Julian's hatred for his mother, fixation on his false "liberalism", and denied dependency on his mother, in fact, are blatant contradictions to what he prides himself on truly being- "free of prejudice and unafraid to face facts." ... The climax occurs when the black mother, out of pride and conviction delivers a fatal blow to Julian's mother. ...
As an African American composing (and endeavoring to distribute) poetry in the United States just 60 or somewhere in the vicinity years after the end of the Civil War, a period when indications of prejudice-including explicit segregation, brutality, and even lynchings-were still widespread, Langston Hughes inescapably investigated such points as oppression and liberation in his work (Evans 2010). ... His writings united individuals of African ancestry and Africa over the globe to support pride in their ever changing black society. ... Understanding his work is understanding pride in the Africa...
Some common themes did exist however, such as an interest in the roots of the African American experience in Africa and in the South, and a strong sense of racial pride and a desire for social and political equality. ... The black philosopher Alian Locke published his most talked about essay "The New Negro", in his essay he urged that "Art must discover and reveal the beauty which prejudice and caricature have overlaid." ...
