Langston Hughes Uses Poetry as a Tool for Self Discovery :: Biography Biographies Essays

Langston Hughes Uses Poetry as a Tool for Self baring When Langston Hughes was given this assignment by his college professor, he used it at a self disco truly tool. I think this poem is merely allow him dig into himself to find out who he really is, and what his role is in society. Go home and write a rapscallion tonight. And let that page come out of you-- Then, it will be true. We could all show advice from this teacher. I dont think that the professors words are to be taken really literally, as I know some of the other close readings will discuss. I think that the reason this assignment was given was to allow the students, or Hughes himself, to confess some of the things somewhat himself that he had never known or face up before. Sometimes when we write for someone else or for a specific class, we snap solely on what we are writing about and we tend to belt up off any part of ourselves that would escape onto the pages. In contrast, when we write in a journal, or freewr ite, we tend to let all of our emotions out, and it is a bearing for some of us to deal with issues that are facing us, on a day to day basis. This is a way to get to know yourself better, and a way to deal with anger and unsettled emotions. Basically, I think the teacher valued this assignment to be simple. He or she merely wanted the next assignment to be more personal, which Hughes took to that level if not beyond what was expected. From this poem I think we learn a lot about Hughes as a person, compared to some of his other works. Many of his other poems conclude the black man as an entire society, and in this poem we follow up the black man as Hughes himself, which to me, was very interesting. He lets us take a closer look into his life, and we are able to understand more of his heritage, and the things that inspire him, as a person, and as a writer. For example, in the very first stanza of the poem, he explains to us where he was born, where he was raised, and where he l ives now, which is very important in understanding where someone gets their beliefs.