Langston Hughes is one of the most well-known authors from the Harlem Renaissance era that is known for his focus on racial struggles. He wrote numerous poems, books, plays, and stories throughout his life, and many of them reflect the challenges of being Black in the United States in the early Twentieth century. This essay explores how the personal experience of the author is reflected in his works.
The poet himself was not a stranger to the effects of racial disparity in the United States of that time. Even though he traveled across the globe, Hughes knew the United States and its Black communities all too well. His father had to escape into Mexico to avoid racial discrimination, and this notion is well described in Hughes’ poems that describe outcasts and exile. “The Weary Blues” and “The Nergo Speaks of Rivers” are prime examples of that influence as they speak of the struggles of a Black man. His vision of jazz that he insisted upon is focused on the authenticity of the culture Hughes strongly advocated for.
In conclusion, the works of Langston Hughes reflect his thoughts and life experiences through the image of America and African Americans in it. His struggle is defined by the social and political environment of that time. The repressed feelings of African American people are visible throughout his writing which is permeated with expressive language. His poems in “The Weary Blues” represent the struggles of the Black population he saw around him.