A Historical Approach on Racism and Identity Crisis...

A Historical Approach on Racism and Identity Crisis Through Langston Hughes’s Mulatto Imagine living in the 1930s as an African-American human being; the white man and woman have control and authority over all. During these times a great African-American writer tried to convey to his people that there was no such thing as a superior race. Langston Hughes was not an average African-American for those times. He was a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance and a pusher for equal rights. Through his many writings he showed his disappointment and disbelief with the behaviors of North and South African-Americans. In 1934, he wrote and published a book called, â€Å"The Ways of White Folks†. The play â€Å"Mulatto† is a version of one of the†¦show more content†¦She was subservient and well behaved for the Colonel. The 1930s were a wicked time and even harder for an African-American woman. Not only were they the wrong color, but they were the wrong sex as well. The women had to pacify and treat their men well if they wanted to be looked afte r. The character of Cora was a fictionalized version of how Hughes saw most African-American women. He did however give Cora a little bit of a back bone. Hughes made her strong and protective and that is how most African-American women are today. Black or white? One of the children in this play is going through an emotional and situational conflict with his self. He is not white and he is not black. He wants to be accepted, but he does not want to be considered as just another darkie. Cora begs her son to accept that he is not white, but he refuses and causes nothing but hardships for himself. In the 1930s there were only two races, white or â€Å"the other kindâ€Å". Being a mixed child brought nothing but pain and sorrow. They knew they were different and they wanted other people to accept it. Unfortunately the 1930s were filled with some very cruel and stupid individuals who saw only color and nothing else. There were two different worlds going on back then. T here was the white side of life and then there was the darkie side of life. There was a â€Å"color line† in place and that line was very hard to cross, especially in Georgia during the 1930s.Show MoreRelatedLangston 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