langston Hughes
Children’s Rhymes
Langston Hughes
Dreams
Langston Hughes
Harlem
Langston Hughes
I look at the world
Langston Hughes
I, Too
Langston Hughes
Let America Be America Again
Langston Hughes
Me and the Mule
Langston Hughes
Mother to Son
Langston Hughes
Mulatto
Langston Hughes
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston
Not Without Laughter
Langston Hughes
Slave on the Block
Langston Hughes
Thank You, M'am
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The Big Sea
Langston Hughes
Theme for English B
Langston Hughes
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Langston Hughes
The Ways of White Folks
Langston Hughes
The Weary Blues
Langston Hughes
Tired
Langston Hughes