Dear Sabina,
Your thesis really explains your theme well as you state that the past is important
for the future. Your two poems “Aunt Sue’s Stories” and “The Negro Mother” both
seem like strong choices for your theme as they reflect on and share the past of the
black community. “Aunt Sue’s Stories” gives a perspective of slavery as told to a
young child while “The Negro Mother” highlights the struggles of the AfricanAmerican people and encourages the young to remember their past. I think that allin-all your theme selection is pretty clear and organized. During revision, I would
revisit some of your verbs and adjectives and try to pick maybe some more
powerful or precise words. Avoid repetition, especially of the term “AfricanAmerican” because it definitely got a little tiresome reading that word over and
over. Also, make sure you add in your in-text citations of the poems. Otherwise, very
good paper so far and good luck on part 2!
Respectfully,
Maria
Sabina Nunn
April 6, 2015
Professor Kingsley
English 123 – 8774
Title
Part 1. Langston Hughes’ “Aunt Sue’s Stories” and “The Negro Mother”
Langston Hughes was a progressive poet for African-American rights of the
1920’s. His compelling work left a huge impression on those who read it. A reoccurring
theme in Hughes poetry is concerning the preservation of the African-American slave
past. Two poems that clearly encompass this theme are, “Aunt Sues Stories” and “The
Negro Mother”. Through his poetry, Hughes stresses that remembering the past is a vital
component in creating a better future for African-Americans.
“Aunt Sue’s Stories”, is about an older relative, Aunt Sue, who is telling her
young nephew stories of her slave past. This nephew was never enslaved and born free,
and his elder's voice is the only way he can hear of slavery. The speaker states that Aunt
Sue had a, “whole head full of stories”, and a, “whole heart full of stories”. Hughes’
states that her head is full of stories because it gives Aunt Sue credibility- these are facts;
he states that she has a whole heart full of stories because it not only add emotion and
intensity, but it grows a personal connection to the readers because pouring her heart out
for us. Aunt Sue begins to tell the stories of her past:
Black slaves
Working in the hot sun,
And black slaves
Walking in the dewy night,
And black slaves
Singing sorrow songs on the banks of a mighty river
Mingle themselves softly
In the flow of old Aunt Sue's voice,
Mingle themselves softly
In the dark shadows that cross and recross
Aunt Sue's stories.
There is a lot of tension in this stanza of the poem because there is beauty and sadness
embedded in Hughes’ words. The stories, “mingle themselves softly”, because slavery is
over so it is non-threatening, however, it still did occur and was devastating to the
African-American race. This is one example of contradicting emotions that arise in the
poem. Hughes’ speaks of dark shadows, which are the memories and stories of the
slavery that faintly continue to live. Sharing the past causes this new, young, and
emancipated generation to, “cross and recross”, with their ancestors and a history of
enslavement. Hughes’ is using this poem to show the beauty of sharing the past with the
future African-Americans.
In Hughes’ “The Negro Mother”, an African-American mother is addressing her
“children”. This mother isn’t addressing her biological children, or any children in
particular, but instead this mother is addressing the entire group of African-American
future generations; this woman is speaking to the young African-Americans who are her
descendants. The “mother” figure, that is the speaker of the poem, is the slaves: the past
generations of African-Americans who suffered and fought solely for freedom for their
race. Hughes’ begins with,
Children, I come back today
To tell you a story of the long dark way
That I had to climb, that I had to know
In order that the race might live and grow.
The speaker of the poem is telling this group of “children” (the new generations of
African-Americans) that there is a dark past that was overcome in order to have AfricanAmericans flourish and thrive in freedom. This idea is also reiterated later in the poem:
Now, through my children, young and free,
I realized the blessing deed to me.
But I had to keep on till my work was done:
I had to keep on! No stopping for me I was the seed of the coming Free.
I nourished the dream that nothing could smother
Deep in my breast - the Negro mother.
Hughes is attempting to let all African-Americans know that the freedoms they reap
today are because three hundred years of their ancestors who were enslaved. These slaves
persevered in hope of one day being emancipated. By preserving the memory of these
past generations, the hardships that they faced are given meaning and their dreams are
fulfilled through the freedom of their offspring. However, the speaker of the poem
stresses that her work is not yet finished:
I had only hope then, but now through you,
Dark ones of today, my dreams must come true:
All you dark children in the world out there,
Remember my sweat, my pain, my despair.
Remember my years, heavy with sorrow And make of those years a torch for tomorrow.
Make of my pass a road to the light
Out of the darkness, the ignorance, the night.
Lift high my banner out of the dust.
Stand like free men supporting my trust.
Believe in the right, let none push you back.
Remember the whip and the slaver's track.
The speaker is telling these young African-Americans, who never experienced slavery, to
remember the miserable three centuries of oppression that their ancestors faced, to
continue their legacy of fighting for equality. She states that the previously enslaved
African-Americans sorrow and despair should be motivation to resist oppression and
battle for freedom. Hughes’ major theme of this poem is preserving the memory of the
past. He uses a “mother” figure because he is directly addressing the young AfricanAmericans of that time.
Word Count: 842