Strength of African-Americans Essay examples -- American History, Raci

Langston Hughes wrote during a very critical time in American History, the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes wrote many poems, but most of his most captivating works centered around women and power that they hold. They also targeted light and darkness and strength. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, both explain the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. They both go about it in different ways. Women are equated with water and the greatness that it possesses. In both poems Hughes displays African-American’s view of women and how they the key to maintaining a family. R. Baxter Miller states â€Å"her symbolic yet invisible presence pervades the fertility of the earth, the waters and the rebirth of the morning.† (35) Women are like rivers, they continue to flow, even when they cannot be seen. In Mother to Son the speaker reminisces on what his mother told him, which shows how powerful a woman really is. Water is also a very powerful source and contributes to everything. Just like water women contribute to life and the upbringing of children. The Negro Speaks of Rivers states â€Å"My soul has grown deep like the rivers† ( Norton Line 4, 2027.) In that one line Hughes demonstrates the likeness between women and water. Females contribute to the strengthening of one’s soul. Water is used as simile to compare the depth of the water, to the human soul. Fertility comes from water and women. Just like the Euphrates River in ancient Mesopotamia, women are the reason for fertility. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son both refer to back to Adam and Eve in different ways. Mother to Son does not have a direct reference to Adam and Eve, but it hints at the beginning, â€Å"Bare† (Norton L... ... giving in to the devil, which is unacceptable. In The Negro Speaks of Rivers strength is carried on from land to land and generation to generation. The ancestors traveled from Africa and kept their strength, which carried on to future generations. Their strength allowed them to deepen their connection with each other and their surroundings. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, explained the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. Hughes made a very clear and concise statement in focusing on women and the power they hold, light and darkness, and strength. Did his poems properly display the feelings of African-American’s in that time period? It is apparent that Hughes felt a sense of pride in his culture and what they had to endure. After all â€Å"Life ain’t been no crystal stair!†(Norton, Line 2, 2028) Strength of African-Americans Essay examples -- American History, Raci Langston Hughes wrote during a very critical time in American History, the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes wrote many poems, but most of his most captivating works centered around women and power that they hold. They also targeted light and darkness and strength. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, both explain the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. They both go about it in different ways. Women are equated with water and the greatness that it possesses. In both poems Hughes displays African-American’s view of women and how they the key to maintaining a family. R. Baxter Miller states â€Å"her symbolic yet invisible presence pervades the fertility of the earth, the waters and the rebirth of the morning.† (35) Women are like rivers, they continue to flow, even when they cannot be seen. In Mother to Son the speaker reminisces on what his mother told him, which shows how powerful a woman really is. Water is also a very powerful source and contributes to everything. Just like water women contribute to life and the upbringing of children. The Negro Speaks of Rivers states â€Å"My soul has grown deep like the rivers† ( Norton Line 4, 2027.) In that one line Hughes demonstrates the likeness between women and water. Females contribute to the strengthening of one’s soul. Water is used as simile to compare the depth of the water, to the human soul. Fertility comes from water and women. Just like the Euphrates River in ancient Mesopotamia, women are the reason for fertility. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son both refer to back to Adam and Eve in different ways. Mother to Son does not have a direct reference to Adam and Eve, but it hints at the beginning, â€Å"Bare† (Norton L... ... giving in to the devil, which is unacceptable. In The Negro Speaks of Rivers strength is carried on from land to land and generation to generation. The ancestors traveled from Africa and kept their strength, which carried on to future generations. Their strength allowed them to deepen their connection with each other and their surroundings. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, explained the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. Hughes made a very clear and concise statement in focusing on women and the power they hold, light and darkness, and strength. Did his poems properly display the feelings of African-American’s in that time period? It is apparent that Hughes felt a sense of pride in his culture and what they had to endure. After all â€Å"Life ain’t been no crystal stair!†(Norton, Line 2, 2028)