“Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes is about a student who attends Columbia University, more specifically, a black college student, who has to write a paper about himself for his English class. He starts to think about what it means to be him and whether his life experiences will make sense to his white teacher. He realizes that even though they come from different backgrounds, they share some of the same feelings and experiences. The poem shows that identity isn’t as simple as it seems, it can also be shaped by race and a person’s history. He acknowledges that everyone is different in their own ways but states that they are also equal since they are all American. Langston Hughes purpose was to share his beliefs on identity and race. He wants to show that as a Black student at a mainly white school, his life is very different from others. Hughes also believes that people can find a similar feeling and experience that will help them connect to each other better. Hughes is trying to encourage the readers to think about how everyone’s backgrounds help shape who they are as people. The message is basically him telling the readers to understand the importance of learning about each other better and appreciate the diversity of each person’s life. The intended audience is his English teacher since the assignment was for him . You can also say that the intended audience could be to his fellow classmates or to everyone in general since he is not only talking to his teacher but to all students. He uses his personal experiences in order to engage the readers into thinking about their perspective on race and identity. Langston Hughes also uses several ways to get his message across.

First, he talks about his own life as a Black student at a mostly white school, which helps readers relate to his feelings and see the differences in their backgrounds. This really helps readers connect with his feelings and see how different their backgrounds can be. By sharing his experiences, Hughes makes it clear that identity is shaped by many factors. He also asks questions like, “Is what I write true?” These questions make readers think about identity and race, showing that understanding each other can be important. Lastly, Hughes repeats phrases like “I wonder” and “I guess,” which makes his thoughts feel more personal. Ultimately, these strategies help people see the need for understanding and connecting with those who are different, making his message stronger and encouraging readers to think about their own experiences and perspective on identity and race. Hughes tells us to reflect on our own lives and consider how we relate to others. Hughes is trying to tell us that despite our differences, we all share something in common, being American, which is something we should celebrate and embrace together. I would say that Hughes does achieve his purpose because his purpose was to make the readers think about their perspective or view about identity or race, and as a reader i can easily say that after reading his poem and seeing the different strategies he used in order to get his message across, it made me think about how we really are all completely different but also very similar in different ways. At the end of the poem when he says “As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me— although you’re older—and white— and somewhat more free.” It really hit me because he is basically saying that no matter how different from each other we are, we will always learn from each other no matter if we want to or not.

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