It is the Black “stranger” of modern fiction that the American culture has more recently decided to study. Examples can be found in Toomer’s “Cane,” Richard Wright’s “Native Son,” Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.” Langston Hughes gave Black characters a reality, a wholeness that had been lacking in earlier novels and poetry. The stranger, in Hughes, is one who experiences deep desire and longing, but not unfulfillment. His characters are sufferers with redeeming graces. The unit summarizes themes of alienation found in Hughes’ novels and poetry.
(Designed for Middle School English classes, grades 7 and 8.)
Key Words
Biography Langston Hughes Afro-Americans Literature
