The speaker in Langston Hughes’s “Dinner Guest: Me” finds him self the center of attention at a dinner party upon Park Method. The speaker deceptively models the reader up in the first few lines of stanza one with a rhyme scheme that advises a slightly cavalier outlook for the evening forward; he says, “I know I am as well as The Negro Problem / Being wined and dined” (lines 1-3). By using a combination of alternating and repetitive end rhyme, beyond the internal rhyme, the speaker’s rhythm and pace is initially quick and dazzling, immediately engaging the reader’s curiosity about what should be an interesting night.
The irony from the dinner party for the presenter is that this individual represents the black Difficulty, and he makes the stage early on in the poem, that every one of the other guests are white; even so, the audio is the main fascination at this lavish gathering, “Answering the usual questions / Which come to white-colored mind” (4-5).
The juxtaposition of the Problem because an asked guest, not forgetting the primary focus of conversation, is usually something the speaker feels is not really the norm; if the black Issue is present to get a dinner party about this side of town, it would not be sitting on the dinner table; the situation would be offering the dinning table.
The speaker in Langston Hughes’s “Dinner Guest: Me” uses personification and images to allow you to experience his bemusement and conflict as being a black person partaking about what he feels to be a light man’s world on Playground Avenue. The speaker’s use of personification from this poem can be not right away evident. Nevertheless , a valid argument can be built that a dark man is definitely not virtually present with this dinner party whatsoever; the Problem in the black guy and the predicament of the black community is actually the center of attention and the primary theme of discussion, nevertheless the Problem’s physical presence is not needed to capture this conversation among the light dinner friends. Through his use of representation, the speaker is able to treat the Problem of black culture, and its put in place upper class white colored society, with out actually being forced to be present him self.
Furthermore, the speaker’s capacity to project the black mans plight in this racially exclusionary clique is a ingenious use of representation; by making the Problem come alive, the reader gets an insider’s perspective of how this white category of people opinions the issues facing black tradition; in addition , personification offers the alternate view showing how the dark culture sights itself in these same situations; sadly pertaining to the speaker, it appears that each of them have the same judgment of the black Problem: “Solutions to the Difficulty, / Of course , wait” (22-23). By applying personification the loudspeaker is able to reveal to the reader that, unfortunately, the two factions agree with all points: the Problem is real; the Problem warrants discussion; but , the Problem is not a goal; therefore , the situation can wait.
The speaker should be infuriated by the apathy this assertion evokes, nevertheless instead he concedes “To be a Problem on as well as Park Opportunity at ten / Is not so bad” (19-21). Through effective use of personification all of us realize that the speaker wants being the thrust with the discussion, regardless if there is no solution in sight pertaining to the Problem. In addition , the speaker’s persuasive make use of imagery is definitely palpable over the poem, especially as he describes the guests consuming lobster and fraises i bois [wild French strawberries] at a well-appointed dinning table, saying “I’m so embarrassed with being white” (14). The speaker’s make use of imagery in this article illustrates the stark dichotomy between the two races, and the real priority the Problem is, or perhaps is not really, within both cultures. The white party goers inquire among themselves, The for what reason and means
Of darkness U. H. A. –
Wanting to know how things got by doing this
In current democratic night. (8-11)
The loudspeaker allows us to go through the awkward way of the white-colored guests on the subject of black traditions: the anxious transition, almost tip-toeing about the topic, scared to say too much. Then he turns about and relieves our anxiousness by showing us how a Problem is taking pleasure in being the center of focus, “At the damask desk, mine” (18). The speaker’s narrative on imagery is used effectively simply by elaborating in great detail on the table treatments [Damask], the haute cuisine they are dining upon, and the specific location of Park Opportunity. This is an intentional ploy by the presenter to elicit a clear-cut image of upper class white society where the dark-colored Problem should clearly truly feel out of place; there is certainly only one difficulty for the Problem: he meets right in!
In conclusion, “Dinner Guest: Me” successfully uses personification and imagery to capture the reader’s imagination since the speaker attends a Park Opportunity dinner party in upper class light society; the primary topic of dialogue for night time is the issue of the dark-colored Problem. Even though both teams, black and light, agree that there is a real Trouble, no one can be prepared for what the speaker reveals at the conclusion of the poem; sitting in regards to dining room table on Area Avenue, “Over fraises man bois” (13), the Problem and white contemporary society do apparently agree on in least something: “Solutions to the Problem, as well as Of course , wait” (23). Furthermore, through the speaker’s creative make use of personification and imagery the reader can consider that the Difficulty and white-colored society are usually more alike in their outlook on racial equal rights than either wants to declare. Therefore , the condition has a trouble: neither white-colored party goer nor dark Problem views the need for any real emergency to address the issues “Of darkness U. S. A” (9).
Works Reported
Hughes, Langston. “Dinner Guests: Me. ” Literature: Studying, Reacting, Composing. 8th ed. Eds. Laurie Kirszner, and Stephen Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 1009. Print.
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