Irene CerritosMarlon Flores

Vanessa MartinezGabriela Saucedo

Fredy Ulloa

Theme For English B By: Langston Hughes

(February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) Poet, novelist, and play writer whose themes

contributed to the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s

He moved to several cities before settling in Cleveland, Ohio, after his birth his parent’s separated so he grew up with his grandmother

One of his teachers first introduced him to Carl Sandburg the writer and Paul Lawrence's poetry

Hughes published his first book in 1926, The Weary Blues, he then went on to write countless works of poetry and prose.

Langston Hughes

It might seem like Langston Hughes is the speaker in the poem, but he is not.

The speaker is a 22 year old African American student attending a college that is dominantly white.

The student lives in Harlem, another fact proving that the speaker is not Hughes because he is from Joplin, Missouri.

Speaker

The center of the poem takes place in Harlem, New York, but also takes place in other places that correlate with the speaker’s life such as Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the YMCA and City College.

He is also surrounded by a majority of white people especially in his college class where the instructor and the students are also white so it makes him the only colored student.

Setting

Identity: the 22 year old is attempting to find out who he is in a country full with racial tension, it connects a man with his identity to the country who has not found a balanced identity of himself

Race: each person’s truth matches their raceVisions of America: the Civil Rights

Movement was about to spark, races were segregated

Truth: the truth cannot just be stated, it has to be thought of and analyzed

Themes

Tone: Is mildly ironic as he reveals his difficulty in truly expressing his own feelings. In the assignment the irony is that although he begins by saying "I wonder if it's that simple," eventually accomplishing the objective of the assignment when he states: "This is my page for English B."

Tone

DictionThe instructor said,

      Go home and write

      a page tonight.

      And let that page come out of you—

      Then, it will be true.

I wonder if it’s that simple?

I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.   

I went to school there, then Durham, then here   

to this college on the hill above Harlem.   

I am the only colored student in my class.   

The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem,   

through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,   

Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,   

the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator   

up to my room, sit down, and write this page:

It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me   

at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what

I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you.

hear you, hear me—we two—you, me, talk on this page.   

(I hear New York, too.) Me—who?

Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.   

I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.   

I like a pipe for a Christmas present,

or records—Bessie, bop, or Bach.

I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like

the same things other folks like who are other races.   

So will my page be colored that I write?   

Being me, it will not be white.

But it will be

a part of you, instructor.

You are white—

yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.

That’s American.

Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me.   

Nor do I often want to be a part of you.

But we are, that’s true!

As I learn from you,

I guess you learn from me—

although you’re older—and white—

and somewhat more free.

This is my page for English B.

Literary DevicesEnjambments: ( lines 16-

18)“It’s not easy to know what is true

for you or me   

at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I’m what

I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you.”

(29-30) “But it will be

a part of you, instructor.” Repetition“I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.” Line 7“at twenty-two, my age…” Line 17

Rhyme : "I hear you: hear you, hear me- we two- you, me talk on this page.

Alliteration (Line 18) "I hear you: hear you, hear me“, Assonance: "I like a pipe for a Christmas present Or records-Bessie, Bop, or Bach"

Imagery: (Lines 12 -15)"The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem through a park"

Lines 1: The line is set above and separated from the poem due to the instructor being an authority figure and him giving a command.

Lines 2-3: Both lines are in Italics, therefore it is the instructor speaking. Italic’s indicate a person speaking or a person’s thoughts.

Lines 4-5: The assignment is to reflect the truth of the student. The page then becomes a connection within the person and truth through the writing.

Line by Line Analysis (1-5)

Line by Line (6-15)Line 6 : The speaker

recognizes the assignment is far from simple.

Line 7: Now the speaker gives us some biological facts about himself. We see him being a normal 22 year old.

Lines 8-9: Here we get the speakers educational background for example he attends City College.

Line 10: This line brings race into the poem as we learn he is the only colored student in his class

Lines 11-15: This tells us the journey he takes from school to go back home to the Y (YMCA). We can assume he does not have enough money from these lines.

Line 16:The speaker uses second person point of view at the end of this line, with the word "you”  referring to his instructor, who will be reading the assignment.

Line17: It's harder to rationalize what's true when you're in your twenties and have the majority of your future to live life fully.

Line18: The speaker is stating that what comes out of him compared to the instructor is not in accord of truth based on who he is, being he is what he sees, feels, and hears as a colored individual rather than a white man. Harlem, defines the speakers character and his assignment through fitting the criteria of truth.

Line19: The speaker and Harlem come together with the "we," but maintain the separation with the word "two." Maybe the speaker and Harlem can join together, but they're still separate.

Line 20: The speaker does not feel comfortable talking about his relationship with Harlem and New York without knowing who he truly is demonstrating uncertainty within his true self. 

Line by Line Analysis (16-20)

Line 21: This line presents the answer to the question of what he likes. (asked in line 20). The speaker (student) likes to do the casual things a college student would enjoy doing. That would be eating, relaxing, sleeping and even falling in love.

Line 22: In this line he wants to expand his imagination and discover new ideas in the world. He also wants to fully understand the aspects of life.

Lines 23-24: In this line the speaker is telling us a little bit about his personality. It also contains alliteration with the names of the musicians like Bessie Smith.

Lines 25-26: In these two lines the speaker is saying that any race and color can have the same interests. Having the same beliefs as others is a sign of common humanity.

Lines 27: In this line the speaker then begins to realize that he is associated with other races due to the similar things they like. He is now wondering if his paper will be different than the white students.

Line by Line (21-27)

Line 28: The line consists of several meanings: he is stating that the page will not seem like a white person wrote it, the page will not be white(blank) because being him it will be complete and full, “ Being him” means the page is him and since its coming from him it is true with the addition that it will come from the speaker who is black and not white.

Lines 29-30: It is a enjambment in which the speaker argues within himself. He sounds confused.

Line by Line Analysis (28-30)

Lines 31-32: The speaker is stating that even though their different races they can come together, so can all black and white people, especially because this took place in 1951(published) during deep racism and segregation.

Line 33: Its American to be aware of differences, and everyone influences each other.

Lines 34-36: The speaker and instructor do not want to be part of each other but they are. The student feels the truth has come out of him, for this assignment.

(31-36) Continued

Lines 37-38: Both people are open-minded to learn from one another.

Lines 39-40: “ Older and white” means more freedom due to age and race, “somewhat” means that having some freedom is better than having even less freedom than they already obtained.

Line 41: Reminds that the speaker is a student who completed his assignment with truth.

(37-41) Continued--