The Portrayal of The Repression and

Journal of Interdisciplinary Cycle Research ISSN NO: 0022-1945
The Portrayal of the Repression and

A Ray of Hope In Langston Hughes’
selected poems: A Study
GanesanArasan
Assistant Professor of English,
Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College,
(Affiliated to the University of Madras)
Mylapore,Chennai. 600 004.
97107 77713
University of Madras.
ganesanbliss@gmail.com
Abstract
The research paper analyses the torments and tortures committed by the Whites to the
Blacks. The blacks constantly attempt to remove the shackles of the Hegemonic control,
but the oppressor being economically, culturally and politically strong, the oppressed
always fails miserably to unchain the manacles. The Portrayal of the repression and the
delineation of a ray of hope in the selected poems of Langston Hughes show a
considerable and successful resistance to harassment and subjugations. The sole
intention to voice out the opinions of the Black is to bring equation with the Whites and
fight against a system and not against an Individual White, because many would have
witnessed the participation of the white people in the speech made by Martin Luther
King (I have a Dream). The cruel reality of racism lynches many lives of the Afro-
Americans. Racial Discrimination, Racial segregation, exclusion, Treatment of
inequality, Prejudiced thoughts of the Whites and optimism are the quintessential
themes dealt in the poems of Langston Hughes. The researcher has chosen Dreams and
April Rain Song to present the ill feelings of the Blacks and a real sense of hopefulness
through these selected poems.
Key terms: Hegemony, Subjugations, Afro Americans, racial discrimination and racial
segregation
Volume XI, Issue XII, December/2019 Page No:105

I. INTRODUCTION
The unparalleled representative of Afro – American and the

consummate revolutionary poet Langston Hughes was born in
Missouri, USA. Hughes is popularly known as “Harlem Poet.” The
presentation of vehement resistance to White’s injustice and
optimistic rays of hopes is commonly found in all his poems.
As Franks, a critic beautifully stated about the themes of

Hughes:
“Hughes, whose writing career spanned more than half a

century, was diverse in his themes, which included
connectedness, racism, integration, poverty, myth, history and
universal freedom. Particularly unique to his work was his
integration of his writing with blues and jazz. He wrote
operettas, and many of his poems were set to music.”
The Afro-Americans have been mercilessly persecuted and

inhumanly proscribed from all avenues of civility, hope,
advancement and livelihood. Langston Hughes predominantly used
his works to glorify his clans thereby gave his voice to the silenced
subalterns. He essentially articulated about the issues with regard
to racism and ill treatment against the Blacks, colour
discriminations, racial segregations and social injustice that were
chiefly pervasive then. The chosen poems Dreams and April Rain
Song have vividly delineated the cruelty and the realityhappened in
the United States.

II. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HUGHES’ DREAMS:
The poem Dreams appeared in Montage of a Dream

Deferredwhich was the first major publication of Langston
Hughes in 1951. The themes of the collection included the
suppression of the black community, African-American
racial consciousness and more importantly the need for a
social change to mend the injustices experienced by the
inhabitants of Harlem.
Dreams
Original Poem The word The word

‘Dreams’has been ‘Dreams’has been
replaced with replaced with
‘Hopes.’ ‘Confidence.’
Hold fast to Hold fast to Hopes Hold fast to

dreams For if hopes die Confidence
For if dreams Life is a broken- For if confidences die
die winged bird Life is a broken-
Life is a broken- That cannot fly. winged bird
winged bird Hold fast to hopes That cannot fly.
That cannot fly. For when hopes go Hold fast to
Hold fast to Life is a barren field confidence
dreams Frozen with snow. For when confidences
For when go
dreams go Life is a barren field
Life is a barren Frozen with snow.
field
Frozen with
snow.

According to Langston Hughes, Dreams are the

obligatory part of survival. Dreams are as indispensable
as the rudimentary amenities. He included dreams with
food, shelter and clothing. When the dreams are deferred
or disregarded, they contaminate everything around
them. When Hughes penned poems, slavery, ill treatment,
terrible inequality were annoyingly persistent. For these
reasons, he implored his readers to hold fast dreams and
contemplate about dreams.
The critical analysis of the poem can be explained as dreams

might flicker in subalterns mind; dreams might swing to and fro.
The subaltern must grab them fast; otherwise their dreams would
be snatched like their birthrights by the Whites. Dreams alone
could make the Afro Americans live. If dreams die, there would be
no point in living. Life is already a broken-winged bird to them. The
wings of the marginalized have already been broken and plucked
away by the Whites. However, the dreams can never be stolen by
the Whites. Dreams can drive them to different lands and divert
their destinations as well. Dreams can never beconfiscated or
controlled by the cruel controller. He further postulated that ‘All
their rights have been seized’ but as far as dreams are concerned,
only the dreamer can let it die or go away, if they do so, life would
be a broken winged bird. Broken winged bird refers to a kind of flat
tyre. Both of them would never take people anywhere. If the Afro-
Americans fail to dream or let the dreams go away from them, their
life would be a barren field replete with snow.
The poet sincerely entreated his people through his poems not
to let the dream go away from them. In the analysis, the researcher
has replaced the word ‘Dreams’ with Hopes and Confidences. When
replaced, the meaning is even more reinforced as Dreams and life
are interconnected.

III. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HUGHES’ APRIL RAIN SONG:
“April Rain Song” is a short and sweet poem that does not fit
easily into any particular category within Langston Hughes’ oeuvre.
It is not about the Harlem community, the American Dream, racial
discrimination, or jazz and blues. It is a simple poetic celebration of
the rain.”
Robert Frost has said, “Poetry provides the one permissible way
of saying onething and meaning another.”Every word has got its
own connotative and denotative meaning. Therefore, while doing
the critical analysis, the researcher disagreed with one of the
critical appreciations of the poem. The researcher felt that this
poem also explains about the social segregation and injustices.
Most of the poems by Langston Hughes focused on dreams and
eulogized the residents of Harlem. The analysis of the poem
explains that Langston Hughes pleaded to his people to let the rain
kiss them, to permit the ‘Silver liquid drops’ fall on their head, to
sing them a lullaby and he concludes that he loves the rain.
The researcher has replaced the word ‘rain’ with dreams. Rain
usually symbolizes rebirth - it is the sustenance that helps flowers
to blossom. In the spiritual point of view, rain connotes baptism - a
new beginning. Before the Harlem Renaissance, the subalterns had
lost their hopes that they would never get social freedom and
justice. Therefore, the speaker requested his clans not to lose their
dreams and hopes. He besought them to allow the dreams to
kiss/embrace them. Hughes used the phrase ‘Let the dream beat
upon your head with silver liquid drops’, it means ‘every cloud has
a silver lining’. He reiterated to his brethren to listen to the lullaby
so that they could see a silver line in their difficulties.

Langston Hughes concludes the poem by saying ‘He loves the rain’
because it does not discriminate the Blacks. In the third row, the researcher
used the word ‘At least’ in the beginning of the every line in order to get the
full meaning of it. It clearly indicates that nobody (the Whites) in America
touches the Afro Americans. They distance themselves at the sight of them
like the ‘untouchables, unseeables and unapproachables’ in India. At least the
rain and dreams do not differentiate between the Whites and the Blacks.
Hughes appeals to his people to allow the rain to touch and bless them. The
Whites do not sing lullaby for you and they would not even allow you to enjoy
your birthrights, but the rain does not differentiate people as the Whites do.
So, Hughes concludes by saying he loves the rain and he does not detest it as
he abhors the Whites for their discriminative nature.
APRIL RAIN SONG
Original Poem The word ‘rain’ has The word ‘At

been replaced with least’ is used in
‘Dreams.’
Let the rain kiss the beginning of
you the every line.
Let the rain beat Let the dream kiss
upon your head you.
At least let the rain
with silver liquid
kiss you.
drops
Let the rain sing Let the dream beat
you a lullaby upon your head
with silver liquid At least Let the rain
The rain makes beat upon your
still pools on the drops
Let the dream sing head with silver
sidewalk liquid drops
The rain makes you a lullaby
The dream makes At least Let the rain
running pools in sing you a lullaby
the gutter still pools on the
sidewalk At least The rain
The rain plays a makes still pools
little sleep song on The dream makes
running pools in on the sidewalk
our roof at night At least The rain
And I love the rain. the gutter
The dream plays a makes running
little sleep song on pools in the gutter
our roof at night At least The rain
And I love the plays a little sleep
dream. song on our roof at
night
At least I love the

rain.
IV. CONCLUSION
“A work of literature, like a painting, is a work of art. It is an

object that embodies thoughts and feelings.” Stated Sylvan. As the
quotation clearly explains, literature reflects the feelings and the
life of the writer. Literature is a tool which helps the writer to share
his feelings, experiences, his thoughts, ideas and his conviction.
The chosen poems also evidently reflect the community from which
Hughes came. Disastrous experiences of the Afro-Americans and
the wrath against the oppressors are vividly evident in the poems.
Langston Hughes accentuates the atrocities and brutalities done to
the residents of Harlem. They are not given equal rights and
stature. The roots of social injustice were so deep in the minds of
the people that they could not get rid of it. They are still chained in
iron shackles that are difficult to be unlocked. Therefore, the writer
requests his cliques not to give up dreams and to have a ray of hope
in their minds. Hughes kept giving hopes to his clans so that they
would also attempt to relieve from the rigid rules and repressions.
REFERENCES:
[1] De Santis, Christopher. “Rage, Repudiation, and Endurance: Langston Hughes’ Radical
Writings.” The Langston Hughes Review 12,1993.
[2] Franks, Carol. "Langston Hughes." Magill’s Survey Of American Literature, Revised Edition (2006): 1-7.
Literary Reference Center.Web. 16 Feb. 2012.
[3] Hughes, Langston. The Collected Works of Langston Hughes, The Poems: 1921-1940.Columbia and London:
University of Missouri Press, 2001.
[4] Hughes, Langston. "You And Your Whole Race." Poetry 193.4 (2009): 329. Literary Reference Center.Web. 25
Apr. 2013.
[5] McWhorter, John. “Black and White and read all over.” Deccan Chronicle.20Aug. 2005.9.
[6] Nelson, Fraser. “200 years after abolition, slave trade will haunt Britain.” Deccan Chronicle 9 Jan. 2007.8.
[7] Rampersad, Arnold. The Life of Langston Hughes, volume I: 1920-1941. New York: Oxford University Press,
1986.
[8] Rampersad, Arnold. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. NY: Vintage Classics, 1994.

[9] Sylvan, Barnet. A Short Guide to Writing about Literature, Fifth Edition. Boston: Little Brown and Company,
1985.
[10] [Online]. Available: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/dreams-2/
[11] [Online]. Available:http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/april-rain-song/
[12] [Online]. Available:http://www.gradesaver.com/langston-hughes-poems/study-guide/summary-april-rain-song
[13] [Online]. Available:http://www.gradesaver.com/langston-hughes-poems/study-guide/summary-april-rain-song
[14] [Online]. Available:http://www.en.utexas.edu/amlit/amlitprivate/scans/edbypo.html

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Journal of Interdisciplinary Cycle Research ISSN NO: 0022-1945

The Portrayal of the Repression and

Volume XI, Issue XII, December/2019 Page No:105

The unparalleled representative of Afro – American and the

As Franks, a critic beautifully stated about the themes of

“Hughes, whose writing career spanned more than half a

The Afro-Americans have been mercilessly persecuted and

Volume XI, Issue XII, December/2019 Page No:106

II. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HUGHES’ DREAMS:

The poem Dreams appeared in Montage of a Dream

Original Poem The word The word

Hold fast to Hold fast to Hopes Hold fast to

Volume XI, Issue XII, December/2019 Page No:107

According to Langston Hughes, Dreams are the

The critical analysis of the poem can be explained as dreams

Volume XI, Issue XII, December/2019 Page No:108

III. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HUGHES’ APRIL RAIN SONG:

Volume XI, Issue XII, December/2019 Page No:109

APRIL RAIN SONG

Original Poem The word ‘rain’ has The word ‘At

Volume XI, Issue XII, December/2019 Page No:110

“A work of literature, like a painting, is a work of art. It is an

Volume XI, Issue XII, December/2019 Page No:111

[10] [Online]. Available: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/dreams-2/

[11] [Online]. Available:http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/april-rain-song/

[12] [Online]. Available:http://www.gradesaver.com/langston-hughes-poems/study-guide/summary-april-rain-song

[13] [Online]. Available:http://www.gradesaver.com/langston-hughes-poems/study-guide/summary-april-rain-song

[14] [Online]. Available:http://www.en.utexas.edu/amlit/amlitprivate/scans/edbypo.html

Volume XI, Issue XII, December/2019 Page No:112

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