Langston Hughes also had a professor ask him to answer those same questions. Read "Theme for English B" to see his response.
Identify which section of the poem is part of the "page" that Hughes writes for his instructor, and which section represents the thoughts in his mind just before he begins to write.
ANSWER (1st paragraph): What are the differences between that first stanza, representing the poet's thoughts to himself as he contemplates the assignment, and the subsequent stanzas, which express how he presents himself to an audience, in this case his instructor? List some of things that Hughes includes in his self-presentation and what you think he is telling us.
The poem is straightforward and speaks for itself, but reveals a more subtle and sly speaker the more you reread it and think about how Hughes has turned the instructor's question on its head.
ANSWER (2nd paragraph): What does he mean when he says, "I hear you: / hear you, hear me--we two--you, me, talk on this page"? Who is "talking" here? How can Hughes say to his instructor that they are a part of each other? Do we as readers have a part in this conversation?
Questions taken from: EDsiteMENT! The Best Humanities on the Web
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ReplyDeleteThe first stanzas show where he is from and how he is much different than the other students in his class. The show that his life as a college student is much more difficult than others, just because he is colored.He then compares his life to that of white peoples. Posing questions of why to his college professor.
ReplyDeleteIn the second part of his poem, he is referring to his professor listening to what he has to say. Listening to how he has a tough life because he is colored and that he is just the same as all the others. The tone in this poem is almost talking down to his teacher and how he treats him.
1. The poet's thoughts of himself are somewhat bland, like he thinks there's nothing special about him. He goes on to say that he does normal things that other people would do as well, yet in more detail. He presents himself as very well educated gentleman. He has intriguing thoughts. An audience would not consider him bland at all. He just talks about simple things he likes. His thoughts and writing are elaborate. They really make the audience think, i.e. him being able to teach his instructor as well as learning from him.
ReplyDelete2. When he says that he means that both of them are talking one and the same. They are both learning from each other. The teacher, in grading and reading the student's work is learning about him. They are helping each other. The poet, a black man, is teaching his white teacher his knowledge and ability to be as good as anyone else.
In Hughes poem he shows us how everyone is intertwined and connected because we all work together to make up America. When he writes, "You are white---/ yet apart of me, as I am apart of you./ That's American." Through this he shows that we all learn from each other even if we aren't tying to or don't even want to. We are apart of each other in the way that we treat each other and how we think about one another.
ReplyDeleteIn this line Hughes is talking about Harlem because Harlem is what he hears and sees. However, what he is really talking about is the environment of Harlem. They are talking on this page while Hughes figures out who he is and what he is not. He is Harlem, the rugged, jagged exterior but deep and complex inside. But he is also the opposite of Harlem, he refuses to be repressed, isolated, discriminated against. He tells his instructor that they are apart of each other because he sees how they affect each other without even trying. The white instructor affects Hughes plainly because he is black but also because he is teaching him and helping him grow and find out who he is. Hughes affects the instructor just because he sees how they affect each other. He shows his instructor a new outlook and a different perception of the issues going on between the races.
The difference between the first two stanzas is how Hughes phrases his sentences. In the first paragraph everything is so definite dry, and factual. However this changes because in the second paragraph he uses words that are unsure to portray his ideals. Thee funny part is how although the second part uses unsure words it speaks the truth.
ReplyDeleteIn the first stanza, Hughes is telling the reader why his life is difficult and how it feels to be a minority in a group. He talks about his life in college and how different it is from his peers. In the second part of the poem, Hughes is talking directly to his instructor and how they are the only two who are different from the rest of the class and how they are a part of each other. Hughes is the only colored person and the instructor is not his peer so they both stand apart from the group.
ReplyDeleteThe first stanza is different than the second stanzas because in the first stanza he just states the facts about what he needs to write and then he states the facts about himself personally and his life. But in the following stanzas, he talks about things that matter more, things that make him who he is and he is almost posing a conversation with his professor.
ReplyDeleteIn the second part of his poem, I feel that he is having a conversation with Harlem and talking about what they like to do, but I think that the way the questions are posed that any reader could have a part in the conversation.I think that when Hughes says that he is part of his professor and his professor is part of him really ties back to his other poem, I too, Sing America. He is black and his professor is white but in reality they are the same and they are part of America and a small part of each other because they are American.
The difference between the first stanza an the rest is the style of writing.the first stanza is factual and cut and dry. There is almost no way to debate anything he says. He is just stating the facts about himself and the assignment.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the second stanza still states the facts, his language adds another dimension to the writing. It is no longer cut and dry but now it is open to interpretation.
The difference between the first stanza, where Hughes thinks about the assignment given, and the second where Hughes actually fulfills the assignment, is that the tone of the poem changes. In the first stanza the poem is calm and shy. But in the second stanza the tone changes to a more exploitative and adventurous tone. In the first stanza Hughes says “I wonder if it's that simple? “ this shows his thoughtful and clam tone. Than in the second he changes to “Being me, it will not be white. “ this shows that he is firm and adventurous with his writing and his tone changes to match. The person that Hughes is talking to is Harlem. Harlem is what he is hearing and who he is listening to in his head.
ReplyDeleteAs he talks to himself he seems to be digging into himself and talking in a wondering yet friendly matter. This stanza seems to be more rooted in fact, as if he is more interested in his schedual and his life than what others may think he is or is not at this point. The second stanza he presents himself to the audience keeping in mind what they think of him. He speaks as if knows that the instructor will be thinking of him as black and plays into this aspect. This helps him develop his ideas and how he tells that he both is and isnt the same idea - that what he wants to be isnt necessarily what he is.
ReplyDeleteHis sly voice helps explain the way the writer and audience interact in life and seem to ask, if not sarcastically, if on paper will or can be different then in real life. He looks at the how the two, black and white, are intertwined and then backs out of it as if it is not quite true or one wishes it not to be true.
The first stanzas in the poem are a background of the actual information about himself. This is giving the reader the facts about him such as where he is from and who he is. He then continues on in the second stanzas about society's perceptive of him. He lets the reader know that he will not be writing the paper based off of a white person, but he will allow a little in because even though blacks and whites are not overjoyed about being together, they inevitably are because we all live together.
ReplyDeleteWhen he says "I hear you: hear you hear me---we two---you, me, talk on this page", Hughes is implying that many different parts of a person is brought out when one is describing themselves. Hughes appears to be talking, but in a way it is speaking for blacks and whites together. Hughes explains that we all learn from each other, so we are all apart of each other. As readers, we have a part in this conversation because we are what makes up society and lives with each type of person.
In the first stanza, Hughes is extremely straightforward and he thinks about himself on the surface while in the second stanza, he begins to delve into he really is. I think that Hughes is telling us that he's proud to be himself and he's proud to be American. In the second stanza, he tells us that he learns from everything around him, he takes in the surrounding world. He believes that he is related to everyone around him, even his fellow white in the world and they are related to him as well, even if they wish not to be.
ReplyDeleteI think that Hughes is showing how he, along with everyone else is influenced by their surroundings and their surroundings are influenced by them. Hughes is talking to the whites when he says this. I think he's trying to convince them how they are all related. Hughes can also say to his instructor that they are related to each other because they are all human beings, they all live together, and they are all American. I think this still relays to us today. We are more united as a nation than we were 70-80 years ago, but we still are all related to each other. We're a nation of one.
Langston Hughes does a great job in challenging his professor in "Theme For English B". He does this in the formatting of his poem. The prompt is to put what he is on a page. In his first stanza, he writes what he is. He writes of being the only colored person in his class, where he lives, and what he does. In the second stanza, he explains what he is a part of, what drives him, and what he lives for. All of these things are far more important than what he describes in the first paragraph. Not only does he describe what makes him who he is, but he challenges his professor to think of the same thing. Politely, he demands equality by saying that he and his professor live through each other. He says that he is not a black American taught by a white American, but they are both Americans. Simple as that. That is how Hughes puts himself onto a page.
ReplyDeleteWhen Hughes writes, "I hear you: / hear you, hear me--we two--you, me, talk on this page" he describes how the education he is receiving from his professor allows them both to write on this page. They are learning through speaking with another, and in that conversation he learns. With this he puts his professor and himself on the same level and successfully puts in his professor's head, along with the whole world's, that it is time that blacks are equal with whites.
1)The Beginning thoughts are different from the rest because they are simple facts. He just writes it bluntly with no extras. He changes to a more poetic version of these facts, adding a more complex diction.
ReplyDelete2)He is talking about how they both are part of this page and part of his life. The teacher is part of him because he learns from the teacher and the teacher is the reason he does many things. The teacher also learns from him, from his experiences and life.
1. In the first stanza Hughes sentences and phrasing is plain and it shows the difficulties in his life. How he is a colored man and how he has had to face adversity. In the second stanza he is talking to his teacher and telling him what he feels and how he thinks. Less of the story of him but more what he's about.
ReplyDelete2. Hughes is talking about how him and his teacher are the same. Even though he is black and his teacher is white they still are equals. Its the teachers job to have the students learn from him, but at the same time the instructor can learn from the students just the same.
As Hughes writes in the first stanza his outlook of himself is very depressing, or empty. He speaks towards his actions as being alone. For example when he speaks of his class he is the only colored person in his college class. The subsequent stanzas, on the other hand, has a tone of how the poet being colored, is similar to the whites in his class. His feelings are unsure more in the second paragraph.
ReplyDeleteThe “page” begins once Hughes states, “I wonder if it's that simple?...write this page.” From then on is the page but this statement is him containing his thoughts and the process of getting them onto paper. The first stanza shows where he is from and where his heart is. How he presents himself is not as colored but like an American, like everyone else. He is trying to show that America is one whether you are black, white or any other color of the rainbow.
ReplyDeleteWith Hughes saying, “I hear you: / hear you, hear me-- we two you, me, talk on this page” he is showing that America is one; America is a whole not segregated parts. Hughes shows that we are all Americans and that, in being an American, we are all apart of something greater than ourselves. As readers we do indeed have a part in this conversation by being fellow Americans. We must not see ourselves by the color of our skin but by what we represent in a deeper manner.
In the first stanza Hughes speaks of how his life is different from the others in his class. His background is what makes him different yet he is still the same as everyone else in the class and that they are all there for a common purpose and that shouldn't make them different.
ReplyDeleteWhen he says "I hear you you hear me" he is speaking about all that they can teach each other. He speaks of how the teacher is giving them a higher education and allowing them to further that education yet he is still learning from them both about them and effective ways of delivering different forms of writing. He emphasizes this connection and is it what brings everyones differences together.
Answer 1 : In the first stanza the poet seems to just try and analyze the situation and state the facts about himself. He states that he is twenty-two in the beginning but in the later stanzas he provides why that is important and how he struggles with life because of his age and where he lives.
ReplyDelete1. The first paragraph is about his class, how he is "The only colored student in the class." He then talks about his earlier education up to that point, and where he came from and where he is now with college at Columbia. He then talks about his walk home to so he can eventually start working on hiss paper. He seems like a very intelligent man, and was the only black one in the class.
ReplyDelete2. In the second part he reveals the connections as well as the separation between teacher and student. He also is telling her of his personal interests and beliefs. He also discusses the race factor in how they are apart of each other even if they don't always want to be together.
Langston Hughes, in the first stanza of his essay, “Theme for English B” highlights the simplicity of his life, giving insight to readers through the use of understatement, what it is like to be a colored minority. Though the first stanza may seem, initially irrelevant, the impact and intensity of Hughes' words is revealed when the passage is viewed in its entirety. At the beginning of piece of writing, Hughes states: “The instructor said, Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come out of you--- Then, it will be true. I wonder if it's that simple?” (Hughes). The use of understatement is striking in the excerpt as Hughes bluntly states the implications of being colored in the early decades of the 20th century- it's not simple, not easy. The primary stanza, and the subsequent stanzas are not necessarily contrasting, but rather written in conjunction to portray the complexity of Hughes' life. Hughes shows readers his desire to write as a part of the status quo; however, he subsequently portrays his inability to do so, as long as the minorities face common oppression. As a whole, the piece represents the suppressed voice of the minorities living in America during the era; a voice that is multifaceted, manifested by the multitudes of Americans in a position similar to Hughes'.
ReplyDeleteI had to re write this so is is very short sorry.
ReplyDelete1.Hughes uses a contradictory writing style for the first stanza. He seems unsure about the assignment but still manages to make the reader think. He is pretty much writing down his thoughts on the assignment, no matter how critical they may be.
2. Hughes' second stanza is very powerful and descriptive. He talks about how they area a part of each other. This is because he believes America works as one through every single individual. They are both American individuals and therefore are part of the same one whole.
In the first stanza Hughes explains his background. Hughes mentions that he is "the only colored student in my class" and tells of what appears to be a seemingly average life. In the second stanza he begins to describe how his life is not so simple as it would seem, of the challenges he faces because of his race. He presents himself to the audience as being like his white classmates, similar in education and only different in the color of his skin, "Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life".
ReplyDeleteWhen Hughes writes, "I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you: hear you, hear me---we two---you, me, talk on this page," he is speaking directly to his audience. He is saying that he hears and sees Harlem and what people say about his race. He compares himself to Harlem, and to New York as well. He writes that he is a part of the city as he is a part of his instructor. He contributes to society and in class he contributes his own thoughts and ideas which challenges his instructor's ideas.
In the first stanza Hughes uses location and concrete places. In the second stanza; however, Hughes starts using descriptions, analogies and statements to prove what he is like and who he is. Hughes includes statements like; "I guess being colored doesn't make me NOT like the same things other folks like who are other races", "You are white---
ReplyDeleteyet a part of me, as I am a part of you", "Nor do I often want to be a part of you".
These quotes show that Hughes knows he is the same as his white instructor but unfortunately others do not know and acknowledge that.
Readers are part of this interesting conversation between Hughes and his instructor because they know what is going on just like Hughes but the instructor does not yet know what is going on. Hughes is asking and pleading that he is viewed equally instead of being segregated because of his color. Hughes thinks they are part of each other because he believes everybody should be equal.
Differences occur between the first stanza and the subsequent stanzas is the content and its depth. When Langston Hughes first turns his instructors questions in his head, he starts by looking for very superficial answers. He talks about what music he likes to listen to, the activities he enjoys, where he lives, and what he looks like. This section lacks depth because it is merely a list of his characteristics. His list is only a sketch of the man Langston Hughes, but it fails to explain why this list is important. He does not understand at first why what he likes, what he looks like, or where he lives makes him who he is and shapes what he believes. This passage differs also in its audience. His thoughts are pointed only at himself. He wonders to himself how to answer his instructor's questions and the list he writes is addressed primarily to himself. In the subsequent stanzas, his audience widens to include both the reader and his instructor. He creates a conversation, first between himself and Harlem, and then with his professor. By making this shift in audience, he also increases the depth of his list. He explains that where he lives is important because Harlem's songs are a part of him. What he likes and his appearance is important because it determines that ways in which he remains separated from the white Americans in his class and in the country. Yet, by understanding this separation, he realizes that his skin color is more important than just a characteristic. The separation it causes also links by creating memories that shape him.
ReplyDeleteWhen Langston Hughes writes, "I hear you: / hear you, hear me--we two--you, me, talk on this page?,” he is speaking to Harlem, the home that has defined him. At the same time, he becomes more than just one person. He has the songs of Harlem and the songs of other African Americans that shape his present speaking with him. Hughes can say to his instructor that they are part of each other because they influence each other's present. The instructor has made himself a part of Hughes just by interacting with him. He is now a part of his story. This conversation between the instructor and Hughes is also addressed to the reader because it is expanded to represent all whites and blacks. He wants the reader to know with the instructor that whites and blacks are a part of each other because they each have influenced each other's stories. The interactions between blacks and whites, including slavery, race riots, the Civil War, etc. forged the present that has shaped the future and the places that make Whites and Blacks alike who they are. Both groups are a part of America, and as such, cannot be separated.
Langston Hughes’ first stanza of his poem is very matter of fact; it tells exactly what he did and simply writes how he got to the paper. He shows himself as a colored young man and the only colored young man in his college. In saying this he emphasizes just how important color is to everyone else, it is only matched with where he was born, his age, and how he got to this poem. The second stanza dives into the relationship between teacher and student and how race does not define that, but it does enter that relationship. What a teacher teaches and what a student teaches the teacher are very different but shape the two nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteAs Hughes talks to his teacher, telling him that they are both a part of each other, he uses an almost coy attitude. This attitude allows him to intelligently tell the teacher that he is not above the student because his student (Langston Hughes) is a part of him despite their color difference.
In the first stanzas of his poem Hughes is talking about facts and concrete things. He is describing who he is and how he is different from the other kids in his classes. He also talks about what his teacher expects of him in his poem. The second part of his poem he is going into the actual assignment and he begins to talk about things that matter more to him. He talks of what he sees and hears everyday. What challenges make him who he is today and you see the difference in his thoughts and actual assignment by the way he phrases things and explains things in more detail then others.
ReplyDeleteWhen Hughes says, "I hear you, you hear me." He is speaking to and about his teacher. He is saying even though you are white and I am black and most of the kids in this class are white as well, you and I are still equals. You teach me lessons about life, and you too learn from me. He also says that his teacher is a part of this paper as he is a part of Hughes' life. Because his teacher is asking him to complete something a task he is part of Hughes' life and what makes him who he is. Both are equal and we can learn form each other no matter the color and racial differences.
This poem that Langston Hughes wrote for English B has an effective way of comparing the simple ideas of life and then challenging the complicated problems that humans inflict upon human kind and then bringing them all back together. The first and second stanzas are very different and show two entirely different stages of thought. The first stanza shows his initial reflection upon himself. This reflection was only “skin deep” though. The way that he describes the instructor narrates the poem as a personal but seemingly uninteresting story. Then he goes on to describe his initial impression upon others, “I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem. I went to school there, then Durham, then here to this college on the hill above Harlem. I am the only colored student in my class…” This description of his appearance and age are important to society but as he goes on to explain in the poem those things don’t matter so much as what’s interesting or what’s on the inside. Then the second paragraph seems like a completely different piece of writing. “It's not easy to know what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm what I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you: hear you, hear me---we two---you, me, talk on this page. (I hear New York too.) Me---who?...” This part of the poem goes to show that it’s not what you look like it’s what motivates a person and in this case it’s the Harlem Renaissance. But it also shows that when society comes into play, the two become mixed as in everything else in the way that appearance can define a person’s motivation when that motivation comes from apparent inequality of appearance. And while they are both different people, they have a life in one another because everything a person is exposed to becomes a part of them even if it’s offensive and a hurtful thing such as racism. He basically uses the second stanza to understand the “true” concept of who he is not just who he seems to be which is the first stanza.
ReplyDeleteAt the part where Hughes says, “I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you: hear you, hear me---we two---you, me, talk on this page. (I hear New York too.) Me---who?...” he shows the unity of humankind through life. He basically says that Harlem is a part of him because it surrounds him and plays a part in his life. The instructor also plays a part in his life and for this reason the instructor is inadvertently a part of him. They talk on the page because the true self is not only one’s self but one’s environment and past and the people that come into it. The people talking here are almost unclear and seem to be so intentionally to express the chaos that is involved in regards to a person’s true self. In this respect, the readers are also a part of this conversation because we are involved in reading it and while we may not add to it, we add to us and the therefore add to the over-all experience of the poem itself.