In Hair by Malcolm X and Theme for English B by Langston Hughes, their primary similar topic is based around racism and equality between white and blacks. In Hair, Malcolm X appears to have a more aggressive and hostile attitude towards racism. This was probably because during the memoir, he went through pain to transform his hair similar to a white person. Thus, Malcolm X appears to be very ashamed and regretful towards his actions of self-degradation. Also, he concludes with a hint of disgust towards how many blacks have acknowledged white people’s superiority over black people. While in Theme for English B, on the other hand, Langston Hughes seems to have a much more passive and un-hostile attitude. Though, he keeps contradicting himself throughout the whole poem. For instance, he would compare himself with his professor and say he’s younger while his professor is older and he is black while his professor is white, making him (professor) have more freedom. Langston then describes the similarities between himself and his professor by telling the readers what he likes and saying “I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races.” This shows that he wants whites to accept white by saying how despite the color of the skin, they are all humans. Also, he says, “That’s American” which was another proof of how he was trying to find a sense of commonality between his white professor and himself. Also, another reason why Langston is much more passive is because unlike Langston, he did not go through pain to look more like a white person, he wants white people to accept the differences between the two races and be friendly.
I agree with you on how the two authors are handled writing about the same topic. If you were put in their shoes- being black in America during a time when being black in America was hard- how do you think you would address the topic? Would you be angry like Little, or would you be more passive and peaceful, like Hughes?
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