Harlem Renaissance 4/19
What country changed the African American soldiers views on American society?
France
What idea was Hughes one of the first to express?
"Black is Beautiful"
What question did the African American men have after they came back from the war?
"How did the country I fought for continue to treat me as less of a human being than the men who bled the same color blood as i did?"
Why does the narrator keep repeating the line "I've known rivers"?
"I" refers to the African and African American civilization as a whole. Hughes is emphasizing how African and African American has been around for so long, and even longer than white people. Reinforces Hughes' main points to establishing African Culture that stretches past slavery and beyond America, and that is something to find joy in.
What are two words that Hughes uses in "Refugee in America" that are significant?
Freedom and Liberty
What is the significance of the Dark Tower?
- It is a lighthouse for enlightening other African Americans - Within a tower, more area is visible to the eye, so the tower itself serves as a way to show others the reality of their world
Why did Cullen use a Petrarchan sonnet to construct the poem?
- The Petrarchan sonnet divides the poem into the first 8 lines (the Octet) and the last six lines (the sestet) in order to portray the problem in the first 8 lines and a solution in the last 6. - ...
What is meant by "agonizing seeds"? (From the Dark Tower)
- The agonizing seeds can be portrayed as many things. Such as the pain and struggle that many African Americans retain due to facing the troubling world - The seeds are a symbol for the hopes in change since seeds are capable of growing and breaking past barriers of dirt. Like Af. Americans, they will grow and bring change in breaking barriers of descrimination.
What does the speaker imply in the line, "The golden increment of bursting fruit" (From the Dark Tower)
- The fruit itself is a symbol of all the blood and sweat that many African Americans have poured into the crops that they attended. - The "golden" symbolizes the richness of the fruit, and increment represents the growth that occurred in the development of the fruit.
"I have sown beside all waters in my day." 1) Write the name of the poet and the title of the poem from which each one comes 2) explain why the quote is important to understanding the overall meaning of the poem.
1) "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" by Arna Bontemps. 2) ...
"I scattered seed enough to plant the land in rows from Canada to Mexico" 1) Write the name of the poet and the title of the poem from which each one comes 2) explain why the quote is important to understanding the overall meaning of the poem.
1) "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" by Arna Bontemps. 2) ...
"my brother's sons are gathering stalk and root;" 1) Write the name of the poet and the title of the poem from which each one comes 2) explain why the quote is important to understanding the overall meaning of the poem.
1) "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" by Arna Bontemps. 2) ...
"small wonder then my children glean in fields they have not sown, and feed on bitter fruit." 1) Write the name of the poet and the title of the poem from which each one comes 2) explain why the quote is important to understanding the overall meaning of the poem.
1) "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" by Arna Bontemps. 2) ...
"I scattered seed enough to plant the land in rows from Canada to Mexico" 1) Write the name of the poet and the title of the poem from which each one comes 2) explain why the quote is important to understanding the overall meaning of the poem.
1) "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" by Arna Bontemps. 2) In this line, the narrator uses a collective "I" as he is speaking for African Americans as a whole. In between Canada and Mexico lies the United States, which is where many of these African Americans were enslaved and forced to do manual labor. The words "seed" and "plant" alludes to the work slaves were forced to do, revealing how long and hard African Americans have worked, yet are being robbed and exploited of their work.
What's significant about the "Muddy bosom"?
A metaphor referring to the river as a motherly figure and "muddy" referring to the skin color
What did the rivers symbolize in ¨The Negro Speaks of Rivers¨?
African American Culture
What does the table represent?
America or the society in America.
What does the line, "White stars is no less lovely being dark" signify? (From the Dark Tower)
Cullen portrays ideas of a symbiotic relationship between ppl of black and white skin through the juxtaposition of the night sky and the white sky. This is due to the fact that the white stars can only shine with the black sky being there alongside it (both black and white are important)
What was one of Hughes' central points in Harlem Renaissance?
Establish an African American Culture that stretched past slavery.
Why did Hughes choose the particular rivers?
Euphrates- Starts with a river that is associated with dawn of human civilization Congo- Reminder that African Culture started in Africa Nile- African river, associated with one of the greatest civilizations in human history which was African Mississippi- Closely linked to slavery, slaves and the goods that they made were transported in this river. This was the river that the Great Emancipator(Lincoln) floats by
What is the main idea that Hughes stresses in "Refugee in America" that are significant?
Feeling that you are not part of a society that you live in.
What does the speaker think of his homeland? (The Tropics of New York)
He describes his homeland as a tranquil place while referring to the religious allusions of it being "blessed by God" signifying purity and innocence
What is the black man who is forced to eat in the kitchen equivalent to?
He is equivalent to the segregated nature of African American society.
What is the tone of the poem?
Hopeful
Why does Hughes repeat the line "My soul has grown deep like rivers"?
Hughes repeats this line because he wants the reader to understand that African Americans have been around for a long time and that they have understood the world through experience. They understand the triumphs and tragedies in life.
What does Whitman's poem celebrate?
It celebrates the complexity of Americans.
What is the feeling and the overall tone of the poem? (The Tropics of New York)
It focuses on the melancholy and reminiscing of the speaker's homeland
The author's usage of a rhyme scheme in "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" indicates that it is?
It is an alternate rhyme
What does the speaker attempt to illustrate by using the metaphor of field work, planting, and harvesting?
It is referred to as the time when slavery was still around
The author's interpretation of the fruits in "The Tropics of New York" symbolizes what?
It is used to represent the different foods in their home regions from where they used to live in and this plays a big role in bringing societies together as they long for those days again
"But I laugh, / And eat well, / And grow strong." How does this line show hope?
It shows hope because even though the narrator was enslaved and segregated, he will persevere. He will do everything happily and won't let the white people keep him down.
What is the Savory Ballroom?
It was one of the most popular jazz clubs.
What was the musical style of the 1920s and 30s?
Jazz
What kind of poetry did Hughes associate himself with?
Jazz Poetry
What music is all American popular music based on?
Jazz/Blues
Why did Hughes choose to send his speaker in the kitchen when company comes?
Kitchen is the heart of domesticity in a house and where slave owners rarely went. Using the kitchen reinforces the stereotype that African Americans are only capable of domestic and menial labor which Hughes is trying to break.
Who is seen as organizer/lifeblood of the Harlem Renaissance?
Langston Hughes
According to Hughes, what is the strongest element of African American culture?
Music
Why does Hughes use "sing" in the poem?
Singing is celebration, so the speaker also celebrates America. Hughes sings American because of the greatness that is the freedom of America.
What does the "dark" symbolize in "From the Dark Tower"
The dark symbolizes the unknown because of the idea of the Dark Tower preaching information of the truth. It may also symbolize isolation because many Af. Americans hid in the dark due to them being pushed aside by others
How are the ideas in "Refugee in America" shared in "The Tropics of New York"?
The ideas of taking refuge in the nation and a sense of unbelonging in "Refugee in America'' are seen in "The Tropics of New York" because both poems illustrate the sadness of the speakers as they feel isolated from the society they inhabit causing them to feel like a social outcast. This also results in making the speakers long for something better because both poems want to have that feeling of belonging.
Why does the Narrator state the words like Liberty almost make him cry?
The knowledge that the speakers knows is most likely the experiences that he has faced. These experiences most likely prohibited his chances in having freedom and liberty.
What does the speaker imply in the line, "The lesser men should hold their brothers cheap"? (From the Dark Tower)
The line states that those who lack moral principles will treat their brothers (African Americans or people in general) crudely
The usage of a shift from the beginning of the third stanza in "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" portrays?
The shift illustrates the change in attitude from the second stanza which displays the speaker's hopeless tone to hopeful
The line, "We were not made to eternally weep" signifies what? (From the Dark Tower)
The speaker is making a proclamation of change.
What does the "sunset" symbolize in "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"?
The sunset symbolizes the end of slavery and that African Americans are turning "golden" after the end of slavery.
The poem "I, Too" alludes to what poet and his poem?
The title alludes to Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing."
Why do the first and last lines start with "I,Too"?
They start with "I,Too" because the narrator wants to be included, specifically American society. This reinforces the theme of inclusion.
Explain why the line "I scattered seed enough to plant the land in rows from Canada to Mexico" is significant?
This line is important because from Canada to Mexico is the whole United States, which is the foundation of the hard labor of the African Americans
The lines, "Yet what I sowed and what the orchard yields- my brother's sons are gathering stalk and root" illustrates?
This line portrays the sadness in the speaker's tone due to his hard work but in the end the fruits harvested from his labor is stolen by others
Why does Cullen use many instances of negation within his lines? (From the Dark Tower)
Together with a juxtaposition (placing two things together; mostly used to contrast and compare) of positive and negative connotations (mostly not), Cullen emphasizes what will happen in the future, and proposes the problem of how things are now and how they shouldn't be that way.
Why does the Narrator state the words like Liberty almost make him cry?
Words like liberty and freedom make the speaker cry because he hasn't had a chance to experience them. Evidence that supports this claim is found in the lines, "If you had known what I knew You would know why".