Theme For English B

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate April 2001

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"Expressing Yourself" The poem "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes is a well-written piece of literature dealing with race. The story is about a young African-American man who tries to live his life in a white society. The character discusses how his life in a predominately black area growing up dramatically changes when he goes to college with all whites. The character is assigned a paper for his English class, which he takes very seriously with a very unique perspective. He was told to write a paper that would come out of him and he does that very well. The author does an excellent job keeping the readers' attention, by leaving them with issues to think about. He realizes that whites and blacks are actually the same. When the character is done with the assignment, it was very powerful and heartfelt. Minorities have to overcome many difficult situations to achieve personal goals and be accepted in society.

The boy in the story is determined to be successful and get a higher education. Throughout the story the character described how he was just like everyone else. For example, the boy says "Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life"(p.16). This quote seems so simple yet so powerful, showing how the character's life is no different than anyone else. The readers get a better understanding of the character and his everyday life, which was very normal. The author shows the only thing that was different between the character and his surrounding community was the color of his skin. For that one reason his life is made much harder to live.

Race has been a problem in the United States for a very long time. Hughes is asking his readers...