Langston Hughes and the Double Consciousness Anonymous

Raymond Smith once wrote, "Hughes attempted to integrate the two facets of double consciousness (the American and the Negro) into a single vision - that of a poet." Langston Hughes, possibly the most prominent black American poet, incorporates these complementary aspects of consciousness into his poetry on a frequent basis. The concept of a multi-faceted consciousness is exhibited in his poems through the intertwining of the black perspective into the broader American one.

As demonstrated in his poem "American Heartbreak", Hughes describes an American issue using themes more common to African-American art. In this composition, the primary expression is that of the American ideal of freedom. The acknowledgement of the existence of a degree of freedom is significant in that it portrays the ability of blacks to express themselves, much as the author is doing in this poem. Contrary to the prevalent theory that America is the land of equality, the speaker recognizes a number of shortfalls of this proclaimed freedom when put into practice. He believes "Freedom / stumps its toe" on the group of people it ignored throughout American history. Although the idea that an individual group is lacking in freedom...