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

Langston Hughes Uses Poetry as a Tool for Self Discovery When Langston Hughes was given this assignment by his college professor, he used it at a self discovery tool. I think this poem is merely letting him dig into himself to find out who he really is, and what his role is in society. Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come out of you-- Then, it will be true. We could all take advice from this teacher. I don't think that the professor's words are to be taken very 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 recognize some of the things about himself that he had never known or faced before. Sometimes when we write for someone else or for a specific class, we focus solely on what we are writing about and we tend to block off any part of ourselves that would escape onto the pages. In contrast, when we write in a journal, or freewrite, we tend to let all of our emotions out, and it is a way 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 wanted 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 generalize the black man as an entire society, and in this poem we see 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 lives now, which is very important in understanding where someone gets their beliefs.