“motto” by langston hughes i play it cool and dig all jive. that’s the reason i stay alive. my motto, as i live and learn, is: dig and be dug in return. after reading the poem and viewing the image, offer a comparison and contrast. what are the main ideas of each? how are they similar? how are they different?

The poem Harlem by Langston Hughes reflects the post World War II mood of many African Americans. The Great Depression was over, the war was over, but for African Americans the dream, whatever particular form it took, was still being deferred. Whether one’s dream is as mundane as hitting the numbers or as noble as hoping to see one’s children reared properly, Langston Hughes takes them all seriously; he takes the deferral of each dream to heart.