Jeremy Lamm

Lamm1 Jeremy Lamm Rowe English 10 Honors 16 September 2008 On “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” In the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes, the narrator is states that he has been around since the beginning of time, and that rivers have been there along with him. The narrator is also using first person in that he is his culture. The rivers that are used in this poem are the Euphrates, Congo, Nile, and the Mississippi river.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

The African American culture began along the Euphrates river, as did many cultures. It then “migrated” to the Congo region. Forty percent of the slave population came from the “Congo-Angola region, now known as contemporary Angola and the Republic of the Congo” (“Perry”). This culture was also used as slaves to build the pyramids of Egypt (“Perry”). The Mississippi river runs through New Orleans, Louisiana, where Abraham Lincoln finally freed the slaves (“BookRags”). All through these times, good and bad, there were rivers to support the African American culture.

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The poem suggests that by remaining in touch with the heritage of one's ancestors, a person can achieve a certain degree of inner peace and wisdom. In the case of the narrator, the heritage is a centuries-long narrative of struggle

The rivers in this poem were meant to symbolize the African American culture and how it has thrived as long as these rivers have thrived. So, since these rivers have been around since “the beginning of time”, and so has this culture, the rivers have grown deeper, and in comparison, the narrator states how his soul has grown as deep like those rivers. The narrator also states that he knows rivers that have been around since the beginning of the world and are older than any human.

Lamm3 Works Cited "The Negro Speaks of Rivers Study Guide." BookRags. Book Rags. 15 Sep 2008 http://www.bookrags.com Perry, James. "African Roots Of African-American Culture ." (2005) 15 Sep 2008 .