Biographical and Historical Approach to Langston Hughes...

Biographical and Historical Approach to Langston Hughes Dream Boogie Michelle Cooks ENG Teacher January 30, 2012 A biographical or historical approach attempt to measure how much an authors life or history has influenced their writings. Most of the time, writings are strengthened when the author writes from a biographical or historical angle, and the importance of their history becomes significant when it is used to create characters that express its values and examines trends that occur in that time period. When using a biographical or historical approach to an author and his work, it is important that the critic is familiar with the circumstances that the author writes about. The critic must explain whether or not the†¦show more content†¦Langston Hughes embraced his surroundings and adopted the characteristics from his culture, and with his unique style, tone, and use of symbols, he used his writings as a plan to identify and overcome the injustices of the African American people in Harlem during the Civil Rights Movement. Langston Hughes short poem, Dream Boogie captured my attent ion because of the style in which it was written and honestly, because of the author. The use of his words and the style of his writing, also known as the tone of this short poem give the reader insight into the dialect of African Americans in Harlem during Hughes era. Their language, which was considered slang, was informal and contained made-up words and used common words in abnormal ways. For example, Hughes used words such as aint and boogie-woogie, which was a term that was used in Harlem to refer to the blues. The tone was set on the style of be-bop, which is slang for jazz music. This is music that is improvised or made-up and put together along the way and originated in Harlem (Dictionary, 2005). Langston Hughes stated that jazz music to him is one of the deep-rooted styles of expression of the Negro life in America (Clugston, 2010). The rhythm in Dream Boogie is altered and does not have a continuous repeated pattern (Kate, 53). Through his imagination, Hughes designed this poem to reflect the mood and attitude of be-bop, and his unclearness orShow MoreRelatedReader-Response Criticism: Langston Hughes’ Dream Boogie1222 Words   |  5 PagesReader-Response Criticism: Langston Hughes’ Dream Boogie T Wilkins ENG 125 Introduction to Literature Instructor M. XXXXXXXXX May 22, 2011 Literature, no matter what the topic of form it comes in, has the ability to raise issues, spark thought/imagination, and/or draw out emotions that have been buried deep within us as people. It is expected, from the authors, that readers will form opinions and criticisms for their works. Be it that the readers’ emotions parallel those of the writerRead MoreLangston Hughes Research Paper25309 Words   |  102 PagesIn 1919, when Langston Hughes was seventeen years old, he spent the summer with his father, Jim Hughes, in Toluca, Mexico. Langston had not seen his father since he was a small child, and he was excited about making the trip. However, during this visit, no affectionate bond would develop between Langston and Jim. Jim Hughes was a cold, difficult man, who was driven by ambition to make money and achieve respect. He had moved to Mexico to avoid segregation and racial injustice in the United States