African American Perspective In Literature

Race and Class in African American LiteratureRacial and dissever identities bear a tremendous influence on how writings is written and read . The influence of racial and class individualism on literature is exemplified in the works of authors Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen , two crowing poets during the Harlem Renaissance . The impact of the two authors racial and class identities on their work is evident in Hughes essay The pitch blackness workman and the Racial Mountain and Cullen s poem Yet Do I Marvel which deal with the issue of social and intellectual sequestration based on racial identities . Despite their sympathetic themes , however , Hughes and Cullen present very different realities of African American artists and come through bank lineing accounts of the difficulties these artists confront because of their racial and class identitiesOn the surface , Langston Hughes pitiable work and Countee Cullen s poem appear to be very similar in terms of their focus on the fictitious character of racial indistinguishability in an artist s life and work . In these works , the authors provide the audience with similar metaphors to describe how racial discrimination becomes an obstacle for African American artists . Hughes refers to the racial pickle that African American artists must overcome in to take in our temples for tomorrow (Hughes ,__ while Cullen uses the metaphor of Sisyphus eternal struggle up a never-ending stair (Cullen , __ )to describe the travails of being an African American artist whose literary genius is often treat and unrewarded even in his own community . thereof , both of the authors works reflect the prevailing social twist as both a source of oppression and repression among dark-skinned artistsA deeper analysis of the two authors literary pieces reveals a sharp contrast in the way that Hughes and Cullen explore the theme of racial identity and inequality . The most conspicuous difference is in the incline used by the authors in dealing with the issue of racism .

It is evident that Hughes takes on the issue of racial bias and stereotyping against African American with a critical stance . He writes in the opening sentences of The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain that the bay window standing in the way of any true Negro art in America (Hughes __ ) is the impulse within African American artists to surrender to dominant literary and artistic conventions ascertain and decided by Whites Based on this assumption , Hughes argues that African American artists will only be able to vault the racial mountain by defying conventions based on American standardization and going beyond established African American stereotypes (__ ) In contrast , Cullen s poem , while implicitly referring to the role of racial identity in his struggles as a author and poet , conceals any hint of racial bias apart from his recognition of his identity as Black poet . Instead , Cullen attempts to establish his confidence in the system by emphasizing his belief in a good and well-meaning God although he marvels at what God has done .Further investigation would reveal that Hughes and Cullen s work importantly differ...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay

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