A People’s History of the United States: Reflection Chapter 17 “Or Does It Explode?” Zinn makes it very clear that the focus of this chapter is on movements, protests, and attempts made by African Americans in the 1950s to gain equality. He opens with a powerful poem by one of the most widely-recognized poets in history. The poem, by Langston Hughes, is called “Lenox Avenue Mural”. It reads, “What happens to a dream deferred?/Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?/Or fester like a sore—/And then run?/Does it stink like rotten meat?/Or crust and sugar over—/like a syrupy sweet?/Maybe it just sags like a heavy load./Or does it explode?” (Zinn 443). It makes it obvious that the poem is about the dream of blacks, being treated as equals, and the struggle to fulfill that dream.
Also, the use of visual and auditory imagery allows the reader to depict vividly the surrounds of the slave times and the seriousness of the struggles they are faced with. The sound is shown in the phrase “voice high-sounding o’er the storm” and the visuals are shown in the line “Saw, salient, at the cross of devious ways”. The poet concludes with the use of pathetic fallacy in the phrase “lonely dark”. This is used to evict emotion onto the reader with the depiction of the state of loneliness. Overall, Dunbar makes clear the message, as well as fulfils the purpose of this poem for readers of all
Melissa Cox P:1 The Harlem Renaissance was a rebirth during the 1920’s. I found the two poems, “From the Dark Tower” by Countee Cullen and “As I Grew Older” by Langston Hughes. Both of these poems originated from the Harlem Renaissance Era and they deal with the difficulties African Americans faced in society beginning during the 1920’s. Hughes and Cullen attached these ideas in two different methods; however, the underlying messages were quite similar. When I first read the poems, I noticed how both speakers identified the tremendous challenges all African Americans were confronted with.
Those other wretches, how they bled and spewed, And one who would have drowned himself for good, — I try not to remember these things now. Let dread hark back for one word only: how Half-listening to that sentry's moans and jumps, And the wild chattering of his broken teeth, Renewed most horribly whenever crumps Pummelled the roof and slogged the air beneath — Through the dense din, I say, we heard him shout "I see your lights!" But ours had long died
The question is to what extent these reasons should e held responsible. It seems that there was a lot of doubt that an actual invasion of Japan was necessary and the decision to use the atomic bomb was more or less already made at the beginning of Truman's term in office in 1945. I have come to the conclusion that the most important factor is the revisionist view that it was the need of the United States to show their newly acquired power to the U.S.S.R that influenced Truman’s decision the most. The war in the Pacific was merely a good opportunity for a demonstration of the bomb’s power, by using the saving of American lives and bringing the war to a quick end as justification, the decision could be made without causing too much discussion at the time. At the same time I think the hatred the Americans held for the Japanese made this decision easier to be made and accepted.
Herschel Dixon Jr. English 102-3 Dr. Collier 04 April 2012 BLACK VS. BLACK Black–on–Black violence has emerged as the most substantial social problem threatening the existence and value of life among blacks since slavery. It has developed to be a major problem towards the African-American community today. Authors such as Langston Hughes, Jay-Z, and Malcolm X are all very well known amongst blacks. They all have different views and impacts on the dilemma we face when looking to resolve the issue of black-on-black crime in America. Langston Hughes is one of the most well-known black poets in history; he stands as a positive symbol for the black community.
It is assumed that Victor has this disorder because whenever the weather is bad (i.e. a thunder storm) he is sad, upset and thinks his world is ending. Depression can come from past hardships, people tearing you down, grief, betrayal, failure, etc. Frankenstein goes through hardships and failure mostly. There is no way to avoid pain and the feeling of anguish at one time or another.
The Harlem Renaissance was an outpouring of African American music, art, and literature. It was a very controversial and contradictory time filled with political turmoil for African Americans. Hughes however, wrote through it. He captured the joys and pains of the African American experience through his poetry. Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri to James and Carrie Hughes.
Duffy, as Mrs Lazarus, later explains the grief has led her to throwing up; “retched,” this shows that Mrs Lazarus has led herself to tormenting herself, as she is self harming and throwing up. At the end of the stanza Duffy repeats the word dead; “dead, dead,” this showing how bad her loss is, but also conveying that Mrs Lazarus is still shocked by the loss and is still not understanding it. At the beginning of the second stanza Duffy used short lines which are broken up by punctuation which makes the verse very disjointed; “Slept in a single cot” this also shows Mrs Lazarus has no body anymore and is therefore lonely, but also suggests she is like a baby in a cot who is hopeless. Duffy then puts emphasis on Mrs Lazarus grief and despair when she uses the word “widow,” followed by the word “half” suggesting that Mrs Lazarus is incomplete. We
During the 1900’s, African Americans in the South encountered various struggles such as segregation, sharecropping, and lack of education. Despite these difficulties, more than six million African Americans moved North with high hopes and the search for equality. In Harlem, many African Americans expressed their culture and their feelings in music and literary work. The Great Migration influenced this Harlem Renaissance by offering writers, artists and musicians a place where they could develop their talents. Arna Bontemps was an inspirational poet in Harlem who expressed his ideas through poetry.