Dino Subasic Mrs. Forcier 18 February, 1999 Langston Hughes "Hughes' efforts to create a poetry that truly evoked the spirit of Black America involved a resolution of conflicts centering around the problem of identity" (Smith 358). No African American poet, writer, and novelist has ever been appreciated by every ethnic society as much as Langston Hughes was. Critics argue that Hughes reached that level of prominence, because all his works reflected on his life's experience, whether they have …showed first 75 words of 2381 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2381 total…a better life. The fact that Hughes lived during a time in which the society's hatred for blacks was immense, and that he tried to 'row upstream' against the society's flowing beliefs, makes the whole argument that Hughes' works were influenced by his way of life much stronger. All these ideas and facts vividly draw a picture for the reader showing that, in fact, Langston Hughes' life experiences affected the creation of his literary works.