Langston Hughes’ poetry is often cited as being influenced by jazz and blues. Show how that influence is reflected in the poetry and whether the influence is to the benefit or detriment of the poetry.
Langston Hughes in his poetry works usually draws inspiration from jazz and blues genre of music. Whatever he encounters in the field of music under these tow genres, he puts down in writing. This has led to the notion that Jazz and blues influence his poetry work. To the illustrate on the level of influence drawn from the genres, his poetry work entitled the songs on the seventh street shows what he intended to do and the source of the content of the work. In this poetry work by Hughes, it clearly shows that the writer tries to put down what happens within his environment. The work portrays the activities that happen in nightclubs within the cities of America in which Hughes happens to attend. He tries to listen to every little thing that goes on in the club from sound to lyrics and puts it down in writing. This results into creation of poetry framed in a musical technique by Hughes.
Some of his works that depicts this kind of relationship with jazz and blues music genres include the weary blues, Harlem Night Club, the south, Jazzonia and the Montage of a dream deferred. This nature of influence is beneficial to the development of his poetry works as he is able to achieve rhythm and images attached to the poem. Through the knowledge and information borrowed from jazz and blues, Hughes is able to capture the attention of readers through well-developed plot and rhythm hence the flow of the poem. Because of this close connections; Hughes has been able to do other works in music and the two genres in collaboration with other composers and jazz musicians. Thus, the influence proves to be beneficial.
The three main women in the novel, Lutie, Min and Mrs. Hedges, show different aspects of how black women can survive. Compare and contrast their survival techniques and indicate which one(s) you feel are most successful. (Remember that Hughes references the lives of black women in his poetry as well)
In this novel, the street the author presents three different women who use unique means of survival to carter for their daily activities. The three women, Lutie, Min, and Mrs. Hedges, develop different tricks to show how black women survive or can survive in the city. Lutie, who is the main character in this story, decides to move away from his family due to social and economic problems. She takes away her son, Bub, with him to town. In the street, the two rents a room in a building in order to find the required level of housing for the two. In order to survive in the street, Lutie emulates the work ethics of her hero Benjamin Franklin. This enables her to find food and other necessities for her beloved son, Bub.
Mrs. Hedges draws economical benefits from the whore project she runs in the building along the street illegally. Min is married and faces the challenge of unfaithful husband. From this illustration in the novel, it is noted that black women uses unique techniques to survive. Some decides to market the bodies to obtain financial gains capable of meeting their needs and wants. Some black women tries magic or religion to solve their marital problems and some follow their dreams and run away from their previous lives with the aim of improving for the better. In relation to the poem by Hughes on black women’s survival techniques, it is noted that, black women had to undergo great challenges to reach where are now. They labored as slaves having been abducted from Africa. Their children and husbands were taken away from them. They offered labor required in the cotton fields under inhuman conditions as they were beaten during the activities in the field. The unique survival techniques applied by the three women in the novel, I think Min’s technique is the most successful one as she does not need to put in extra efforts to survive.
