Construcciones de la identidad afroamericana en la obra de Langston Hughes

Abstract

Langston Hughes (1902-1967) is a modernist author who takes part in the “Harlem Renaissance” during the 1920s. The African American identity is a recurring topic in all his work, and he shows it clearly and openly. His work is an example of showing this searching self-affirmation to go through the journey of all his joyful and sincere writing. Literature is not only earning a living for him but also the way to know about himself. Therefore, identity is the leitmotiv in Hughes’ work, in two aspects: searching and representation. The aim of this thesis is to explain the various expressions of the identity Langston Hughes made in his corpus. I have studied the many ways this collective identity is represented through his extensive and prolific literary career. The first chapter refers to his cultural relation with Haiti, the main inspiration source due to his family and loving ties. Beyond that, Hughes was interested in what has been called the “idea of Haiti.” Providing full documentation on Haitian history was necessary to reveal that he left a mark on the collective African American identity...