Langston Hughes

By: Aja Two Crows, Jessica Oh, Sabrina Jikal,

Rachel Rovinsky

Langston Hughes

Born on February 1st, 1902

Langston Hughes was of AfricanAmerican, Native American, Scottish,
French and English descent
Langston Hughes died of prostate cancer
on May 22, 1967, in New York City
Began writing in high school
Enrolled at Columbia University
Famous Poems: The Negro Speaks of
River
Known as a leader of the Harlem
Renaissance
He introduced the new literary art form
called jazz poetry

The Harlem Renaissance and Other Connected History

A blossom of African-American culture in EuropeanAmerican society

Spanned from 1919 to 1940 and the origins from the
great migration
Focused on art, music, and literature
Literature facilitated a transformation from Old
Negroe (implied inferiority) to New Negroe (selfassertive, racially conscious, articulate)
GI Bill (1944- allowed veterans of all races to get an
education) contributed to the high amount of AfricanAmerican culture being introduced
In 1941 there were less than 4,000 African-American
serving in the military, by 1945 there were 1.2 million
World War 2 officially ends in 1945
The Civil Rights Movement began in 1955
Montage of a Dream Deferred was written in 1951

Poem Analysis
A Dream Deferred
What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

The poem refers to the outcomes of the

Harlem Renaissance and the
beginnings of Civil Rights Movement
Langston Hughes saw the oppression of
the African-American and compared it to
the raisin, the meat and the sweet
The meat and the sweet refer to both
sides of way the African-American
population way reacting at the beginning
of the Civil Rights Movement
The end couplet and last line refer to
when the people rose up
The couplet refers the those who let
themselves be repressed
The last line refers to those who rose up

Quote 1

I want so many things that they

are driving me kind of crazy . . .
Mama - look at me - Walter Lee

Walters desire for his dreams to come true is

driving him crazy
There are too many unrealistic dreams that are
controlling Walters life.
He feels he cant accomplish these dreams because
no one will pay attention to him. Mama look at
me
His dreams that are deferred is building like a
heavy load, that could explode into something
horrible.
His solution is the $10,000 Mama has, which he
later gets.
Later on his dreams do explode into losing all of
the money, even for Beneathas medical school
which he selfishly kept and instead trusted a
friend giving him all of the money.

Quote 2
Once upon a time freedom used to be
life-now its money.-Mama

Once upon a time before

December of 1865 when slavery

wasnt abolished
freedom represents slaves, mostly
african americans, seeking to not be
owned or treated badly.
used to be life meaning that was
their only goal in life
now, its money Because their
goals in life of wanting be free came
true, now their goal has changed
into making money to survive.

Quote 3
Thats it. There you are. Man say to
his woman: I got me a dream. His
woman say: Eat your eggs. (Sadly,
but gaining in power) Man say: I got
to take hold of this here world, baby!
And a woman will say: Eat your eggs
and go to work. (Passionately now)
Man say: I got to change my life, Im
choking to death, baby! And his
woman say-(In utter anguish as he
brings his fists down on his thighs)Your eggs is getting cold! - Walter
Lee

He thinks Ruth doesnt care about

his dream and is acting like the
stereotypical colored woman
Walter is desperate as he is
increasing the intensity of his tone in
the duration of this quote as shown
with his punctuation
On the contrary, he is hopeful
because he is gaining in power
and and eventually talking
Passionately
Because Walter is stating his
scenarios simplistically, yet largescale, he is implying that Ruth
should find meaning in what he is
saying and try to understand him

Langston Hughes influence on Lorraine

Hansberry/Connections to World

While in New York, after she dropped out of

the University of Wisconsin, she met Langston
Hughes, who influenced her future works, such
as A Raisin in the Sun, and The Crystal Stair.
As for when Lorraine was younger, her parents
were the one who introduced her to Langston
Hughes, and was the conversation starter at
home.
Langston Hughes has influenced the Harlem
Renaissance.

Title Analysis
A Raisin in the Sun
-The title refers to one character
because it says: A Raisin
-All of the characters could be
the raisin
-Based off of our poem analysis
we would say the Raisin is
Walter
-Walters dreams are sweet,
which masks its bitterness

THE END