Other Work of Art !

Song
Black and Blue
By Louis Armstrong

Lyrics
Cold empty bed...springs hurt my head
Feels like ole ned...wished i was dead
What did i do...to be so black and blue
Even the mouse...ran from my house
They laugh at you...and all that you doWhat did i do...
to be so black and blue
I'm white...inside...but, that don't help my case
That's life...can't hide...what is in my face
How would it end...ain't got a friend
My only sin...is in my skin
What did i do...to be so black and blue
How would it end...i ain't got a friend
My only sin...is in my skin
What did i do...to be so black and blue


This song by Louis Armstrong truly embodies the full elements of what the Harlem Renaissance is. The lyrics show the struggle of a person who does not understand why he deserves to be treated differently. He doesn’t understand why it is that because of the color of his skin he is treated different. “Even the mouse ran from my house” I think that Armstrong is using a bit of humor here saying that even a mouse doesn’t want to be in the same place as him because he is black. When he says “What did I do to be so black and blue…” he doesn’t understand what he did to deserve such treatment. He suggests that he is just like everyone else except for the color of his skin and that he cannot hide the color of his skin: “that’s life…can’t hide….what is in my face.” Armstrong then goes back to the idea that he did not do anything to deserve poor treatment with this line “my only sin… is in my skin.” He is saying that they only thing he did wrong was to be black. The only reason why he is treated differently and the only reason why the “mouse ran from his house” is because of the color of his skin. The line “what did I do to be so black and blue” is again repeated as he contemplates once more what it is he did to deserve to be bruised with the color of his skin.
This song is related to the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. It was written and sang during the Harlem Renaissance and reflects the general feeling at the time. The song is a way to show the struggles African Americans went through just because of the color of their skin. This jazz song fits into the time period when African Americans turned away from European and white American traditions and made their own. They embraced their roots from Africa and traditions that were built during the times of slavery.

Harlem Renaissance Research!

The Harlem Renaissance took place from 1919 to the mid 1930’s. Though the movement may have ended in the 1930’s its ideas and impact on the lives of African Americans still live on today. The whole movement was based in the Harlem neighborhood in New York City. The Harlem Renaissance was not just a new way of thinking for African Americans but also a new way for them to express themselves through art. These art forms include writing, poetry, painting, photography, music, and drama. These artists did not agree with the European and White American life style. They went back to their African roots and diverged away from the white way of living. During the Harlem Renaissance African Americans celebrated black culture that came from slavery and their roots of Africa.
The most famous poets of the Harlem Renaissance are Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, James Weldon Johnson, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Their poetry was greatly influenced by the roots from Africa and slavery. The beat of their poems were also greatly influenced by Jazz music which became big during the Harlem Renaissance. Other influences of poems from the Harlem Renaissance are racism, stereotypes, racial segregation, and integration.
T he Harlem renaissance was a way for African Americans to establish themselves in a dominant white culture. It was a way for them to express themselves through various types of art forms and to create their own identities in a society that was mostly one sided.

Explication !

"Snob"
By Langston Hughes

If your reputation
In the community is good
Don’t snub the other fellow-
It might be misunderstood-
Because a good reputation
Can commit suicide
By holding his head
Too far to one side.

This poem is about those who may have a good reputation but then let it get to their heads and then are seen as snobs. This poem is something that most people can relate to whether they are the one who is seen as a snob or if they are the other fellow that has been “snubbed.” We have all at some point been the other fellow that has been snubbed by someone who is seen as a snob. I don’t really understand what Langston Hughes means by “It might be misunderstood…” it almost seems that snubbing someone could be a good thing but it misunderstood to be a bad thing. I think the last line “too far to one side” suggests that those who see their way is the only war are considered snobbish by Hughes. Someone who cannot see the other sides to things, except their own, are the ones with the good reputations that are “snubbing the other fellows.” I think this poem is Hughes way of showing his anger towards those who held their head too far to one side in regards to African Americans and their rights. This poem shows the mostly one sided society that was against African Americans forming their own identities and embracing their roots and culture. Hughes Poem "Snob" shows his resentment towards those who did not agree with African Americans embracing these identities and being able to form and celebrate their own culture.

Harlem Renaissance Poetry Reflection !

Reading Harlem Renaissance poetry was definitely an interesting experience. The majority of the poems I read were by Langston Hughes. I enjoyed his poems very much and they were interesting for me to read. Some of the poems that I read by Langston Hughes were about the oppression of African American people at that time. Not only did he write about the hardships of African American people but he also wrote about a variety of types of people. Some of these poems are “Snob” and “Enemy.” While reading his poems I also found that the titles of his poems never left you guessing. They were always straight forward and you pretty much had an idea what the poem was going to be about just by reading the title. I must say that I enjoyed Hughes’ poems more than the poems by the other poets. I don’t know why it is that I enjoy them more since they are all from the same category but they way that Hughes forms his poems interested me. His poems are not particularly long in fact they are rather short, most of them only being 4 to 20 lines long. Even though they are not long they are still full of vivid imagery and meaning.
Some of the other poets that I read are Arna Bontemps, Paul Laurence Dunbar, James Weldon Johnson, Claude McKay, and Jean Toomer. These poets also wrote about the same main topic of African American oppression and society. Many of the poems are about the experiences they had being black in a dominant white society. There are more poems about this by these poets then by Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes wrote more about love and people then he did about living as an African American. It seemed to me that Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poems were darker than the poems by the other poets. My favorite poem of Dunbar’s is “We Wear the Mask.” The most memorable line to me from this poem is “We wear the mask that grins and lies,/ it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes…” This line is powerful and meaningful for me. It shows the struggles that African Americans faced living in a dominant white society. But even if you are not an African American many people can still relate to the feeling of being different and everything you do is wrong. I enjoyed very much reading poems from the Harlem Renaissance and the poems were meaningful and moving for me.

Poems Read

"Flight" - Langston Hughes
"Snob" - Langston Hughes
"Enemy" - Langston Hughes
"Madams Calling Cards" - Langston Hughes
"Breath of a Rose" - Langston Hughes
"Tell Me" - Langston Hughes
"God Give to Men" - Arna Bontemps
"Southern Mansion" - Arna Bontemps
"The Day Breakers" - Arna Bontemps
"A Golden Day" - Paul Laurence Dunbar
"We Wear the Mask" - Paul Laurence Dunbar
"Girl of Fifteen" - James Weldon Johnson
"Dat Gal O'Mine" - James Welson Johnson
"The Harlem Dancer" - Claude McKay
"People" - Jean Toomer
"Tell Me" Jean Tommer

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