The Realm of African-American Literature

In the realm of African-American literature, poet and writer Langston Hughes is considered one of the native proponents that gave birth and development to the genre of Harlem Renaissance. This genre, which enjoyed popularity and support in the late mid-twenties until mid-1930s, was a cultural movement that disemboweled the sustenance of new Negros, second-generation abusive Americans and direct descendants of African slaves in America. Harlem Renaissance was kn declare for its internalisation of medicinal drug, p cunningicularly malarky and the blues, in its everyday mirroring of African-American life by literature.Hughes as a major proponent of the Harlem Renaissance movement created literary pieces that sought to express his thoughts and feelings as an African-American contrivanceist while at the same time, providing social criticism once morest the oppressive nature of the predominantly fresh American society. His literary works, in effect, became channels through which he was subject to blindistically express his and his fellow African-Americans sentiments nigh the realities they face in American society.Among Hughes major works of literature, the short story The Blues Im Playing depict the dynamics that twain white and slow Americans experienced during the early twentieth century. In this period, there was still evident division and discrimination among white and minatory Americans, with the bootleg Americans gradually emerging as a major force in American society through their bizarre burnish. Blues effectively illustrated the dynamics among Americans, white and black alike, as they struggled to cuss the superiority of their respective passage, tillage, as intimately as sexual urge.It is then this papers main thrust to discuss and analyze Blues in the context of trey prevalent themes illustrated in the story friction in the midst of white and black Americans through encroaching views about for each one group/sectors race, cu lture, and viewpoints about gender roles. More specifically, the analysis involves a character analysis of Oceola Jones and Mrs Dora Ellsworth, a black American and white American, respectively. The character analysis centers on the presence or absence of change in the life of Oceola as she delved herself deeper into white American culture, and how, despite Mrs Ellsworths efforts to acuulturate her in white American society, Oceolas roots and inherent black Americanness prevailed. In the end, Oceola ended up being more triumphant, cultivated, and stratagemistic than her sponsor Mrs Ellsworth.In illustrating the changes that occurred to Oceola during her process of acculturation to the white American elitist society, it is vital to portray these changes through the themes of contrast amongst her and Mrs Ellsworth in terms of their respective race, culture, and gender. pronounced throughout the story was Oceolas seemingly passive attitude towards Mrs Ellsworth pretentious imprin t that she was, indeed, one of the few people who truly recognize art in its purest form. In contrast to Oceola, Mrs Ellsworth, because of her wealthy stature, took an active role in pursue and creating what she called pure art through the proteges she had recruited through the years.The first theme of racial conflict emerged when Mrs Ellsworth verbalised her traditional and damaged views about Oceola and black Americans in general. Though Mrs Ellsworth was congenial towards Oceola, her attention to cling to societys prejudice against black Americans was at a time demonstrated through her desire to educate Oceola on the principles of pure art, avoiding, the trump she can, to acknowledge the fact that she was a black American. Her attitude was reiterated once again in her insistence to acknowledge the genius of one of her Jew proteges, even though she held disfavour views against Jews.Racial conflict emerges with Mrs Ellsworth apparent showing of her discrimination and prejudi ce against non-white peoples. Even the very act of recruiting capable young people and finance their education to music and the arts was her way of creating a distinction between her and her young, poor yet talented artists. By financing the education of these talented artists, she directly controls the diversity of education they will receive, thereby controlling excessively the kind of art that they will puddle. It is through art, then, that Mrs Ellsworth oppress her proteges like Oceola by controlling the art that they produce, she holds the power to suppress the proteges desire to pursue his/her art simply because Mrs Ellsworth financed his/her education.Le Blancs analysis of the racial conflict extant between Oceola and Mrs Ellsworth echoed the dynamics of racial conflict between them. While Mrs Ellsworth actively expressed discrimination and prejudice against people who belong to a item race other than white American, Oceolas passive response towards her financers behavio r showed that racial conflict was a sublime one. Indeed, as Le Blanc explicated in his study of both women characters in Blues (16).Of course, in her paternalism, Mrs Ellsworth does not quite view Oceola as her equal. Despite the young womans superior talent, Mrs Ellsworth persistently believes that Oceola lacks not just money, only certain cultural and emotional advantages. The older woman looks down upon her proteges fastening to the physical and sensual world. This sensual world is manifested in jazz, Harlem, and Pete, and all these stage her connection to her black familiarity and culture.Apart from the presence of racial conflict in Blues, a more apparent theme demonstrated was Oceola and Mrs Ellsworths unlike views towards art per se. Oceola, exposed with Harlem culture, associated her music and art with the people she had been with, particularly her Harlem union and the church choir she used to teach prior to her being a protege under Mrs Ellsworth financial support. Mr s Ellsworth went through great lengths in order to verify the fact that the art she preferred, the art of elite people liker her, was truly American societys superior culture.But Oceola remained passive to Mrs Ellsworths active advocacy to promote what she perceive as her superior art. Being the womans mere protege, she expressed kept her own thoughts and feelings about the discharge of art for arts interestingness. Interestingly, Oceolas honest view of art make more sense than Mrs Ellsworth learned viewpoints about it. At one point, Hughes voiced out through the character of Oceola the real nature and function of art to human society Why did they or anybody argue so a great deal about life or art? Oceola merely lived-and loved itIf you cute to play the piano or paint pictures or write books, go ahead But why talk so much about it?This honest view of art in Oceolas terms was the authors way of expressing his diversity to the dichotomy of superior culture and inferior culture . African-Americans, who gave birth to Harlem culture, as well as contributed significantly to the world of art through the music genres of jazz and the blues, created art based on their experiences as an African-American and with their community. Art for arts sake was a credo not subsisted to in a collectivist culture like African-Americans art was created as a result of the peoples interaction with each other, the product of harmonious unity and interconnectedness as peoples of a particular race, with specific traditions and heritage.In Mrs Ellsworth attempt to expose Oceola to Western (European) art in order to forget her Harlem roots and deviate, she only reiterated her perceived superiority. She was a woman who held herself in high-esteem because she believed that she was promoting a noble cause, preserving pure, untainted art-art that merely exists for itself, an art that is autonomous to its ecclesiastic and devoid of any other human element or influence in it.Mrs Ellsworth s perception of art was a separation of art from life (Bone, 23). In her failure to acknowledge art as the work of an man-to-man and as devoid of any meaning nor influence, Mrs Ellsworth was indirectly destroying the concept of culture altogether, in the same way that she tried to change Oceola by destroying her powerful Harlem roots, influence, and culture. Hughes villainous portrayal of Mrs Ellsworth showed that an attempt to bridge the gap between the twain races by means of art (1062). Unfortunately, Mrs Ellsworths insistence to hold on to her prejudiced beliefs and perceived superiority became hindrances that led to the eventual deterioration of her relationship with Oceola.The issue of degradation was also reflected in the conflict that Mrs Ellsworth wanted to create as she took in Oceola as her protege (1060). It is inevitable that Mrs Ellsworth should compare herself against Oceola, who, despite the lack of opportunities and privileges in life, was able to create beautif ul music without the proper training or education. Mrs Ellsworth tried to assert her superiority by indirectly assuming the character reference of Oceola, whom she believed she owns and can control. That is, by supporting Oceola, she indirectly fills in the gaps in her life. Oceola remained worked up and free to express herself through her music she was also able to produce beautiful art through music. These are the qualities that Mrs Ellsworth sought to have, and believed she had, by financially supporting Oceola.Thus, gender conflict emerged with the contrasting meaning and significance and music to each woman (Brent, 11). As Brent discussed in her analysis of Mrs Ellsworth and Oceola, the formers art was an abstraction, rising above the banalities of everyday life. Oceolas music, however, music is a living, breathing design which is fully integrated with her personal, everyday experiences. These distinctions between the two women reflect the kind of society and reality they li ved in Mrs Ellsworth lived not for anyone nor herself, but on art alone.Oceola, meanwhile, preferred to liver her life not only with Pete, but with her Harlem community as well. Characterizing white and black American differences and conflict through the two women characters provided the in-depth look that Hughes wanted to show to his readers. It is through the characters of Oceola and Mrs Ellsworth that readers were able to witness the persistence and pervasiveness of prejudice and discrimination, regardless of ones gender or socio-economic status in life.