Questions

1. Langston Hughes opens his essay by introducing a quote from a “promising…young Negro” poet who said that he wanted to “be a poet—not a Negro poet.” Why do you think Hughes begins his argument with this young man’s declaration? How does he carry that thread through the piece? Do you agree with Hughes’s take on the quote from the young poet? How might the quote be interpreted differently?

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   Questions: - Langston Hughes opens his essay by introducing a quote from a “promising…young Negro” poet who said that he wanted to “be a poet—not a Negro poet.” Why do you think Hughes begins his argument with this young man’s declaration? How does he carry that thread through the piece? Do you agree with Hughes’s take on the quote from the young poet? How might the quote be interpreted differently?
2. What is the “mountain” that Hughes refers to in the title of his essay? How does he sustain that metaphor throughout the essay?

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   Questions: - What is the “mountain” that Hughes refers to in the title of his essay? How does he sustain that metaphor throughout the essay?
3. What two different types of African Americans does Hughes compare and contrast? Which one does he believe has more influence on the arts? Why?

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   Questions: - What two different types of African Americans does Hughes compare and contrast? Which one does he believe has more influence on the arts? Why?
4. What or who is the “clubwoman in Philadelphia” in paragraph 6 meant to represent? What purpose does she serve in Hughes’s argument?

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   Questions: - What or who is the “clubwoman in Philadelphia” in paragraph 6 meant to represent? What purpose does she serve in Hughes’s argument?
5. What part does Hughes suggest that jazz plays in the way he describes his art and the art of African Americans that he admires?

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   Questions: - What part does Hughes suggest that jazz plays in the way he describes his art and the art of African Americans that he admires?
6. What do you think? Should artists base their choice of genre and subject on their race? Is race an effective way to classify art? What do you think defines African American art and culture? Is it a matter of subject, or is it more a matter of style, as cultural critic Cornel West has suggested?

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   Questions: - What do you think? Should artists base their choice of genre and subject on their race? Is race an effective way to classify art? What do you think defines African American art and culture? Is it a matter of subject, or is it more a matter of style, as cultural critic Cornel West has suggested?