Abstract

In this study we have explored the life of Langston Hughes and explicated that how he entered the literacy Canon. The study includes secondary research from various literatures written on Hughes. It expounds the life, his endeavor, his determination and how his work got accepted by renowned scholars.

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Early life3

Themes of Langston Hughes' Essays4

Langston Hughes in Today's Literature8

Conclusion9

Langston Hughes

Introduction

Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902. He is a famous poet, novelist, playwright and columnist of American in the twentieth century. His fame is largely due to his involvement in the cultural movement that rocked Harlem in the 1920's which is more commonly known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Early life

His full name is James Mercer Langston Hughes. He was born in Joplin and was the son of James Nathaniel Hughes and Carrie Langston Hughes. His father abandoned his wife and went to Cuba and then to Mexico due to the prevailing racism in the United States. After separation, Hughes began to live with his grandmother, Mary Langston, as his mother, a teacher, moved seeking different jobs (Shull and Jodie, pp. 187). His grandmother had an enormous impact on Hughes life. Through her, he discovered the oral tradition of African Americans who made him feel proud of his race.

Themes of Langston Hughes' Essays

Langston depicted in his works in the lives of black proletarians shared joys, disappointments, hope, etc. all tinged with jazz and blues. Moreover, Hughes later said: "I tried to understand and describe the lives of blacks in the United States and, more distant than any human (Tidwell, John and Cheryl, pp. 74)." Through his work, Hughes sought to show the importance of "black consciousness" and a cultural nationalism that unites people rather than between them. This pride has subsequently been adopted by many writers as Jacques Romanian, Nicolas Guillen, Leopold Sedar Senghor or Aime Cesaire.

After the publication of numerous collections of poems, pieces of theater, or to test scenarios for the film, Hughes began to write two autobiographies about the encouragement of his friends: The Big Sea will be translated into French under the title the deep by Editions Pierre Seghers in 1947 and I Wonder as I Wander (Gates, Henry and Anthony, pp. 123).

In the years 1950-1960, the popularity of Hughes among the authors African Americans has declined at the same time that it has increased worldwide. He was criticized for not having updated its discourse of "black pride" over the changing status of blacks in the United States has improved in this period. Nevertheless it remains a good model for many writers.

The history of African Americans is still as rich as well known in France. Hughes' role has been decisive in what was called the Harlem Renaissance (Rampersad and Arnold, pp. 254). The characteristic of Langston Hughes is that it is without being black, referring to the black condition with a certain detachment, he had the chance to study, and it had escaped the racism of his peers.

In his essays, Langston Hughes illuminates the African-American and invited to ...