Class Reflection #1- Langston Hughes

         I remember looking through my syllabus the first day we received it and seeing that we were going to be assigned  poetry by Langston Hughes, I was actually really excited! I have always enjoyed his work ever since junior high school.  Throughout junior high and high school, I was required to recite a poem out loud every year infront my english class by memory for 'poetry out loud', from 6-12th grade.  And out of any poem that I ever picked to recite, "A Dream Deffered" was definitely my favorite one.  It was quite easy to grasp and I admired its simplicity and rhyme.  It was also fun to recite.  Poetry was never my strong point, I would dread every NY regents or final that required me to analyze a poem and answer questions on it.  But Hughes's work aloud me to see a whole other side of poetry that I never really was able to appreciate before.  And when we learned in class about how he was a social activist for equality, it only made me appreciate his work even more.  Many writers write their poetry about their lives and daily experiences but none stand out to me like Langstons'.  He was not only a writer, but a presenter of history trying to fight for justice for his people and eliminate the corruption and hate towards the black community.  What he discussed in his poetry was the time period of extreme racism and discrimination that he faced in his everyday life.  I find the time period he lived through to be extremely fascinating.  When we learned about how Hughes's dad had a strong dislike for his own people, I found that to be very shocking and shameful.  It was also sort of ironic since his son (Langston) had so much pride for who he was and was the total opposite.  Hughes consistently stood up for blacks and celebrated the legacy of his people throughout many of the pieces of literature we read by him this semester.  These works include but are not limited to"I,too", "Theme for English B", and "The Negro Speaks of Rivers".  Reading these helped me better understand Langston Hughes and what he stood for and made me even more interested in his work.  I love how every poem we read by him conveys a message and teaches you about this critical time period in history which is why they catch my attention. To me, Langston Hughes is not just a novelist, but also a hero.  He helped fight for a better America and I think if he were still alive, he would be very pleased with how far this country has gone since then considering our President is ufcourse black.  I believe that without his help we wouldn't be where we are today,  he contributed to making these reformations possible and I truly admire him.