This is about Langston Hughes.

Man's Pleasure and Nemesis

Langston Hughes is among the most prominent African-American poets during the Harlem Renaissance in the twentieth century. His major works revolved around the status of African-Americans in society. Hughes has written novels, short stories, plays, essays, an autobiography, and criticism, but he is most known for his poetry (Berry, Faith 54). He was only the second African-American to earn a living as an author.

In his youth, Hughes' stepfather Homer Clark and mother were constantly on the move because it was so difficult for them to find a job (Dace, Tish 17). Because of his family's instability, he often had to live with his grandmother or other relatives. Hughes' early childhood years were spent in the small town of Lawrence and the capital city Topeka (both of which were in Kansas), Lincoln, Illinois, and the metropolis Cleveland, Ohio. In his high school in Cleveland, he began to write poetry, and his first short stories were published (Trotman, James C.

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Langston Hughes, novelist and poet, photographed b...

English: "Today I sang a concert of Langston Hughe...

134).

He started to read anything and everything he could find. This initial interest inspired him to write because he had a great desire to influence others just as other writers had influenced him (Bloom, Harold 12). Throughout his life, he witnessed much discrimination against African-Americans. He really wanted to convey his feelings and emotions to others. In many of his poems, Langston Hughes writes about the plight of African-Americans in the early twentieth century (O'Daniel, Therman B 77). He uses nature from different perspectives to show the suffering and troubles of life.

In Hughes' poems, he utilizes imagery to demonstrate that nature's beauty and power represent the hardships African-Americans face and their ultimate salvation. Each of the characters in his poems learns how to achieve salvation in their respective societies and within their souls. It...