The Interconnecting Themes of Langston Hughes’ Works

Not only was Langston Hughes worldly known, but also he was a courageous and outspoken individual who wasn’t afraid to publicize his ideologies, many of which we still study and talk about today. The highly talented and strong-hearted African American was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Later growing up in Lawrence, Kansas and reaching adulthood the same time the Harlem Renaissance was growing, Hughes became a very prominent voice in the movement with his poetry being his main vessel of deliverance. Hughes also held a strong influence in the Civil Rights Movement in the mid 1900’s. His works even had a huge impact on major activists during this time including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom he held a close relationship with for many years. His many poems include many different themes but some that can be found in a large handful of his poems include racism and hope, love for others, the heritage and impact of Africans throughout history, and the mistreatment and discrimination of African Americans from a predominantly white society. His poems inspired change — almost demanding it. This is what caused him to be such an influential voice.

He wasted no time to try and inspire correction with what he saw wrong in the American society he was quickly growing up in. His first poem, written at the young age of 17, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” quickly became a staple holding many of the themes that his poetry would contain and would turn out to be a piece that he would be well known for. It was published in the June 1921 issue of the NAACP magazine The Crisis and swiftly grabbed the attention of many eyes. The poem speaks on the heritage of African Americans. Within, he writes: “I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep” (line 5). With this, he emphasizes the vast and deep history of the African race. The poem shines light on their immense contributions — without recognition — to society all throughout various periods in history with the line “I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it” (line 6). While praising their actions towards the world as we know it today, it hints at how those actions haven’t been justified by the treatment from that same world.

Just as his first ever poem touches on the mistreatment of Africans from society all across time periods in history, his poem “I, Too” definitively highlights the theme of descrimination and does no effort to mask it in any way. The first lines include: “I, too, sing America. / I am the darker brother. / They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes….” (lines 1–4). He speaks for all African Americans when he explains how they all are Americans too — just as the whites are — and they should be seen as nothing less. Here the theme of love is incorporated into the poem. He explains that even though their skin is a different color, they shouldn’t be treated any differently and that they should be loved no matter the skin tone. But instead, they’re forced to work in the kitchens and do the dirty work that the whites have no interest in doing ultimately have no other choice but to do so. They also are forced to eat alone and away from the others which is speaking not for the sole act of eating alone, but for all discriminatory actions against them in the predominantly white society.

Delving deeper into this recurring theme of the mistreatment and discrimination of African Americans, his poem “Brotherly Love” is arguably one of the most important and impactful pieces that he has ever written. It was written in 1956 during the 13-month Montgomery bus boycott. At this time, African Americans would walk to work instead of riding the bus to work in retaliation to the discrimination against them from whites. This was also very close to the time period when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as a leading force and voice in the Civil Rights Movement. This poem did nothing but heighten the attention of the civil rights movement, bringing more eyes to the issues and ears to the voices. The theme of loving others no matter the circumstance bleeds through this poem line-by-line and is one of the major points that he’s trying to bring across. In the line, “If I said ‘Brother, I forgive you,’ / I wonder, would it do any good?” (lines 8–9), he questions if they, as African Americans, forgave the whites for what they have done and how they have treated them, will they have it in their hearts to love them back? As much as they have been beaten down by society in all ways, they have managed to, as he puts it in the poem, “So long, so long a time you’ve been calling / me all kinds of names, pushing me down — / I been swimming with my head deep under water, / and you wished I would stay under until I drown” (lines 10–13), they haven’t given up hope that things still hold the possibility to change.

When reading Hughes’ poems and literary works, it’s very easy to become consumed within them and emotionally invested — especially if the reader has some personal baggage and experiences to which they can reciprocate with the words. Needless to say, he was one of the best at what he did. In fact, some would argue that he was the best. His attention to detail when selecting his words and how to structure his works was close to perfection. This being one of the many things that helped him to become such a successful and influential writer of his time.

Throughout Hughes’ poems, it’s evident that the way that African Americans were treated and portrayed in American society weighed on him mentally. Because of this, it became an important issue to be addressed and a prominent theme in his poems. Although he may not have been the most physically vocal voice of the changes of American Society, he had a large hand in influencing what was being screamed across the nation. He saw major issues with what had happened all across history and was doing all that he could with the arguably unparalleled talents that God gave him to do everything in his power to try and stop history from continuing to repeat itself. He was never afraid to publish a piece depicting his thoughts and transcribing what he observed onto the precious paper with his name on it.