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| Be-Bop sheet music. Source: http://www.sheetmusicdirect.us/sheetmusic/song/1000049949/be-bop?redirect=1 |
Langston Hughes’ essay, Bop,
is entirely a conversation between the narrator and the character named
Simple (seemingly a father and a son since Simple refers to the
narrator as “Daddy-o” (1)). It seeks to portray the cultural
significance of Be-Bop music to those who might just take this type of
music for granted, as well portray the hardships faced by
African-American people during the time period of this essay. This essay
was written in 1949, at a time when Jim Crow laws were still prevalent
and African-American people were being persecuted because of their race.
As a result, the essay strives to share about the unique cultural bond
shared by African-American people through their music as a result of
this persecution. It was written by Langston Hughes, who was an award
winning poet. This essay is written in an interesting, poem-like way
since it is comprised entirely of dialogue. The use of African-American
dialect in the conversation helps the reader feel more connected to the
author, since the audience of this essay is the white population trying
to better understand Be-Bop music. Additionally, the repetition of the
word “depressing” at the end of the essay provides an emphasis on Hughes
opinion that this is a depressing topic that is being shielded by the
positive facade of the happy music, and as a result, white people do not
understand the hardships being faced by the African-American people at
this time. Hughes also uses anecdotes. Hughes writes, “‘Then I have to
go into my whole pedigree because I am a black man in a white
neighborhood. And if my answers do not satisfy them, BOP!’” (2). The
anecdotes in the middle of the essay of Simple’s experiences being hit
in the head and feeling the rhythm of the music help the reader to
understand the true meaning of the music in a “real-life” way. Hughes
purpose of showing that Be-Bop music is more than just nonsense music
and is a meaningful bond between African-Americans because of their
struggles is fulfilled by the use of repetition and of anecdotes.
Sources:
http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/langston-hughes
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