Thesis: Langston Hughes reflects the continuous
struggling relationship between White and Black individuals through the
connotation in the poem Cross. The connotation
in the title itself resembles two connected ideas that share a middle ground,
which can be physically seen by the image of a cross, where Hughes reflects
upon his mother and his father, and ultimately questioning where he will
eventually die.
A. Langston
Hughes purposely titles this poem Cross
to symbolize a connection between his mother and his father, since both were of
different racial backgrounds based on the poem.
1. Hughes
includes the lines “My old man’s a white old man / And my old mother’s black”
(1-2) to provide an introduction regarding his parents. The prime issue that immediate
rises from the start of the poem is how Hughes is able to connote both “while
old man” and “mother’s black” to refer to the slavery that was still present
during the parents’ lifetime. This contrast provokes some sort of question that
will be introduced in the end of the poem.
B. The
connotation and the structure of the poem involuntarily tells a story, yet the
poet’s main goal is to engage the readers in a serious question regarding the
poet’s racial status compared to his parents’, thus relating back to the
connecting ideas (mother and father) that meet on a common ground (the final
line in the poem).
1. Hughes
introduces the poem in a quatrain that describes both his mother’s and father’s
races, and states that if he had ever “cursed” (line 3) his man, he sincerely
apologizes for it. Hughes’ repeats this concept with his mother, referring to
her as “my black old mother” (5). In the second stanza, Hughes connects the
connotation of “hell” (6) and “evil” (7) to prove that evilness associates with
hell. Hughes incorporates an antithesis between the first two stanzas to
contrast the racial background between the mother and the father, yet provides
a similarity between the parents by introducing a negative emotion through the
connotation of “curses” and “evil”. In the last stanza, Hughes incorporates
synecdoche to represent the economic status of his parents. He refers to his
mother by describing that she “died in a shack” (10) while his father “died in
a fine big house” (9). The “fine big house” is a synecdoche that represents
security, protection, and most importantly a high status in society. The “shack”
is another synecdoche that represents the mother’s poor economic status, lack
of protection, and lack of security based on her color. The point Hughes makes
in this poem is that he wants the readers to critically engage in his
background, and more importantly come to a conclusion regarding what he
technically falls under based on his last question. He states: “I wonder where
I’m gonna die, / Being neither white nor black?” (11-12). The specific diction
he uses could represent the education white and black people received in the
era of slavery, where white individuals received a better education than black
people. The denotation in “gonna” resembles a slang word for “going”, which
could represent the poor education he received as a child. The denotation in “Being
neither white nor black?” shows a better understanding of grammatical concepts
to express his thoughts, which could represent his somewhat advanced education
he could have received. In general, Hughes includes contrast, antithesis, and
synecdoche to identify the different backgrounds he came from and offers a
question at the end of the poem to technically stump his audience in knowing
the perfect solution to his question, thus causing a sense of confusion by the
end of the poem. By forming his poem to fit the symbolism of a cross, he
manages to engage the audience in introducing them to the parents, which
represent the two connecting points to the middle of the cross, where he ultimately
ends the poem with the fairly difficult question.
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