"Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes, is a poem about an assignment given to a student by his teacher to write a one-page paper about himself that captures who he is. The student then responds to this assignment by giving a brief biography, such as where he lives and his favorite things to do. The student compares himself with his white teacher, almost in an effort to gain approval. There are several themes that lie within this poem. One of the most evident themes is that self- understanding is a long process. Other themes presented in this poem, as well as a number of his poems, are the racial inequality that was present at that time, as well as need for blacks and whites to live together in America in harmony. Although this poem is easy to read, as Hughes intended it to be along with most of his other poems, it is necessary to look at elements of poetry such as diction, setting and situation, speaker, rhythm, and tone in order to understand the themes presented in the poem.
The poem indicates that the speaker is a twenty-two year old person of color. Although the poem does not indicate whether the speaker is male or female, at the time not as many women attended college as they do now, and it seems like Hughes is writing from a somewhat personal experience of what it is like to be a young black male. The only thing that gives evidence of the speaker being male is that he calls the "Y", or Young Men's Christian Association, home. He is now attending college "on the hill above Harlem". The speaker stating "I am the only colored student in my class" shows that very few people of color were able to attend college at that time. This lack of representation of colored people in his college class is the first sign in the poem that blacks and whites were not equal at the time he was attending college.
The setting in the poem also gives more evidence of racial inequality at that time. The college is set on "the hill above Harlem" (Meyers).