Hope in Theme for English B Essay

Color of Hope

Hope is something that we, at certain points in our lives, can share with someone else. We all have expectations of who we are and want to be in life. Its trusting in yourself that things will turn out fine and not losing hope on what you believe. The desired of not giving up but going after the things you want out of life. The poem Theme for English B by Langston Hughes displays the concepts of hope, color, and the feeling of being an American. The speaker displays an attitude toward hope when it comes to his race background, the similarities and differences of black and white, and the blended environment of being an American.

The speakers attitude toward race displays a sense of hope throughout the entire poem. He is a 22 year old, colored college student who is given an assignment to do by his instructor. While he travels home to write his assignment, he reflects on his race and hopes that the instructor views his work not based on his skin color. He feels that being the only color student should not matter because we are all equal and hope for the same out of life. While thinking about his assignment, he gives a brief description of whom he is and where he comes from. The speaker can relate to the place he lives. However, he can only hear New York City, where he goes to college. The speaker say, / Harlem, I hear you: / hear you, hear me we two you, me, talk on this page. / (I hear New York, too.) / Me who? / (Hughes 18-20). Being the only colored student in his class, he does not lose hope that his instructor will not judge him. Moreover, the color of our skin should not matter but who we are as individuals and how we view ourselves. The speakers belief on hope gives him high expectations that race should not be a concern.

Additionally, the similarities and differences between black and white gives the speaker hope. He feels that they are both different in many ways but share many similarities which define who they are. We all share many things that make us similar or different, whether it be our choice of food, music, color, or how we love. He describes himself on the things he likes, / I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love / I like to work, read, learn, and understand life/ I like a pipe for Christmas present, / or records Bessie, bop, or Bach / (21-24). These things are all similar between humans of all races. It should not matter whether we are black or white because what makes the world are the differences of color. The speakers different views, he has toward his instructor is whether or not the paper he wrote would be of color. He seems to hope that the similarities and differences they share should not affect his assignment. This gives him a sense of hope that the instructor would understand that color is just as reverse.

However, many can argue that hope is something that blends the environment of America. America is the land of the free where everyone is created equal. He talks about how blacks and whites are blended together in which they choose to live life. The speaker feels that the assignment he writes is as much a part of him and his instructor. Then he goes back and forth throughout the poem of what blends them as American. The speaker wishes that they both can learn from each other through this writing assignment. During the end of his writing assignment the speakers says, / You are white / yet a part of me, as I am a part of you/ Thats American / (31-33). He then goes on having an understanding of what it means to be an American, where we are all free and it should not matter on the color of our skin. Finally, the speaker has an understanding of hope and what blends them together as Americans.

Today, we all can have hope for a better America which at one point we were judged by the color of our skin. America has given us the prilivage to believe in ourselves, and express who we are. The speaker showed signs of hope throughout his race, the similarities and difference he shared with his instructor, and the blending environment he share of America. We need not to worry what people think of us but to be strong on what we believe. When we have hope within us, we are looking toward a better tomorrow.

Word Cited

Hughes, Langston. Theme for English B. Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and

Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008. 720-721. Print.