Langston Hughes

He was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form jazz poetry. He is one of the most known poets of all-time. He is Langston Hughes. A poet.

Hughes, like many black writers and artists of his time, was drawn to the promise of segregated America. Many of his lesser-known political writings have been collected in two volumes published by the University of Missouri Press and reflect his attraction to Communism. An example is the poem "A New Song".

I think he is a great person who fights for rights after reading his poem. He is a black that fights for black rights without fear.

In 1932, Hughes became part of a group of blacks who went to the Soviet Union to make a film depicting the plight of African Americans in the United States. The film was never made, but Hughes was given the opportunity to travel extensively through the Soviet Union and to the Soviet-controlled regions in , the latter parts usually closed to Westerners. In Turkmenistan, Hughes met and befriended the Hungarian Arthur Koestler. Hughes also managed to travel to China and Japan before returning to the States.

Although he was hated by many whites, he contiunued with his poems trying to make rights for the black. This shows how determined he is to change the social status of blacks.

Hughes' life has been depicted in various stage and film productions. Hannibal of the Alps by Michael Dinwiddie and Paper Armor by Eisa Davis are plays by African-American playwrights which deal with Hughes' sexuality.

Poems that he had write include:

The New Song

I speak in the name of the black millions

Awakening to action.

Let all others keep silent a moment

I have this word to bring,

This thing to say,

This song to sing:

Bitter was the day

When I bowed my back

Beneath the slaver's whip.

That day is past.

Bitter was the day

When I saw my children unschooled,

My young men without a voice in the world,

My women taken as the body-toys

Of a thieving people.

That day is past.

Bitter was the day, I say,

When the lyncher's rope

Hung about my neck,

And the fire scorched my feet,

And the oppressors had no pity,

And only in the sorrow songs

Relief was found.

That day is past.

I know full well now

Only my own hands,

Dark as the earth,

Can make my earth-dark body free.

O thieves, exploiters, killers,

No longer shall you say

With arrogant eyes and scornful lips:

"You are my servant,

Black man-

I, the free!"

That day is past-

For now,

In many mouths-

Dark mouths where red tongues burn

And white teeth gleam-

New words are formed,

Bitter

With the past

But sweet

With the dream.

Tense,

Unyielding,

Strong and sure,

They sweep the earth-

Revolt! Arise!

The Black

And White World

Shall be one!

The Worker's World!

The past is done!

A new dream flames

Against the

Sun!

I speak in the name of the black millions

Awakening to action.

Let all others keep silent a moment

I have this word to bring,

This thing to say,

This song to sing:

Bitter was the day

When I bowed my back

Beneath the slaver's whip.

That day is past.

Bitter was the day

When I saw my children unschooled,

My young men without a voice in the world,

My women taken as the body-toys

Of a thieving people.

That day is past.

Bitter was the day, I say,

When the lyncher's rope

Hung about my neck,

And the fire scorched my feet,

And the oppressors had no pity,

And only in the sorrow songs

Relief was found.

That day is past.

I know full well now

Only my own hands,

Dark as the earth,

Can make my earth-dark body free.

O thieves, exploiters, killers,

No longer shall you say

With arrogant eyes and scornful lips:

"You are my servant,

Black man-

I, the free!"

That day is past-

For now,

In many mouths-

Dark mouths where red tongues burn

And white teeth gleam-

New words are formed,

Bitter

With the past

But sweet

With the dream.

Tense,

Unyielding,

Strong and sure,

They sweep the earth-

Revolt! Arise!

The Black

And White World

Shall be one!

The Worker's World!

The past is done!

A new dream flames

Against the

Sun!

I speak in the name of the black millions

Awakening to action.

Let all others keep silent a moment

I have this word to bring,

This thing to say,

This song to sing:

Bitter was the day

When I bowed my back

Beneath the slaver's whip.

That day is past.

Bitter was the day

When I saw my children unschooled,

My young men without a voice in the world,

My women taken as the body-toys

Of a thieving people.

That day is past.

Bitter was the day, I say,

When the lyncher's rope

Hung about my neck,

And the fire scorched my feet,

And the oppressors had no pity,

And only in the sorrow songs

Relief was found.

That day is past.

I know full well now

Only my own hands,

Dark as the earth,

Can make my earth-dark body free.

O thieves, exploiters, killers,

No longer shall you say

With arrogant eyes and scornful lips:

"You are my servant,

Black man-

I, the free!"

That day is past-

For now,

In many mouths-

Dark mouths where red tongues burn

And white teeth gleam-

New words are formed,

Bitter

With the past

But sweet

With the dream.

Tense,

Unyielding,

Strong and sure,

They sweep the earth-

Revolt! Arise!

The Black

And White World

Shall be one!

The Worker's World!

The past is done!

A new dream flames

Against the

Sun!

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free?  Not me?
Surely not me?  The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

A Girl by Ezra Pound

The tree has entered my hands,
The sap has ascended my arms,
The tree has grown in my breast-
Downward,
The branches grow out of me, like arms.

Tree you are,
Moss you are,
You are violets with wind above them.
A child - so high - you are,
And all this is folly to the world.


How are the figurative language used in the poem?

1)Hyperbole-
NIL

2)Personification-
The tree has entered my hands,
The sap has ascended my arms,
The tree has grown in my breast-
Downward,

3)Similes-
The branches grow out of me, like arms.

4)Metaphor-
Tree you are,
Moss you are,
You are violets with wind above them.

5)Symbolism-
The tree, the sap.

Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.

This poem has a lot of variety of figurative language which makes the reader able to visualise or maybe have more feelings towards what the author is going to say. This poem tells us how the author is indirectly saying that an adult, or maybe a teenage, definitely not a child is not as mature as his age suggests. He uses that trees have grown, its sap volume increase, but over the years, the person still have not grown, as childy as a kid. I like this poem because of the way it express its feelings, and making a comparison between the trees and the person.

The End

Sex education-boon or bane

As sexuality become a srutiny in schools, what most parents said to be lacking is the information about such programmes. "Many of the 20 parents interviewed by the strait times yesterday said that they had no idea what went on during sexuality education classes in school" sadi the strait tiems. I was surprised at this statistic.

This statistics shows only two things. One, the students think it is just a trivial matter and did not inform their parents in detail.
Two, this shows the mindsets of parents. One perception is that they are not interested in whatever talk the school is going and do not care as much. Thus, they do not ask for information from their child.

Fortunately, Minister Ng Eng Hen had promised that schools will inform parents of the framework and topics covered in the sexuality talk, and also post such information on the respective websites.

However, the issue of opting out was raised by the parents. Last year, less than 1 per cent of parents said no to letting their children go for such classes. This can be caused by willingness of parents to go for such classes or the lack of information that they can actually opt out.

Personally, I feel that there is a weak link between two; parents and teachers. Based on a interview done by the strait times, experts said that these two groups are not fully equipped to pass on the right information and values to children.

I think most parents are simply embarrassed to discuss the issue with their children. What is worse is that many simply push their responsiblity, and tell their children to get their answers from their teachers instead. Thus, I think teachers need more training to overcome the awkwardness of talking sex in class.

In my opinion, parents are uncomfortable talking about sex because they were not taught by their parents not to talk about it. They also do not have a superficial meaning of sex education. They think sex is about making babies, but actually it is"an emotional, physical adn psycological thing.

Parents like mine may argue that we might be just to young to understand sex and this could pollute our minds. However, I disagreed, supporting it with the idiom that "prevention is better than cure'. Would you rather have your children to be in trouble for sex or to be awkward about telling them about it?

I end this post with a statement. Sex education is essential.

Who is your least favourite character in Village by the Sea?

I have the least favour for Hari's father, although he gave me a better impression towards the end of the story.

Hari's father is a good-for-nothing. He drinks toddy all day long with his friends. He did not do any jobs to support his family and even have to sell off their cow because of increasing debts. He come back home not only drunk, but also beat up his wife and his children.

There is evidence from the passage that Hari have hatred towards his father in his heart. He hated him so much that he wished that his father would be beaten by a snake to death.

His father was also the roots of the main problems in the family. Everything is linked up together. The family had become dysfunctional because Hari's father cannot seem to bother about work and his mother is sick. His mum could not be blamed. If you had read the later parts of the story, you would have known that his mum had suffered from malnutirition. If Hari's father had worked, his mother would have better food and would not have fallen sick.

He was also the cause of Pinto's death. As he had owe the Khanekhar brothers a lot of money, the brothers became annoyed and killed Pinto. This seems to be the last straw for Hari before he ran away to Bombay.

Above are the reasons why I do not favor Hari's father.

Is progress necessarily beneficial for society?

Is progress necessary beneficial for the society? Thats the question. My answer is straight. A definite no would be my resolute answer.

No, it is not necessary. However, it does not mean progress in the society is totally useless in the countries. Let me weigh the pros and cons.

Pros

1)It can allow things to be done quicker using technology. For example, with the new MRT lines like the Circle line which help students studying around MRT stations there to reach home in a quicker time, thus allowing things to happen faster.

2)It also provides convenience to people. Places that cannot be access easily before became more acessible. One example is the Marymount station that can only be easily accessed by bus before but now, it is accessible by Circle line.

3)It also reduced the number of work that we have to do. Some manual stuffs such as calculating the score has also become computer-generated. Calculation that have to be made is taken over by technology with the use of calculators and Microsoft Excel.

4)All this lead to more effectiveness while working. Thus, the tempo of life is much faster making the quality of life would be much higher. This links to high standards of living and people would have better food and shelter that they can enjoy.

Cons

1)As I had mentioned above, if there were to be progress, standards of living would be higher. With the standards of living being raised, the society would be more competitive. There would be more competition in life and people may be more pressurized than before. Because of not able to adapt to the high tempo of life, they may succumbed to suicide.

2)Progress also affects the enviroment. For example, the ozone layer had been damaged because we had produced too much greenhouse gases. We also cleared large pieces of forests to make way for factories, thus affecting the quality of the air.

3)This leads to privacy. You see, hackers have the technology to hack our accounts and do crimes out of it. This lands us in hot soup although we are innocent. This caused unnecessary worries and also add to the pressure, again.

4) Progress also affects the life of the villagers. For example, in Village By The Sea, the goverment in bombay wanted to build factories in Thul, a small village in india. Villagers were unhappy about it as they thought the gas emitted from the factories would affect their fishing industry and thus, not able to survive as fishing is their only source of income.

In conclusion, progress is needed. However, I believe everything has its pros and cons. We cannot grumble about progress hindering our lives, we must learn to adapt.

George Bernard Shaw once said,“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. ”

Which part of Village By The Sea do you like the best?

If you ask me which part of this novel I like the most, I would say the Coconut day.

This is the day where I can sense happiness for the family as I can sense new hopes ,dreams and changes for the better.

Hari - 1)He had got himself a stable job and thus earned a stable income, earning quite a lot for the family which makes us feel relieved that the family financial situation would be better.
2)He also expressed his wish to Mr Panwallah to go back home and also make us feel happy about the family re-uniting again.
3)It also tells us Hari had grown up from his experience as a worker and also had become a real city boy. He had also "learnt to push and fight his way"(Page 217). This made the reader feel happy for Hari as he had grown to be a more mature person.

Lila- 1)Although she is alone without his brother, she still copes very well and also had a stable financial situation from working for a birdwatcher. This lead to the reader not having to worry about the family without Hari.

Mother-1)She is recovering from her illness with medical care in the hospital. She is taken care by her husband. This makes the author feel happy as Mother is able to take up the role as a mum, thus, shifting back the roles of the parents which were taken by Hari and Lila before.

Father-1)He has turn over a new leaf and had changed from a drunkard to one that loves his wife. He also had taken up the responsiblity of a father by looking care of his wife. This gives us a hint that father would make ends meet for the family after his mother had fully recovered.

You may ask me why I did not choose the ending as my favourite part. I feel that from this coconut day, it already give me hints of a possible fairy-tale ending , thus the conclusion does not happen in a surprise, but act as a follow-up in my opinion.