Blog Post #8: "The Negro Artist and The Racial Mountain"

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/hughes/mountain.htm

1. Do you agree with Hughes's claim that "I want to be a poet--not a Negro poet" equates to "I want to be white?"
No, I don't a agree with Hughes's claim. I think this quote means that the poet wants race to be taken out of literature, and out of society in general, instead of having it be the main focal point. The poet wants to be treated as a white poet would be treated, but that doesn't mean he wants to be white. He just wants racial equality.

2. According to Hughes, how does social class and race intersect?
Hughes said that as social class increased, racial pride decreased. He said that the higher social classes of African Americans cared more about what it was like to be white, which affected their religion and made it difficult for good artists to come from those classes.

3. What is the "mountain" that Hughes refers to? Why do you think it exists?
Hughes refers to the "mountain" as "this urge within the race towards whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of the American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible." Essentially he's saying that the "mountain" is discouraging the expression of African-American culture because of it's pressure to conform to uniform "white" American values.
I think the "mountain" exists, because of our country's history. The United States, although it seems like a place of individualism, has always been a place of forced conformity. In the past, Native Americans were forced to assimilate into American culture, and some African Americans were forcefully brought here to work as slaves. In these two instances, Native Americans and African Americans were forced to lose some of their original culture. The "mountain" exists because of our country's history of discouraging individual culture and enforcing the standardized American culture.

4. Who does Hughes blame for the "mountain"?
Hughes blames the standardized American culture for the "mountain". He mentions "Nordic manners, Nordic hair, Nordic art, and an Episcopal heaven" that are all parts of what has created this mountain.
5. What are the implications of this essay to our society today? Do Hughes's claims still ring true?
Our society today connects to this essay, in that America can still be seen as a place of standardization and conformity. It can also, though, be seen as a place of individuality. Because of this, Hughes's claims still somewhat ring true. In some ways, newcomers lose part of their original culture to be more "American," but in other ways, they don't. That is way America can be described as a melting pot but also as a salad bowl.