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In the realm of African-American books, poet and writer Langston Hughes is known as one of the primary supporters that gave birth and development to the genre of Harlem Renaissance. This genre, which liked popularity and support in the late 1920s until mid-1930s, was a cultural movement that depicted living of “new Negros, inches second-generation black Americans and direct rejeton of Africa slaves in America. Harlem Renaissance was praised for its incorporation of music, particularly brighten and the blues, in its everyday mirroring of African-American existence through literary works.

Hughes as a significant proponent of the Harlem Renaissance movement created literary pieces that desired to express his thoughts and feelings while an African-American artist while at the same time, providing cultural criticism up against the oppressive characteristics of the mostly white American society. His literary functions, in effect, started to be channels whereby he was capable to artistically share his wonderful fellow African-Americans’ sentiments regarding the realities they confront in American society.

Amongst Hughes main works of literature, the short tale “The Doldrums I’m Playing” depict the dynamics that both white colored and dark Americans knowledgeable during the early 20th 100 years. In this period, there was nonetheless evident division and elegance between white and dark Americans, with the black Americans gradually appearing as a major force in American contemporary society through their unique culture. “Blues” effectively illustrated the mechanics among Americans, white and black likewise, as they fought to assert the superiority of their respective race, traditions, as well as sexuality.

It is then simply this paper’s main thrust to discuss and analyze “Blues” in the framework of three prevalent topics illustrated in the story: scrubbing between light and dark-colored Americans through conflicting opinions about every group/sector’s race, culture, and viewpoints regarding gender jobs. More specifically, the analysis involves a character analysis of Oceola Jones and Mrs Dora Ellsworth, a black American and light American, correspondingly. The character evaluation centers for the presence or absence of difference in the life of Oceola since she delved herself much deeper into white-colored American lifestyle, and how, inspite of Mrs Ellsworth’s efforts to “acuulturate” her in light American contemporary society, Oceola’s origins and inherent , dark-colored Americanness’ prevailed. In the end, Oceola ended up being more triumphant, cultivated, and creative than her patron Mrs Ellsworth.

In illustrating the changes that occurred to Oceola during her process of complex to the white-colored American elitist society, it is vital to demonstrate these changes throughout the themes of conflict between her and Mrs Ellsworth in terms of their respective race, culture, and gender.

Visible throughout the tale was Oceola’s seemingly passive attitude toward Mrs Ellsworth pretentious opinion that your woman was, certainly, one of the few folks who truly understand art in its purest form. In contrast to Oceola, Mrs Ellsworth, because of her wealthy stature, took a working role in pursuing and creating what she named “pure art” through the proteges she had recruited as time passes.

The 1st theme of ethnic conflict come about when Mrs Ellsworth stated her classic and prejudiced views regarding Oceola and black Americans in general. Nevertheless Mrs Ellsworth was congenial towards Oceola, her determination to hold on society’s prejudice against black Americans was immediately proven through her desire to inform Oceola within the principles of pure artwork, avoiding, the very best she can easily, to acknowledge the fact that she was obviously a black American. Her attitude was reiterated once again in her insistence to acknowledge the professional of one of her Jew proteges, despite the fact that she kept prejudiced opinions against Jews.

Racial turmoil emerges with Mrs Ellsworth apparent displaying of her discrimination and prejudice against non-white people. Even the incredibly act of recruiting skilled young people and finance their very own education to music and the arts was her technique of creating a variation between her and her young, poor yet skilled artists. By financing the education of these gifted artists, the lady directly controls the kind of education they will acquire, thereby controlling also the type of art that they may produce. It is through skill, then, that Mrs Ellsworth “oppress” her proteges just like Oceola: by simply controlling the art that they create, she holds the power to suppress the protege’s desire to pursue his/her art because Mrs Ellsworth financed his or her education.

Votre Blanc’s research of the ethnicity conflict extant between Oceola and Mrs Ellsworth echoed the mechanics of ethnicity conflict together. While Mrs Ellsworth positively expressed discrimination and misjudgment against people that belong to a certain race apart from white American, Oceola’s passive response toward her financer’s behavior confirmed that racial conflict was obviously a sublime one particular. Indeed, since Le Blanc explicated in his study of both ladies characters in “Blues” (16).

Of course , in her paternalism, Mrs Ellsworth does not quite view Oceola as her equal. In spite of the young women’s superior ability, Mrs Ellsworth persistently thinks that Oceola lacks not just money, yet certain cultural and mental advantages. The older woman looks straight down upon her protege’s add-on to the physical and fragile world. This sensual community is manifested in punk, Harlem, and Pete, and these symbolize her link with her black community and culture.

Apart from the presence of racial discord in “Blues, ” a more apparent theme demonstrated was Oceola and Mrs Ellsworth’s conflicting landscapes towards skill per se. Oceola, exposed with Harlem lifestyle, associated her music and art with all the people the girl had been with, particularly her Harlem community and the house of worship choir she used to teach prior to her being a protege under Mrs Ellsworth economical support. Mrs Ellsworth had great plans in order to state the fact which the art she preferred, the art of elite persons liker her, was really American society’s superior tradition.

But Oceola remained passive to Mrs Ellsworth’s energetic advocacy to advertise what the girl perceived as her “superior artwork. ” Staying the woman’s pure protege, she expressed held her personal thoughts and feelings regarding the issue of “art for art’s sake. inches Interestingly, Oceola’s honest perspective of skill made even more sense than Mrs Ellsworth learned opinions about it. In one stage, Hughes been vocal out throughout the character of Oceola the actual nature and function of art to individual society: “Why did that they or anyone argue a great deal about existence or skill? Oceola basically lived-and cherished it, If you wanted to enjoy the piano or fresh paint pictures or perhaps write literature, go ahead! But why talk so much regarding it? “

This honest view of artwork in Oceola’s terms was your author’s technique of expressing his disagreement towards the dichotomy of superior traditions and inferior culture. African-Americans, who offered birth to Harlem traditions, as well as led significantly to the world of art throughout the music genres of punk and the blues, created skill based on their particular experiences while an African-American and with the community. Fine art for art’s sake was a credo certainly not subsisted to in a collectivist culture like African-American’s, art was created because of the householder’s interaction together, the product of harmonious oneness and interconnectedness as lenders of a particular race, with specific traditions and traditions.

In Mrs Ellsworth make an effort to expose Oceola to Traditional western (European) skill in order to , forget’ her Harlem roots and influence, she only reiterated her perceived superiority. She was obviously a woman who have held very little in high-esteem because the lady believed that she was promoting a noble trigger, preserving real, untainted art-art that only exists pertaining to itself, an art that is autonomous to its creator and devoid of some other human aspect or impact in it.

Mrs Ellsworth’s perception of art was a “separation of art from life” (Bone, 23). In her failing to admit art while the work of an individual as devoid of virtually any meaning nor influence, Mrs Ellsworth was indirectly eliminating the concept of lifestyle altogether, in the same manner that your woman tried to change Oceola simply by , destroying’ her strong Harlem origins, influence, and culture. Hughes’ villainous characterization of Mrs Ellsworth showed that an try to bridge “the gap between your two competitions by means of art” (1062). Regrettably, Mrs Ellsworth’s insistence to support her prejudiced beliefs and perceived superiority became inconveniences that resulted in the ultimate deterioration of her romantic relationship with Oceola.

The issue of degradation was likewise reflected inside the conflict that Mrs Ellsworth wanted to create as she took in Oceola as her protege (1060). It can be inevitable that Mrs Ellsworth should evaluate herself against Oceola, who have, despite the insufficient opportunities and privileges anytime, was able to produce beautiful music without the correct training or education. Mrs Ellsworth attempted to assert her superiority simply by indirectly if, perhaps the character of Oceola, whom your woman believed the lady owns and may control. That may be, by assisting Oceola, the girl indirectly fills in the , gaps’ in her lifestyle. Oceola remained unrestrained and free to share herself through her music, she was also capable to produce beautiful art through music. They are the features that Mrs Ellsworth desired to have, and believed the lady had, simply by financially helping Oceola.

As a result, gender conflict emerged together with the “contrasting which means and relevance and music to each woman” (Brent, 11). As Brent discussed in her evaluation of Mrs Ellsworth and Oceola, the former’s art was a great “abstraction, inches , growing above the banalities of everyday your life. ‘ Oceola’s music, however , “music is known as a living, deep breathing practice which is fully built-in with her personal, each day experiences. inch These distinctions between the two women reveal the kind of culture and reality they lived in: Mrs Ellsworth lived not for anyone neither herself, yet on skill alone.

Oceola, meanwhile, recommended to hard working liver her life not only with Pete, good results . her Harlem community as well. Characterizing white-colored and dark American variations and discord through the two women personas provided the in-depth seem that Hughes wanted to demonstrate to his readers. It is through the characters of Oceola and Mrs Ellsworth that readers could actually witness the persistence and pervasiveness of prejudice and discrimination, no matter one’s male or female or socio-economic status in every area of your life.

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