Hughes and McKay's Questions

1. These rivers are located in East Africa, Africa, Turkey and the United States. Hughes probably visited these places and loved the site. The history of these rivers might have fascinated him to the point where he had to write about them in his poems. All the rivers Hughes mentiones in the poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is all of them are a part of the longest and strongest rivers in the world.
2. "I am the darker brother" means that in the entire, he is the black one they draw most of their attention to. He eats in the kitchen because he is the negro that is supposed to show respect when the white folks talk amongst themselves and/or their company. "Eat at the table tomorrow" means that he dreams he will soon eat at the table everyone else eats at like a normal human being. At that point in time, America didn't care about how the Negroes felt in how they were being treated and "I,Too" means that the neareator will soon be like the other Americans and when someone says something about America's beliefs, he will be able to say "I, Too" believe and have been treated that same way.
3. This poem conflicts with the values of the leaders of the movement by saying that a negro is not supposed to be a white man's brother. For a white man and a black woman tiohave a child is looked down upon toward the white man's perspective. W.E.B. DuBois and Alain Locke objected to this poem because they felt that black people who accomplish something great in life should be rewarded and that the white's shouldn't bring up the mulatto fact everyday as if the child was contaminated.
4. Hughes version of his poetry is talking about blacks and how we nee d to be equal with the whites. He doesnt talk about how we will die and other livingnthins that compare to blacks in a situation. Hughes feels that blacks do not receiveenough credit for what they do for the whites. He believes that we should never give up on tomorrow because tomorrow can be better than the day before if we just take the time to fight and believe in ourselves and dreams.
5. In the poem "Note On Commercial Theater" Hughes main point to get across is that people have taken his material and made it their own and not given his credit for it, but one day someone will make a story about him and his accomplishments. Then that is when the people will see who really wrote the songs, plays and poems. Yes these issues are still relevant today. some of the songs we listen to today come from people who have made it and all we do is change the lyrics and make the beat faster or slower with our own twist.
6. I think that Hughes wants to focus on the wrong doings in America toward blacks because it is morre racism in America than in Africa. He wants people to realize through his poetry that blacks and whites should always have equal opportunities and never be judged in anyway, shape or form.
7. In the poem "Africa" the harlot is being referred to the slaves. McKay uses this word to describe how the people recycle themselves by saying " the world was young in pregnant at night" meaning they kept producing children to continue this population since they were onoy slaves.
8. The images change from hogs to dogs to monsters through the dead to people dying but fighting back. Dogs are associated with African American history because the slaves were basically treated like dogs who were sold to different owners.
9. McKay differs from other Harlem Renaissance writers because he doesnt talk about blacks hoping to be free. He talks about what happens in the present and how it would be in the future if the world continues to be in the condition that it is in.He uses other things to compare humans in a situation and somewhat explains in between the lines the explanation of his reasoning