My old man’s a white old man
And my old mother’s black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.
If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I’m sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well
My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder were I’m going to die,
Being neither white nor black?
Langston Hughes
In one of my other classes this semster we have dicussed the difficulty of belonging to two different worlds. This poem is an excellent snapshot of how it would have been to be of mixed race in the early part of the twentyth century. There would have been no choices as to who you belonged- unless you happened to be very light-skinned, you were seen as black. There was no chance for a dual existance, as most people had to sit within the category alloted to them. It’s a testiment towards the subject of the poem’s insight that he appears to have feelings toward both groups, black and white. Admittedly, those feelings are equally hostile in the beginning, but as he relates during the poem, he now regrets those angry feelings.
None of this ends up giving the subject a solid place in the world, but there is some hope in that he appears to acknowledge both sides of his past. One day, he may find acceptence with both.
I agree with you that in the past it was very difficult to fit in if you were of mixed race. One would be too light to be considered black and to dark to be considered white. Huges is definitely familiar with this scenario (because he was of mixed race), that is probably why he wrote this poem about a person of mixed race who has difficulty finding his identity due to the fact that his mom was a black slave and his dad was a white slave owner. You can tell that the narrator’s mother is a slave from this line, “My ma died in a shack”. You can tell that his father was a slave owner from this line, “My old man died in a fine big house”.
Comment by mastersloth — October 19, 2008 @ 8:29 pm
I like this poem, because I have been learning about Langston Hughs in another class I am taking. This poem totalling points out the idea of a shadow family. Which is when a white slave owner will have a separate family with one of his black slaves. They will not be treated as nicely as his real family, thus probably causeing the children to be bitter and resentful towards their parents, as in the beginning of the story. But towards the end the person in the story reacts positivly to his/her parents, because I think they realize the benefits they can later recieve by being light skinned during that time. Great Poem!!
Comment by annejb — October 20, 2008 @ 11:24 am
Is that other class African-American literature? Because I take American Ethnic Literature with the same professor, and we’ve dicussed the same things.
Comment by secretkeeper11 — October 20, 2008 @ 7:24 pm
good job
Comment by poetryprof — November 4, 2008 @ 11:10 pm