Free Essays - Tales of Simple in Langston Hughes Black Voices :: Black Voices Essays

Free Essays - Tales of Simple in Langston Hughes Black Voices         Langston Hughes is represent in Black Voices by the Tales of Simple.  Hughes first presents his character Jessie B. Semple in the preceding Who is Simple?  In this tale the reader is given its first intent at the character Jessie B. Semple who is a black public that represents almost the anybody or everybody of black society.  Semple is a composition who needs to drink, to num the pain of living life.  unremarkably over a glass of beer, he tells me his tales... with a pain in his soul... some periods as the old blues says... Simple might be laughing to keep from crying ( 98, 99 ).         Jessie B. Semple, also known as Simple, has just the right combination of qualities to be Black Americas new spokesman and unvalued hero.  Semple seems to possess just enough urban humor and cynicism, down- home simplicity, naivete, and boy-next-do or whiteness that Semple easily be makes a character that hard-working, average, everyday people can appertain to.  He quickly becomes this sort of Black Everyman whose bunions hurt all the time and whose thoughts are relatively quite simple, yet he is a man who rises above these facts and has a perception that shows the man to have great wiseness and incredible insight.  And although he maintains a seriousness for all his wisdom to come through his presentation of the facts is given in a humorous manner.  In Bop, Thats why so many white folks do non get their heads beat just for being white.  But me --- a boom is liable to grab me almost anytime and beat my head- just for being drab (105).  This side to Semple is  an example of Hughes attempt to give simple facts or certain truth merely instead of telling these things harshly and angrily he tries to sweeten them with a little sarcastic humor.         At times, Simple is overflowing of pain. I have had so many hardships in this life, said Simple, that it is a wonder Ill live until I die (105). This comment by Semple is 1 of many that help portray him as a simple man who has been both mentally and physically broken-down by society but