Cross:
My old man's
a white old man
And my old
mother's black.
If ever I
cursed my white old man
I take my
curses back.
If ever I
cursed my black old mother
And wished
she were in hell,
I'm sorry
for that evil wish
And now I
wish her well
My old man
died in a fine big house.
My ma died
in a shack.
I wonder where
I'm going to die,
Being
neither white nor black?
-Langston
Hughes
Analysis:
Imagery used
in this poem shows the difference between the while old man and black mother’s
lifestyles. Hughes describes his old man dying in a fine big house while his
black mother died in a shack. The obvious differences in their forms of shelter
show rank, lifestyle, and income. I read some background information about
Hughes’s family, and his white father was married to his black mother, but he
divorced her and moved to Cuba because he wanted to escape the racism in
America. Also, the way he addresses his parents differently show how his
relationship with each of them differed. Hughes calls his father “my white old
man” and he says that if he were to ever curse him, he would take it back. That
differs quite a bit from what he says about his mother. Hughes calls his mother
“my black old mother” showing her more respect as a parent, and in a way
thanking her for not abandoning him like his father did. If Hughes were to
curse his mother he says he would feel much guiltier than with his father.
Hughes says, “If ever I cursed my black old mother / And wished she were in
hell, / I'm sorry for that evil wish / And now I wish her well”
Some sound
devices used in this poem are true rhymes and repetition. Hughes uses true
rhymes when he wants the poem to flow better, but still make sense in context
to the poem, for example, black/back, hell/well, shack/black. He uses the words
curse and wish many times to show how important the differences in his thoughts
are of his mother and father. If he were to curse his father, he would take his
curses back and not think much about it, but if he were to curse his mother he
would say sorry and wish her well.
Hughes
personal feelings interfere with his writing in this poem. Hughes’s father left
him and his mother when Hughes was a young boy, so there may have added some
bitterness in his writing against his father because Hughes likely felt
abandoned by him. He describes his father dying in a fine big house and his
mother dying in a shack. This is a hyperbole because Hughes had never visited
his father’s house in Cuba, but because of his bitterness towards him he
assumes he lived in a nice, large house and lived a much more lavish lifestyle
than Hughes’s mother. In order to make the difference more extreme, Hughes
describes his mother’s living space as a shack, but in reality it was probably
more like a run-down apartment. This exaggerated comparison showed the privileges
of being white and the disadvantages to being black. Hughes both black and
white, being very uncommon and unaccepted at this time in America, has no idea
where he fits in, or where he will die.
