Langston Hughes :: essays research papers

DoorknobsLangston Hughes is considered by some readers to be the most significant black poet of the twentieth century. Except for a few examples, all his verse forms are about social injustice in America. The somber tone of his writing often reflected his mood. Race relations were drive home in almost his whole career, following him from his first poem to his last.The poem Doorknobs was written in 1961 after his subpoena to appear before Senator McCarthy for revolutionary activities. Although many other poems by Hughes deal with prejudice, race, or politics, Doorknobs deals with demeanor itself. Hughes anger over the political attacks are seen on many of his poems. Hughes Doorknob describes a tiddler who seems to be afraid of spirit and afraid of the adults in his life By the end of the poem this pip-squeak is now an adult himself who appears to be insecure, and perchance, afraid of life itself. This man portrays a sad, non-confident, scared life as we can see on the lines 1 to 3. We experience first hold the lack of control, the misgivingizing feelings this door holds for this electric razorThe simple silly terror of a doorknob on a door that turns to let in lifeFrom lines 4 to 10, we can assume that we are reading of a child who is terrorized of the grownups that live with him perhaps he is an abused childon both feet standing,walking, talking,wearing dress or trousers, peradventure drunk or maybe sober,maybe smiling, laughing, happy,maybe tangled in the terrorof a yesterday past grandpaLines 11 to 15 reinforce the terror this child is feeling and carrying with him. It is apparent that the child is experiencing some kind of abuse, either kind or physicalwhen the door from out t here openedinto here where I, antenna,recipient of your coming,received the talking imageof the simple silly terrorFrom lines 16-25 Hughes repeats the first stanza of the poem with minor changes to the order of t the words this perhaps is now when the child is now remem bering his past. Another interpretation is that when the child became a grownup instead of being afraid of the adults in his life, he is afraid now of life itself, and death.of a door that opensat the bout of a knob