Langston Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. During Hughes' lifetime he published many different works including poems, novels, and even children's books. His work reflects the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. During this time, New York was hosting the most extraordinary forms of art. The best way to receive the message that Hughes is delivering while reading his work, is to read it out loud in spoken language. Langston Hughes' poetry and work in general is very easy to read and understand then the works of Emily Dickinson or T.S. Eliot. Most of Hughes' work is about being an African American living in America in the 1920's, and the struggle of being treated fairly.
In the poem "I, Too" by Langston Hughes, Hughes writes about an African American servant who dreams of being treated equally at his own job. He tells how the servant is ordered to eat his dinner in the kitchen while the boss had company. This was something that most servants had to do on a regular basis, rather than only when company was present, back in that time period. He then explains that tomorrow he will be sitting at the dinner table with the company because of the beauty he possess. This is a figurative idea, meaning that they will be ashamed they made him eat in the kitchen when he becomes famous and well-liked by others, or that he too is just like them, an American. (Hughes 708).
The poem "Mother to Son", written in 1922 by Hughes, tells of the struggles his mother endured all her life. She describes her life figuratively by comparing it to a staircase. Her "staircase" is full of obstacles and things she had to overcome in order to provide for herself and her family. "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair," depicts the fact that she was not granted an easy life, but had to be persistent in making her own life for herself and her family. After describing the treacherous staircase she climbed, she tells her son not to give up and always keep going.
