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AFRICAN-AMERICAN STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY
IN“I, TOO, SING AMERICA” AND “BALLAD OF THE
LANDLORD”
BY LANGSTON HUGHES
Anddy Steven
Institute of Languages & Communication
UniversitasSiswaBangsaInternasional – The Sampoerna University
[email protected]
[email protected]
Abstract
The goal of this study was to find out how Langston Hughes‘ poems “I, Too, Sing
America” and “Ballad of the Landlord” represent the struggle of African-American
people for equality. The research methods used in this study was library research; those
are literary selection, textual analysis (imagery, denotation and connotation, figurative
language analysis), the correlation analysis between the theme and sub theme of both
poems with the historical background of African-American civil rights movements and
the postcolonial theory developed by Bill Ashcroft et al.
The analysis revealed three important information: first, both poems delivered the theme
and sub theme that reflect Hughes‘ protest upon inequality faced by the AfricanAmerican and the reflection of the inequality itself; second, the theme and sub theme
were delivered by using the abrogation and appropriation process; and last, the two postcolonial process reflected the idea of ‗marginal versus center‘ in the poems.
It was concluded that both poems represent African-American struggle for equality from
the theme and sub theme which are reflected by the usage of the appropriation and
abrogation process of post-colonial writing, where the ‗marginal‘, can be identified as
African-American, who wanted to oppose the basic outlook of ‗white supremacy‘
adopted by the ‗center‘, which refers to the majority white Americans and also the state
and federal government of the United States of America.
Keywords: Poetry analysis, Post-colonial Discourse, Poetry, African-American
Literature
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Introduction
The society all over the world will probably agree to the issue that every human being has to
be treated as equal, every person have to respect each other as equal no matter what their skin
color, their language or nationality, due to the same privilege given by GOD. The condition
however, as can be learned from the past history, there are still inequality faced by people in
some nation of the world, and worst, some of the nation that allows inequality or race
discrimination admit that they upholds democracy and equality. This inequality and racebased discrimination are questioned and moreover challenged by the people or the society that
faced such treatment. They have tried various ways in achieving their goals, and one that is
very interesting to be observed is how they try it by the means of literary work, especially
poetry.
The subject of this research paper is two poems written by Langston Hughes titled “I, Too,
Sing America” and “Ballad of the Landlord” which promotes a very deep implicit and
explicit idea of the struggle of African-American people upon equality, which make these
poems as one of the integral aspect of the overall movements of African-American for
equality in the United States of America that affect the American culture. The analysis toward
the poems is very important because the result will reveal how Langston Hughes, as one of
the important African-American writers, deliver his thoughts of equality in America through
the representation of his well-chosen words and how Hughes in his own unique way, as the
member of African-American society, wanted to achieve the goal of equality in America.
Besides that, the analysis will also reveal the techniques used by Hughes to achieve his
struggle and how the techniques are strongly bound not only with the historical background of
African-American civil rights movement but also with the postcolonial literary and cultural
theory.
The goal of this study is to reveal how the poems “I, Too, Sing America” and “Ballad of the
Landlord” by Langston Hughes, represent the struggle of African-American people for
equality. This research also has functions to promote equality as the way of thinking and to
show to the readers that poetry can be considered as a very powerful means of struggle to gain
equality. Moreover, this paper also aims to provide example for teachers and students on how
to analyze poems by involving a literary and historical approach.
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Methodology
In order to achieve the goal of this study, the writer used library research consisting of six
steps. First, literature selection which not only to obtain data from the references to explain
details about poetry and its elements, but also to support the poet‘s idea of the struggle of
African-American people for equality, which was based on the historical background of
African-American movement for equality. Besides that, the writer observed information
concerning the postcolonial literary theory developed by Bill Ashcroft et al. Second, the
writer conducted a thorough textual analysis on the poems, by using four steps of analysis,
which are paraphrasing, imagery, denotation and connotation and figurative language
analysis. Third, the writer compared and contrasted the findings of the two poems‘ textual
analysis concerning the idea of African-American struggle for equality. Fourth, the writer
drew conclusions based on the textual analysis comparison and contrast of the poems, to
reveal the theme and sub theme that exist in those two poems. Fifth, the writer conducted a
correlation analysis upon the poems, to show the connection between Hughes‘ thoughts and
the history of African-American movement and also the postcolonial theory. Last, the writer
concluded the whole textual and postcolonial theory analysis to show how Langston Hughes,
through his poem “I, Too, Sing America” and “Ballad of the Landlord”, delivered the idea
of African-American struggle for equality.
The Elements of Poetry Analysis
Arp suggest that to interpret poetry ―it must involve not only your intelligence but also your
senses, emotions, and imagination‖ (1997, p.10). In order to rouse the sense, emotions and
imagination, the elements of poetry are needed to be understood. DiYanniexplained that there
are eight elements of poetry
The elements of a poem include a speaker whose voice we hear in it; its
diction [or Denotation and Connotation] or selection of words; its syntax or the
order of those words; its imagery or details of sight, sound, taste, smell, and
touch; its figures of speech [or figurative language] or nonliteral ways of
expressing one thing in terms of another, such as symbol and metaphor; its
sound effects, especially rhyme, assonance, and alliteration; its rhythm and
meter or the pattern of accents we hear in the poem‘s words, phrases, lines, and
sentences; and its structure or formal pattern of organization (2001, p. 413).
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From above explanation it is seen that the eight elements of poetry are the speaker, diction or
denotation and connotation meaning, syntax, imagery, figures of speech or figurative
language, sound effects, rhythm and meter, and the last is the structure. In this part, however,
there are only three important elements of poetry that are going to be observed, which are
imagery, denotation and connotation, and figurative language.
The first element of poetry is imagery, which can be considered as one of the elements of
poetry that is very important to deliver the massage of poems through the representation of
the senses, since ―Experience comes to us largely through senses‖ (Arp, 1997, p.49). Arp
explains that this sense of experience can be obtained through seven imagerieswhich are
visual, auditory (sound), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), tactile (touch), organic (fatigue or
nausea) and kinesthetic (movement or tension) imagery. By finding these certain imageries in
a poem, it will lead the sense to the idea of the poem, as Arp suggests that ―Since
imagery…may be used to convey emotion and suggest ideas as well as to cause a mental
reproduction of sensations, it is an invaluable resource of the poet‖ (1997, p.51-52).
The second element of poetry are denotation and connotation, which are used by the poet to
express the thoughts, idea and feeling of the poet, as what Arp suggest, ―…in literature,
especially in poetry, a fuller use is made of individual words‖ (1997, p.37). Due to the
important roles of individual word in poetry, then to examine the meaning of the individual
word is significant step to interpret a poem and this can be achieved by observing the
elements of word. Arp suggests three elements in a word, which are ―sound, denotation, and
connotation‖ (1997, p.37). To be able to get the main idea of a poem that can be achieved by
focusing the analysis upon individual words, then the emphasis of this explanation goes to the
denotation and connotation.
Since poetry ―provides the one permissible way of saying one thing and meaning another‖
(Frost in Arp, 1997, p. 61), it is agreed that poets, in writing the poems, also use figurative
language. Arp states that ―figurative language often provides a more effective means of
saying what we mean than does direct statement‖ (1997, p.68) and it can be concluded that
figurative language is also very important to observe due to its effectiveness in delivering
massages of poems. There are eleven figurative languages, which are simile, metaphor,
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personification,
apostrophe,
metonymy,
symbol,
allegory,
paradox,
overstatement,
understatement and irony.
The final outcome that can be expected from the analysis upon poem is the theme of the
poem. DiYanni explains that theme can be defined as ―an abstraction or generalization drawn
from the details of a literary work [including poem]‖ (2001, p.482). From the explanation can
be seen that a theme of poems can be obtained after a close observation upon the details in
poems, where the observation can be conducted with specific approach to the elements of
poems, then eventually the theme, which refers to ―an idea or intellectually apprehensible
meaning inherent and implicit in a work‖ (DiYanni, 2001, p.482), can be drawn out.
The Importance of Historical Background
It is unachievable to merely depends poetry analysis on the textual analysis to arouse the
sense, emotions and especially imaginations in order to have a deep analysis on poetry, it is
important to know the historical background of the poem and moreover the poet himself,
because as what DiYanni suggest in evaluating poem
…we turn inevitably to a consideration of the various cultural assumption,
moral attitudes, and political convictions that animate particular poems. We
consider the perspective from which they were written. Our consideration may
involve an investigation into the circumstances of its composition, the external
facts and internal experience of the poet‘s life (2001, p.402).
As can be seen from above explanations, it can be understood that to know the historical
background is very important for analyzing poetry, because it can give a big picture about the
poem perspective and also the poet‘s experience. The importance of historical background
was also suggested by Davies (1991) that outlines the importance of sharing, between the poet
and the reader, concerning the etymology or the origins and history of the words in a poem in
order to have a full understanding of the words (p.66). In other words, in order to deepen the
discourse of the result of the textual analysis it is important to know the historical background
of the words and moreover the poem. Therefore the next part will discuss the historical
background of African-American movement and also the basic reason of unequal treatment
faced by the African-American.
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Postcolonial Literature
In The Empire Writes Back, Ashcroft et al., reports that ―The semantic basis of the term
‗postcolonial‘ might seem to suggest a concern only with the national culture after the
departure of the imperial power‖ (1991, p.1), or in other words, semantically the word
‗postcolonial‘ may express the idea of culture resulted after certain imperialism period. But,
despite of accepting the semantic meaning, Ashcroft et al., suggest
…the term ‗post-colonial‘, however, to cover ail the culture affected by
the imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present day. This
is because there is a continuity of preoccupations throughout the historical
process initiated by European imperial aggression (1991, p.2).
Ashcroft et al., suggest that the term ‗postcolonial‘ can be applied not only after certain
colonization period but also until the present day, and Ashcroft et al., states that their
postcolonial theory ―concerned with the world as it exists during and after the period of
European imperial domination and the effects of this on the contemporary literatures‖ (1991,
p.2). At this point, can be understood that the meaning of postcolonial literature, based on
Ashcroft et al., theory, is the literary works that are exist during and after certain period of
European imperial domination and was affected by the domination.
Language plays a very important role as a means of power (Ashcroft et al., 1991, p.38) and
this condition ―demands that post-colonial writing define itself by seizing the language of the
center and re-placing it in a discourse fully adapted to the colonized place‖ (Ashcroft et al,
1991, p.38), in other words, in order to counter react the ‗center‘, postcolonial writers had
their main task in replacing the language of the ‗center‘ and substitute it with their own
suitable language. And to achieve this goal, according to Ashcroft et al, there are two different
ways, which as follows
The first, the abrogation or denial of the privilege of ‗English‘ involves a
rejection of the metropolitan power over the means of communication. The
second, the appropriation and reconstitution of the language of the center, the
process of capturing and remoulding the language to new usages, marks a
separation from the site of colonial privilege. (1991, p.38)
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According to the above explanation, there are two processes in replacing the language of the
‗center‘, the first process is abrogation and the second process is appropriation. Ashcroft et
al., define abrogation as ―a refusal of the categories of the imperial culture, its aesthetic, its
illusory standard of normative or ‗correct‘ usage, and its assumption of a traditional and fixed
meaning ‗inscribed‘ in the words‖ (1991, p.38). From the definition it can be seen that
abrogation suggest the process of rejection of the postcolonial writing towards the language
formed by the ‗center‘. Meanwhile, Ashcroft et al., define appropriation as ―the process by
which the language is taken and made to ‗bear the burden‘ of one‘s own cultural
experience…Language is adopted as a tool and utilized in various ways to express widely
differing cultural experience‖ (1991, p.38-39). Ashcroft et al., definition of appropriation,
give us the understanding that in this kind of process, the postcolonial writers will adopt the
language of the ‗center‘ as the means to communicate the cultural differences between the
‗center‘ with the postcolonial writer.
Result of Textual Analysis on Both Poems
After a thorough textual analysis from Langston Hughes‘ poems “I, Too, Sing America” and
“Ballad of the Landlord”, it can be concluded that there are major points of similarities upon
themes and sub themes that can be found in these poems. To know the similarities, it is
necessary to compare the result, which represented in the comparison table below:
Table 1
Comparison of the theme and sub theme on Langston Hughes‘
“I, Too, Sing America” and “Ballad of the Landlord”
Theme and Sub theme of
“I, Too, Sing America”
Theme:
The persona‘s protest or disapproval against
the basic reason of unequal treatment faced
by him and his people.
Sub theme:
1.The oppression faced by the persona or
the people he represented.
2.The persona‘s hope or dream for a better
future for him, or his people, for equal
treatment from the majority people, and
3.The persona identification of his
membership in the American society as
African-American
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Theme and Sub theme of
“Ballad of the Landlord”
Theme:
The persona‘s protest, against the
oppression, unequal and discrimination
from the government.
Sub theme:
The
oppression,
unequal
and
discrimination treatment from the
government faced by the persona as a
Negro
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From the table above, it can be seen that there are two main similarities of the theme and sub
theme found in the poem “I, Too, Sing America” and “Ballad of the Landlord”, both poems
have the same theme that is regarding the persona protest or disapproval against the
oppression, unequal or discrimination from the society or the government and against the real
basis or reason of such treatment, this theme can be clearly seen also from the title of both
poems in the word Ballad and Sing that both refers to the idea of voicing the persona‘s protest
that needs to be admitted, moreover both poem also delivers the same sub theme that reflect
the oppression, unequal or discrimination from the society or the government faced by the
persona, where this sub theme empower the main theme of both poems.
Postcolonial Analysis: Abrogation & Appropriation
The poem “I, Too, Sing America” and “Ballad of the Landlord” used both process to deliver
his theme regarding the persona‘s protest or disapproval against the oppression, unequal or
discrimination from the society or the government and against the real basis or reason of such
treatment and the sub theme, which is the reflection of the oppression, unequal or
discrimination from the society or the government faced by the persona.
These theme and sub theme, according to my analysis, had its main goal, in representing the
marginal, to oppose the ‗center‘. In Hughes‘ “I, Too, Sing America” the ‗marginal‘ is
identified as darker brother (Second stanza, first line), meanwhile the ‗center‘ is identified as
company (Second stanza, third line) and in “Ballad of the Landlord” the ‗marginal‘ can be
seen as the Negro (Eleventh stanza) and the ‗center‘ can be seen as Landlord (First stanza,
first line). To have a deep discussion about the matter, this part will discuss the usage of the
process of abrogation and appropriation in “I, Too, Sing America” and “Ballad of the
Landlord” by Langston Hughes, and how the process deliver the idea of ‗Marginal versus
Center‘.
According to my postcolonial interpretation, in this poem Hughes reveal his theme the
persona‘s protest or disapproval against the oppression, unequal or discrimination from the
society or the government and against the real basis or reason of such treatment and sub
theme concerning the oppression received by the persona, by using the process of
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appropriation. This part will discuss how Hughes used the process of appropriation to
express the theme and sub theme.
The appropriation is used to express Hughes‘ protest or disapproval against discrimination
and against the real basis or reason of such treatment. This process can be seen in the
sentence “I, Too, Sing America” in the first stanza and in the sentence I, too, am America
(Fourth stanza, fourth line). Here can be clearly seen that Hughes adopt the term ‗America‘
not merely as the tools to express his identification as a member of American society, he uses
this word to express the idea of his protest against the discrimination he faced as the member
of the society. Hughes questioned the basic reason of such discrimination faced by him and
moreover his people as a member of American society that also have the same human rights
and privileges given by God. Moreover, he questioned the basic reason of the segregation
policies faced by his people, who also give their lives defending the country, the United States
of America in the World War from year 1900 until the outbreak of World War II. Hughes also
wants to answer this big dilemma of the existence of the blacks as the member of a big Nation
that upholds the supremacy of equality and justice in its Declaration of Independence.
The process of appropriation to express the sub theme concerning the oppression, unequal or
discrimination from the society or the government faced by the persona, revealed in the
second stanza. In the second stanza, based on the previous figurative language analysis, the
appropriation process can be seen in the word or sentences darker (Second stanza, first line)
and eat in the kitchen (Second stanza, second line) that represent symbolized meaning. Here
Hughes adapt the language of the ‗center‘ to express the persona discrimination experience,
where the term darker is used to express the different skin color, which is a basic reason of
discrimination faced by the African-American people. The sentence eat in the kitchen reflect
the experience of social segregation in the persona‘s live, or moreover in Hughes‘ live as a
black people, because as can be seen from the historical fact, the blacks have to face the
segregated public facilities such as hotels, restaurants, public schools or even the beach and
also the adopted spirit of ‗separate-but-equal‘ tradition in the laws.
In this poetry, the same theme and sub theme are expressed in a different way, because
according to my postcolonial interpretation Hughes used both
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abrogation and
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appropriation. Hughes used abrogation to express the persona‘s protest or disapproval
against discrimination and against the real basis or reason of such treatment; meanwhile he
used appropriation to reveal the idea of the oppression, unequal or discrimination from the
society or the government faced by the persona.
The abrogation or the rejection of the majority power is expressed in the third and fifth stanza.
In the Third stanza especially in the third and fourth line, which as follows
Well, that‘s Ten bucks more‘n I‘ll pay you.
Till you fix this house up new.
(DiYanni, 2001, p.601)
By reading these lines, based on the result of the figurative language analysis, it can be found
that Hughes wants to abrogate the power of the government, because he thinks that the
government did not do what it supposed to do in ‗fixing‘ the condition of the minority group
of black people of America. The sentences reflect Hughes disappointment against the
government policies that permit the segregation law that had to be faced by the blacks that
already gave their lives to the country in the World War, where they have to ‗pay‘ their
obligation as the member of the big nation. Moreover, in the Fifth stanza, especially in the
third and fourth line, which as follows
You ain‘tgonna be able to say a word
If I land my fist on you.
(DiYanni, 2001, p.601)
Hughes wants to symbolize a more intensive and strong abrogation or the rejection of the
government power, which in the historical point of view reflected from the long hard and
massive effort, to protest the US government to speed the end of legitimate discrimination
policies upon black people, from year 1905.
The use of appropriation to reflect the sub theme of discrimination is expressed in fourth,
seventh, eighth and eleventh stanza, which are viewed through the result of the previous
figurative language analysis. In the fourth stanza the uses of sentences or words eviction
order, cut of my heat, take my furniture and street give us a clear symbolized sentences that
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Hughes adopt from everyday experience felt by the black people in their life in the low social
status, in this specific sentences Hughes described the segregation in housing which became
one of the main aim of the NAACP programs to fight the segregation policies in the state law
in year 1909. Meanwhile, in the seventh and eighth stanza, which as follows
Copper‘s whistle!
Patrol bell!
Arrest.
Precinct Station.
Iron cell.
Headline in press:
(DiYanni, 2001, p.601)
In these stanzas, based on the figurative language analysis, Hughes give the adopted
expression of the experience of so many black people that had been dealing with the police, as
the government power, when they want to have freedom as a citizen, whereas the history told
us the fact that on May 3, 1963 the African-American demonstrators was facing the brutal
attack from the Birmingham Police and their charismatic leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., was
also put into jail. In the eleventh stanza from the sentence ‗Judge Gives Negro 90 Days in
County Jail‘, Hughes also gives the appropriation of the discrimination from the judicial
power of the government. In capitalized letters Hughes reflect the strong oppression and
injustice decision he received, in an ironical way Hughes describe that his people have to
receive the long punishment just because they wanted their human rights.
POSTCOLONIAL ANALYSIS: MARGINAL VS. CENTER
After observing the result of postcolonial interpretation in both Hughes‘ poems “I, Too, Sing
America” and “Ballad of the Landlord”, it can be seen that both poems suggest the concept
of ‗Marginal versus Center‘ that have its main goal to questioned and challenge the main
reason of the discrimination faced by the ‗marginal‘ from the ‗center‘. In “I, Too, Sing
America”, it can be clearly seen that the ‗marginal‘ is reflected as darker brother or the
African-American people and the ‗center‘ is reflected as company or the majority people in
American society, which can be seen as the white people, meanwhile in “Ballad of the
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Landlord”, Hughes identifies the ‗marginal‘ as Man, which in the eleventh stanza clearly
identified as Negro, moreover, Hughes reflect the ‗center‘ as Landlord, which can be
identified as the government because of its law and judicial power upon the persona, but the
government reflected in this poem, according to my analysis, do not only referring to the US
Federal government but it has a strong emphasis to the State or local government. This is true,
because as can be seen from the historical fact of the African-American movement for
equality, the demonstrators had the strong oppressions from the local or state government,
such as the incident in Alabama and Birmingham in year 1955 and 1963, and from those
incidents the black movement on August 28, 1963 known as the ‗March on Washington‘
reflected the need to give their protest also to the US Federal government in Washington.
From above explanation can be concluded that in the poems there are two main figure of the
‗center‘, the comparison are shown in the table below
Table 2
The Comparison of the Identification of ‗Marginal‘ and ‗Center‘ in
“I, Too, Sing America” and “Ballad of the Landlord”


“I, Too, Sing America”
“Ballad of the Landlord”
‗Marginal‘ is described as black  ‗Marginal‘ is described as black person.
people in America.
‗Center‘ is described as majority  ‗Center‘ is described as the government,
people of America.
especially the State or local government in
the United States.
From the comparison above can be understood that Hughes in the struggle of equality faced
two group of dominating power, the first is the majority group of people in America and the
second is the power of the American government. But despite of these two groups of power
domination, the main goal of Hughes‘ poems “I, Too, Sing America” and “Ballad of the
Landlord”is still in challenging the basic reason of discrimination faced by the AfricanAmerican people. Hughes wanted to questioned and challenge the idea of ‗white supremacy‘
as reported by James Baldwin in the previous part and he hope that the majority people and
the government of the America can finally accept the idea of changing their ‗outlooks‘ with a
new mental outlooks of brotherhood, like what Martin Luther King, Jr. had suggest in the
previous part.
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Another important aspect that should be considered as a unique characteristic of Hughes‘
struggle in opposing the ‗center‘ is that from these two poems he wrote, both poems reflect
the different level of protest to the ‗center‘, at first Hughes became moderate in giving his
messages but later on we can see a more radical idea. The poem “I, Too, Sing America”,
which was written in the year 1926 (Hughes and Bontemps, 1949, p.97), reflected Hughes as
moderate person in protesting the inequality in America, by using the main sentence I, Too,
Hughes reflected his protest against the government as the ‗center‘ in a moderate way, where
he just want the government to know that the people that faced the oppression and unequal
treatment are also Americans. This moderate way of thinking was affected by the thoughts of
W.E.B Du Bois which founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People or the NAACP that promote the moderate way of achieving the aim of equality in
1909. This is true because as DiYanni reports that ―The writers who influenced Hughes
included…W.E.B Du Bois, whose collection of essays on Afro-American life, The Souls of
Black Folk, exerted a lasting influence on many writers‖ (2001, p.583).
Meanwhile in Hughes‘ “Ballad of the Landlord”, the poem can be considered as a more
radical way of delivering protest against the government. In this poem, written in year 1940,
(Barksdale in DiYanni, 2001, p.587) the word Fist reflected the strong and quite radical way
in expressing the message of protest. This can happen, because in the period of 1920 until
1940s, Hughes may have faced the segregation policies concerning vital public facilities in
America and this particular word may reflect his personal reaction towards such conditions.
As already mentioned before, in the history of blacks movement there are two kind of reaction
of the African-American, one in moderate and the other is radical, and this selection of word
can be considered reflect the radical one.
The very important idea is that this shifting behavior reflected in this two particular poems
written in different time, may give the understanding that Langston Hughes can be considered
as a moderate proactive poet not reactive or radical. Due to the fact that Hughes was born in
1902 (DiYanni, 2001, p.583), it can be understood that when he wrote the poem “I, Too, Sing
America” he was only 18 years old, but from his selection of words he already expressed a
moderate way of writing, as can be seen in this poem he reflected his patient protest and
humble hope about equality. Meanwhile in “Ballad of the Landlord”, written when Hughes
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was 38 years old, even though as concluded before that Hughes reflected radical thought, can
be concluded that the protest came from a mature person in his thirties. Hughes reflected his
protest to the government by giving the real symbolic fact of the conditions faced by the
blacks, where the suffering can justify his radical representation, because in such conditions
every human may react the same as what Hughes reacted or in intellectual way of thinking, in
this poem Hughes may suggest the law of action and reaction in the scope of inequality in
America.
At this final point, can be concluded that Hughes poems “I, Too, Sing America” and “Ballad
of the Landlord” represent the African-American struggle for equality through the
representation of abrogation and appropriation process that had the main goal to questioned
and protest, in a moderate way, the ‗white superiority‘ idealism adopted by the majority of
white people and also by the state and federal government of the United States of America.
Conclusion
From the result of the textual analysis upon the poems “I, Too, Sing America” and “Ballad
of the Landlord” by Langston Hughes, which involves the imagery; denotation and
connotation; and figurative language analysis, the writer can conclude that these poems
represent the idea of African-American struggle for equality by revealing the theme
concerning the African-American protest against not only the oppression, unequal or
discrimination but also against the real reason of such treatment performed by the American
society and government and also the sub theme regarding the reflection of oppression,
unequal or discrimination received by the African-American people from the American
society and government.
These theme and sub theme are represented by using both abrogation and appropriation
process of postcolonial writing. Through these processes, Hughes who represents the
‗marginal‘ African-American people wanted to oppose the ‗center‘, which refers to the
majority white American people and also the state and federal government of the United
States of America. The core of the of African-American struggle for equality represented by
Hughes‘ poems, lies in his intellectual and moderate effort to questioned and challenge the
Anddy Steven
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‗basic outlook‘, which refers to the ‗white superiority‘ idealism adopted not only by the
majority white Americans but also by the federal and state government.
References
Arp, T.R. (1997). Perrine‘s Sound and Sense: an Introduction to Poetry (9th ed.). USA:
Harcourt Brace & Company.
Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (1991).The Empire Writes Backs: Theory and Practice
in Post-colonial Literatures. London: Routledge.
Davies, R.P. (1991). How Poetry Works: The Elements of English Poetry. England: Clays
Ltd.
DiYanni, R. (2001). Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Singapore: The
McGraw-Hill.
Hughes, L., & Bontemps, A. (1949).The Poetry of The Negro 1746 – 1949. New York:
Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Biodata:
AnddySteven holds a bachelor degree in English Literature from Binus University, Jakarta
and a master degree in Education with concentration in TESOL from PelitaHarapan
University, Jakarta. He also holds a level 5 certificate in TESOL from Trinity College
London. His primary focus is in second language acquisition, post-colonial literature, and
classroom interaction. He has been teaching English and Public speaking for almost 10 years
in various education institution and universities and he also fond to train students for debate,
speech, news casting, and storytelling competition. He is now a lecturer and Deputy Head at
the
Institute
of
Languages
&
Communication
of
the
Sampoerna
University
(UniversitasSiswaBangsaInternasional), Jakarta, Indonesia.
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Anddy Steven