Langston Hughes Blues

Kyle McDevitt, Kyle Nakamura, Mike Huwyler

Biography•Born in Joplin, Missouri on

February 1, 1902.

•He belonged to an abolitionist family

•Lived in Harlem, New York

•He loved Jazz

•He had to move a lot because his mother never found steady work

•Traveled the world

•Believed in equality

•Father neglected him

How his life affected his poetry

• Was an African

American

• Belonged to an

abolitionist family

• Lived in Harlem

• Born in the South

Themes and Motifs

• Oppression• Injustice

• Blacks and Whites• Prejudice

• Overcoming• Surviving

• Harlem Renaissance• Rebellion

Literary Devices

• Rhythm

• Repetition

• Symbolism

• Metaphors

• Imagery

Literary Criticism (Past)

• Portrayed unsophisticated lower-class life of African Americans

• Negative Racial Stereotypes

• Does not portray African Americans in a positive way

Literary Criticism (Present)

• Spokesperson for the African American

People• Rhythmic

• Simple• Wrote for the (his)

people

We Think

• Wrote for people to understand

• Portrayed African Americans as he knew them

• Wrote in a a simplistic manner

We Don’t Think

• Portrayed African Americans in a negative way

• He used racial stereotypes in a way that portrays African

American’s as low-class

Langston Hughes Affect on the World

• Langston Hughes was one of the most influential

writers of his time• He is one of if not the most widely known African American Authors to date• His writing influence

writers today