Since the beginning of his life, Langston Hughes, knew that he was going to be something. His contribution to the Harlem renaissance will not be forgotten. Nor will the way he uses jazz, blues, and gospel music to revel in how far blacks have really come. I will compare and contrast two of his most popular works, "Let America Be America Again" and "Harlem". This particular comparison will show how different writers become in their later years. And how Langston Hughes seemed to be more pessimistic than his usual optimistic self. .
Let us first approach "Let America Be America Again", Hughes tone is probably the first issue addressed. He is speaking of every race that has been persecuted in America. He starts off in line 2 stating that America was created for the sole purpose of freedom. He also implies in line 3 and 4 that our country was founded for the sole purpose of freedom. In fact "Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free". Hughes was a man of many talents and one of them was his perceptiveness. A perfect example is in stanza 25, where he states, "Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak". In essence he said its kill or be killed, survival of the fittest. You would think that everyone would agree, but then again a lot of common sense has been lost. Or simply the fact that America is apathetic and cares only for one person, themselves. He then goes on to describe that he is, or our race is, poor and uneducated, etc But the simple fact remains that we may be beaten down, but we are far from dead (he now is speaking of every race that is or has been persecuted in America). In stanza 60 the most basic and one of the most important of human emotions shines through Hughes. "America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath-America will be!" What is the most basic instinct, survival of course. .
Now let us approach, "Harlem" which is one of my personal favorites because of Hughes use of adjectives.