50 pages • 1 hour read
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. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Hughes uses the juxtaposition of different images, ideas, and references by placing contrasting or separate items in relation to one another. In this way, Hughes heightens the emotional quality of his argument and bolsters his points. In some places, Hughes juxtaposes lengthy anecdotes, while at other times Hughes alternates between contrasting perspectives. Much of the juxtaposition in the essay moves between Whiteness and Blackness, which is a fitting reflection of the larger thesis that argues that the Black artist is caught between these two poles.
The use of juxtaposition allows Hughes to articulate points regarding the struggle of Black artists to become freer in their creative practice. For example, early on in the essay, Hughes presents two lengthy paragraphs detailing the difference between the “self-styled ‘high-class’ Negro” (Paragraph 3) who aspires towards Whiteness and the “low-down folks” (Paragraph 4) who “hold their own individuality in the face of American standardizations” (Paragraph 4). Immediately following these descriptions, Hughes introduces his vision of the “American Negro artist who can escape the restrictions” (Paragraph 5) and describes some of the nuances he expects this artist is able to find. The juxtaposed narratives provide the foundation upon which Hughes’s larger argument can stand.
By Langston Hughes
Children’s Rhymes
Langston Hughes
Cora Unashamed
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
Langston Hughes
The Big Sea
Langston Hughes
Theme for English B
Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Langston Hughes
The Ways of White Folks
Langston Hughes
The Weary Blues
Langston Hughes
Tired
Langston Hughes
A Black Lives Matter Reading List
View Collection
African American Literature
View Collection
Art
View Collection
Black History Month Reads
View Collection
Books About Art
View Collection
Contemporary Books on Social Justice
View Collection
Creative Nonfiction
View Collection
Essays & Speeches
View Collection
Harlem Renaissance
View Collection
Politics & Government
View Collection
Pride & Shame
View Collection