Theme for English B

The poem was published by Langston Hughes in the year 1951. It explores complex themes of race and identity in the mid-20th century United States. The piece was included in his famous anthology, 'Montage of a Dream Deferred.'

The poem is written from the perspective of a Black student attending Columbia University in New York. He is responding to an assignment from his white instructor who tells him to just 'let that page come out of you.' The poem acts as the student's completed essay.

The student concludes that he and his white instructor are inevitably a part of each other, despite their racial differences. He realizes that their voices and experiences are permanently intertwined in the broader tapestry of America. The poem highlights the impossibility of total racial separation.

The speaker struggles to define what is actually 'true' for him as a young Black man in a predominantly white institution. He questions whether his race, his age, or his location dictates his reality. The assignment forces him to confront his own divided identity.