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Poet: Langston Hughes
Poem: Problems
Poem of the Day:
Feb 28 2004
Comment 20 of 20, added on March 29th, 2007 at 9:09 PM.
“Problems,” by Langston Hughes, is one of his shorter poems. In this little poem, Hughes uses simple mathematics to represent a deeper theme: identity. The line “2 and 2 are 4” represents the consistency in humanity but, his second stanza goes on to show how these identities can easily shift in life. “If one 2 was me” suggests that things change as well as people and people can shift in and out of other people’s lives. The title “problem” suggests that, though there are problems in life and between humans, there is an underlying consistency to be understood. These problems can “divide” us, but it doesn’t mean that the outcome should come out any different. Langston Hughes may be trying to imply that these “problem” are often racial ones, especially in his time. Numbers are always numbers; people are always people. The importance of these concepts shouldn’t be determined by what number it is but rather just the fact it’s a number. With so many uncontrollable variables in life, any consistency should be held on it. “If one 2 was me” shows that Langston Hughes himself could have been born a white man (or a 4) but it wouldn’t change his ultimate function.
Amdipuh
Comment 19 of 20, added on March 29th, 2007 at 9:04 AM.
Very Good!
Dedrick Dunton from United States
Comment 18 of 20, added on July 20th, 2006 at 4:20 AM.
Great things come in small, if you like use simple, packages. The message here is about the universality of the human expereince. It is not just about racial, ethnic or gender realities but rather the entire notion of how we all relate to another. "I am just another half of you, no matter who you are anf both of us together will always add-up to a BIGGER SUMbody". So watch it whenever you diminish someone else out of prejudice, you are really HALFING yourself. And vice, when you DOUBLE someeone else, you are in restrospect and in reflex, also LIFTED UP
FM from Nigeria
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Comments
“Problems,” by Langston Hughes, is one of his shorter poems. In this little poem, Hughes uses simple mathematics to represent a deeper theme: identity. The line “2 and 2 are 4” represents the consistency in humanity but, his second stanza goes on to show how these identities can easily shift in life. “If one 2 was me” suggests that things change as well as people and people can shift in and out of other people’s lives. The title “problem” suggests that, though there are problems in life and between humans, there is an underlying consistency to be understood. These problems can “divide” us, but it doesn’t mean that the outcome should come out any different. Langston Hughes may be trying to imply that these “problem” are often racial ones, especially in his time. Numbers are always numbers; people are always people. The importance of these concepts shouldn’t be determined by what number it is but rather just the fact it’s a number. With so many uncontrollable variables in life, any consistency should be held on it. “If one 2 was me” shows that Langston Hughes himself could have been born a white man (or a 4) but it wouldn’t change his ultimate function.
Amdipuh