Monday, April 2, 2012

English III Harlem Journal

Pick one of the following writing topics and answer it in an organized, 3/4 of a page response.


How does Hughes challenge America’s race relations without rebellious sounding rhetoric? How does he view his culture’s past, present, and future in his poetry?

How do you use music to get over or heighten your emotions? How does Hughes incorporate the blues and jazz culture into his pieces? Come up with a topic for a blues song and experiment with some bluesy lines.

For what reason does Claude McKay say that even a doomed resistance in worthwhile? Is reacting to violence violently stupidity or intelligence?

32 comments:

  1. Claude McKay says that even a doomed resistance is worthwhile becuase it sends a message to everybody. It sends the message that even though they lost they still had the courage to stand up for what they believed in, and if they can do it, why cant you? It send the message that everyone has a voice and enough voices can make a change. We are witnessing a change in our soiciety today that can relate to the subject. The occupy movement is an example, a considerably less violent and less racial example but still an example of a doomed resistance. I believe reacting violently to violence is both intelligent and stupidity, because if you have all the power you wont care about protesters or strikes because nothings changing. The people are just publicly voicing their opinion and the people in charge dont have much to worry about; unless violence occurs i dont really see the people in charge taking time uot of their lives to care about whatever people are peacefully protesting or striking for. If you incorperate violence in these massive numbers then you can get some quick attention, you would put pressure on them to change what you wanted change or their would be more violence and bloodshed. Id prefer not reacting violently but that only gets you so far.

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  2. Prompt #2:
    Music is such a powerful tool because it gives you the opportunity to express your emotions lucidly and nonviolently. When I’m feeling down, or even sometimes really happy, I turn to music to take out all my emotions. It’s a way to vent without having to actually tell someone about what you’re going through. Music allows you to clear your head and get all your thoughts out there. It helps you realize why you feel the way you do and sometimes it even helps you come up with a solution. Music is an escape from the real world, where no one matters except you. The rhythm and beat of music also soothes your emotions and helps you relax. To me music is the best way to vent and overcome obstacles because I always listen to the lyrics and know that I’m not the only one who has ever felt this way. Hughes incorporated jazz and the blues into his pieces by repeating the same lines a number of times and writing about harsh realities. His work included narratives recounting personal misery and that’s what the blues and jazz were all about. You can tell that Hughes pieces are inspired from the blues and jazz by the way he creates somber settings describing the injustice going on at the time.

    Losing Hope Blues:

    Losing hope is easy.
    Losing hope is easy.
    The countless moments of counting on others
    Failed once again putting you back in the dumps.
    You wake up with hope, but only find tears.
    You wake up with hope, but only find tears.
    Nobody there for you when you need it
    Just your emotions and a heart filled with fear.
    Must we all, always be untrue?
    Lord knows that this world is cruel
    I ain’t no lord, no I’m just the fool
    I said, I ain’t no lord, no I’m just the fool.

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  3. Most people have a different way of thinking and seeing what it's right to do. Some reasons that could of made McKay say even a doomed resistance is worthwhile was the action he wants us to take. By refusing from our own heart but not because someone else is forcing us or we just want to be known. But actully willing to take any step forward even if it has to do with giving our lives. Most of the time it's hard to think about what if i do it? What could happen to me? Would I go to jail or just die? If we just knew the future it would of be way easier to say yes or no. Reacting to violence violently has to do with somewhat stupidity and intelligence. The majority of the people know the performance their doing is right or wrong. Sometimes they just do it for not thinking it straight or just because they want to go through the consequences. We should just do what we know it's the best option to take.

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  4. Music sometimes makes me view my problems in a different way. Cheers me up when I'm down. And it event gives me hope and strength to do something good. The magic of music is that there's always that one song you can deeply relate to and somehow it makes you feel better to know you're not the only one feeling a certain way. For example, as a teen I like to do fun things and listening to music makes me feel happy. Each song no matter who sings it or the rhythm, has a connection with everyone. Hughes incorporates blues and jazz culture into his pieces by using the same structure a song is written in. He writes about problems common people face. Also, he repeats himself to make a strong point.
    ROCKY ROAD
    Problems
    Problems
    Problems
    And more PROBLEMS.
    Rumors here, Rumors there
    No one to TRUST
    No one to TRUST
    A BEST FRIEND doesn't exist
    Alone through a ROCKY ROAD of problems
    Can't be fixed
    Can't be fixed
    I'm alone with these problems
    Yes, I'm ALONE.

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  5. Music is used as a tool to express how you are feeling. The tone of the music determines the mood of the listener. The music's lyrics are also a tool. The artist may talk about something you can relate to and it will set the overall feeling. Hughes incorporates the blues and jazz by speaking on topics that are affecting the community at the moment. He would repeats lines in his work as a connotation to the main point of his writing. He would create a lot of metaphors and symbolism to add to the artistic effect. The blues inspired him because of the settings and moods in his work

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    Replies
    1. The Too Much Homework Blues
      I stay up all night doing homework
      The only reason i do it is because i want to go to college
      This is just too much homework
      But i have increased my knowledge
      I want to go to sleep
      I want to go to sleep
      I want to go to sleep
      Now now now now

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  6. According to Dictionary.com, music is an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color. I think that many would agree with me when I say that sometimes the tempo, instruments, and lyrics incorporated in a song can easily influence your current emotions. Music, whether being created by the person or just being listened to, is a way for people to express themselves and give them peace and serenity. It is literally the universal language; everyone around the world can relate to this form of art. From my personal experience, when I would feel depressed while listening to music and the next song on my playlist is a sorrowful song or a heartbreak song, it causes my emotions to become stronger. One of the main reasons for this is the relationship between the theme of the song and yourself at that moment. A more positive example of using music to relieve emotions include listening to an upbeat song while exercising. The faster beats cause you to have an adrenaline rush, which is significant while you are working out.
    It is evident that Langston Hughes has incorporated blues and jazz into his works because many of his pieces are influenced by the negative events that have occurred in African American society during his time. Blues is based on sorrowful emotions, relief from anxiety or pain, or catharsis, which can be seen in his poems. Hughes also follows the same structure or pattern of blues songs; repetition for emphasis of the significant points.

    Why Did I? Blues

    He Said I should try
    Should try to move on
    Kick the Past to the curb
    and rise up like dawn
    Fan the problems away
    Away, Away, Away
    Since he didn't want to stay.
    Well Honey I've tried.
    Oh, I've tried and cried and cried
    like something in me's just died.
    And now I'm here, singing this song
    Questionin' why oh why oh why,
    Did I try.
    Asking why, why, why
    Did I try.

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  7. The blues the blues make you feel all down and crappy. The blues is another way of telling how you feel about something or someone in a depressed way. I see music as a way to elute from what you are phasing in your lifetime like for example a death you got no where to go and you dont want to talk to people so you turn to music why? because the music you listen to is the music that understands you. It all depends on what type of music you listen to is the feelings you have to express. Now the way Hughes incorprates the blues is he chooses situations that are going on at the moment.

    The I got to go work blues
    Its a shame i got work today
    but I got to make this money
    thats what I say
    so I can find myself a nice honey. :)

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  8. For some people music is their everything it's needed for them to get motivated to do something. Music has plenty genres that has a different personality ,because it's intended for the specific audience. Music now a days is talking about happy stuff and one anothers love but back then the blues where way different from today's music because the blues and jazz music is more about people being depressed in that time because of the things happening at that time. It's really telling how your feeling in the mood of your day or if you put a song you like then it brings you up and you get pumped up. Hughes try's to incorporate the blues and jazz culture into his pieces by talking about how people are feeling and their problems their facing at the moment. At that time their was many stuff going on that's why he incorparates the blues and jazz to his pieces to make a point about his aroundings at that time but also it's how you expres how your feeling at the moment either depressed or happy.

    Home blues
    It's been long ago since I have seen my family
    I don't get to see them often but I miss them
    I miss them, I miss them, I miss them
    I miss my sweet home , I miss my sweet room
    All those good memories thrown away because im gone
    I wish I could go back, but it's too late
    The day will come when I go back but will you be waiting, I hope you do

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  9. Music and I have a durable relationship; I taste, smell, feel, touch, and hear music virtually every day. To get over my sentiments, I knock on Music’s door; it opens up, and continually applauds me into a state where nonentity knows me. From the bass to the poignant lyrics, it takes me away to exhilaration and bliss developing inexperienced meditations to introduce me to ideal concepts. As soon as I hear a harmony, I instantly go along to the librettos that leads me to start dancing and getting over several gloomy emotions from my extensive past. Hughes, being the activist that he was, materialized a way for him to speak out to the world and address the aggravated issues the where occurring. The blues and Jazz is what made music; with stating his opinion on society he formed a melody for people to blues to, as well as listen. His lines reflected on the way he viewed humanity, additionally he showed how imaginative and intellectual he was. His representation, image, and rhetorical expression spoke for itself.

    Headphones are My Planet:
    The beat comes in, I feel it within
    The tear falls down, but my hand comes in
    I nod, nod, nod
    It picked me up with a pen
    The music took care of me, from the lyrics, it never ends.

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  10. Ralph Cola
    Music is the best way to clear my mind, and end the feeling of sadness that dwells in my heart and mind. It is not violent, it is does not take energy to enjoy, nor it is far from me. It could be found anywhere for example a coffee house, or in the mall. Music makes time much more enjoyable. When I listen to music the lyrics, the beat, or the way it is said can make me feel very much better, when I am having a bad day, or just feel sad. I like the fact that music allows me to know that I am not alone in the world. Other people feel the sadness, that I feel. Whenever I stress about how to do my homework, studying for a test on the following day, or even just family issues, I turn to music in order to find the peace within me. Langston Hughes incorporates Jazz and Blues into his writting by the way he writes about the sad realities of life, and also by the way his poem structure is written, is the same structure as the jazz and blues are written. By repeating lines over again.

    Impossible Blues

    Time after time I just dream
    Dream dream dream
    for the Impossible
    I might never meet you, it is a shame
    So I just
    Dream Dream Dream
    I know my plan is impossible
    I must become unstoppable to become successful
    I must turn my dream possible.
    Enough with the Dream Dream Dream

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  11. Music helps me express the way I’m feeling without saying anything and without showing emotions. Music is something powerful because it can help you at times or can cause you to get upset, for example if I’m feeling down I tone in into Pandora and put a party station on so the music can switch my mood. But there are times when I’m in a good mood but a song may pop up that might remind me of upsetting memories, or by listening to the lyrics it may help your realize thing or you may relate to the song or to the person singing it if it’s based on her life. Music is powerful in the way of the words that it says and by the rhythm because you begin to dance and it will help you forget your situation. Music also brings life when you’re feeling down it helps you forget about reality for a moment and your just feeling the rhythm of the song or feeling the lyrics and its creating joy inside of us. Hughes incorporates the blues and jazz culture into his pieces by repeating his main point over and over again and how they discriminated people. Hughes bluesy lines were about reality things that were going around him.
    Harsh World
    This harsh world in which we live in
    People Ain’t got no respect
    People Aint got no respect
    They just judge instead of doing a prejudge
    I guess they haven’t heard of the phrase never judge a book by its cover
    Never judge a book by its cover !

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  12. Gabriela Martinez

    What Claude McKay means by what he says is, at times like this everything seems alright but will it is like this and how will it change. Will everything seem to go along or will it go downhill when people do something wrong. And when it does are you ready to put yourself out there? And stand up for what you believe in. It’s a question in us have already been reached. When even things to the smallest thing that may not affect others it affects us. Sometimes of one whole pack. I believe he’s using intelligence but at the same time stupidity because the way he means what he says and when he wants to get the point across. But at the same time he says it open minded with nothing hid in between what he has to say. To me he said the real truth got to the point if it may have offended some the way he said it. Because he has nothing to hide. I agree on what he said. What will our nation come to the point or it has come what can we do to make it better or help out? Were not even going to be able to help out eachother.

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  13. According to this definition, music is the art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. I believe that all of these components of music inspire me every day. Not only does it make me feel empowered and blithe but when I’m upset about a certain situation most likely there's a song for it that I can relate to, because there isn’t a problem in the world that at least one person hasn't encountered like some that I’ve had. For me music touches my soul and without it I don’t know how people would express themselves so vividly and acutely.
    Obviously, Langston Hughes incorporates blues and jazz culture into his pieces by being influenced by the discriminated racist world he lived in. Blues is a somber and sorrowful genre of music that initially started a path for the music we have today and you can clearly see some of the aspects of blues in his work.

    Haven’t Met Drake Blues
    Oh the heartbreak
    Oh the heartbreak
    How can I take not meeting the one I want to date?
    One day we will make it happen
    But until then Drake, I can’t wait!
    So I’ll be at your concerts in the front seat
    Screaming why haven’t I met Drake
    Why haven’t I met Drake!
    When will we meet baaaaby?

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  14. When I hear music is either when I’m sad or just want to hear good music. When I hear music it changes me, I become from having too much depression in my life to happiness. When a girl breaks my heart, then I try not to hear some of the songs that remind me of her. So I some other different song, music is the only thing that keeps me going to have a great life. Hugh’s places jazz and blues together because is a great mixer of hearing a sad poem yet you also hear the jazz band playing a sad tune to along with the piece of poetry. Without this great idea jazz will never be the same, it will be just the tune by itself and the poem won’t be that admired by other people in the crowd. It was also popular in the time of the Harlem Renaissance where the only music you hear was jazz and the blues. The jazz not only that they play a song of a heart break, but it also play songs that the singers/writers write what they see what happens outside the club and the streets that they live in they see mistreatment for African Americans and or seeing them getting lynching from the tree and so the writer publishes his piece and then he plays is and sings it.
    She Lift Me in the Pouring rain Blues
    It was a rainy day, when we were still happy
    Even though she beat me by one point
    That was a great day
    I lost because of my twisted wrist joint
    She told me she had to go
    I told her I will walk you outside
    When I went outside I meet my old foe
    He tried to say hi to me with pride
    I ignored him, I forgot something inside, why did I do that mistake
    When I came back to say goodbye to my girlfriend, she was kissing the foe
    My heart was crumbling from the inside like an earthquake
    I knew now that she was a cheater and a hoe
    So I walked home under the pouring rain
    And then I said “she lift me under the Pouring rain Blues”

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  15. Langston Hughes incorporates jazz into his poems gracefully. His lines of poetry move like a jazz ensemble, the words the trumpet at the center. Like any good piece of music, it can be best stated as controlled chaos. You can feel the speaker on the edge, but holding on inside, even if just only a little bit. If they do let go, it goes to chaos.
    Music influences me. Right now, in preparation to write a few blues lines, I'm listening to music to help inspire me. With my generation, I know I'm not alone in this. We hear music all the time, it's drilled into our ears, quite literally. It can get to be too much.
    As the title states, I'm not this angry.
    I'm Not Angry
    I know I'm understood
    Just not the way I should
    I'm not angry
    "Life's an open book, read it"
    Your book's a comic, and its pathetic
    I'm not angry
    Used, abused, battered
    Like a window, shattered
    I'm not angry
    Crescendo crashed to a halt
    Error 404: your card not dealt
    I'm not angry

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  16. Langston Hughes created artistic pieces of writing that brought African-American people back up again with hope and pride. His poetic thoughts written on pages provoked a change in people's emotions during this time period of hatred and racism. Everything he had been through, from moving out of the country for a better life to coming back to the cities of ignorant racists, didn't stop him from being recognized as a man with hope who had given hope as well in music and literature. And that is what he is remembered for. It was like he was born into The Harlem Renaissance and was meant to embrace that culture of his and his people that could not be broken. I listen to music to escape the reality of things. Music can create a new world of hopes and ideas with inspiring sounds and lyrics. To Hughes, it wasn't just music, it was him. It wasn't just poetry, it was freedom. It was his reality. Claude McKay is correct in believing that even a doomed resistance is worthwhile. You'll never know unless you try to fight for what is right. It is an attempt of freedom, though reacting to violence violently is stupid. People fight by breaking laws. The laws that are seen unmoral to them. Violence would only bring death upon people. Have you heard of war for peace? Well, it doesn't always have to result to that. Have you also heard of Civil Disobedience?

    -The Trumpet on the Street-

    She stood there soundless
    I could not see
    And me with blindness
    It's oh so lifeless
    Oh so lifeless
    One touch and I see
    The blithe beat rising
    To hear the sound fade
    And Calm Uprisings

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  17. Alexandria McIntosh
    I believe that McKay says that even a doomed resistance in worthwhile because its telling people that even through the bad times where it may look like you’ve lost a fight not physical but between a conflict that you shouldn’t give up and keep trying even if its doomed. That you shouldn’t give up even when you feel hopeless and there seems like there’s no point in what you’re doing keep trying because eventually it will pay off even if it’s not right then and there. If you believe the only way to fight back is in a violent manner then you’re only going to see yourself failing or not getting your point across because really who can hear you if there’s no order in the debate or whatever you’re dealing with. If you try to go after everything violently you could lose respect from the people that want to solve the problem but make peace at the same time and that could result in loosing people that’s on your side. When you keep things peaceful but still get your point across more people will stay in favor of your side because you want the change to occur but not destroy buildings or property or have this type of violence result into a fight which obviously isn’t peaceful. Acting violently is neither stupid nor intelligent it’s a choice that you make that can either affect you in a negative or positive way, but fights are never a good way to solve your problems. What makes a person so sure that once they act violently that their point is being heard? Does getting your point across mean using your fist or words?

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  18. I see students everyday at my school listening to their music. They listen to music to cause it keeps them going. I listen to music to escape from reality and stress. Music is my drug cause it's a cure my emotions. It's a daily dose of life cause you can't live without it. Langston Hughes presented an excellent example of jazz and blues, to its finest. Hughes's art is soothing to the soul. He gives out a positive vibes to his community.


    Friday Night Blues

    Something's not right.
    Something's just not right.
    Why am I home?
    It's a Friday night.
    I'm watching tv all alone.
    0 messages on my phone.


    Something's not right.
    Something's just not right.
    I call everyone I know, like yo?
    I'm stuck watching lame tv shows.
    This Friday blows

    Something's not right.
    Something's just not right.
    I'm doing my homework on a Friday night.


    -__-

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  19. Some people listen to music to make themselves feel better. The lyrics or even the rhythm of the music can change a persons' outlook on their situation at hand. They may not be able to find the right words to express how they feel at the moment so the music lets them be able to feel the music. People can be in the saddest mood and somehow, in some awkward way, sad music makes them feel better. Is is because they know they're not alone in that feeling. It comforts them and lets them know it's okay to cry, or to feel how they feel.
    Langston Hughes on the other hand, uses jazz and blues to connect with the Harlem Renaissance by describing the things that would happen during those times. He would go into depth about a certain topic, though in some poems, everything wasn't specific, leaving the reader wondering or trying to figure out his structure and what he means by the subliminal messages he sends through a heart-full poem.

    I've got the basketball blues.
    Had a long day, and at the end, I couldn't hoop.
    My mind was racing, the ball I was chasing.
    I couldn't seem to focus, the gym was a ruckus.
    I've got the basketball blues.
    Hoping the next game, the court, I'll rule.

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  20. According to the definition on Urbandictonary.com music is “Indefinable by words alone. It is not only something you hear but also what you feel. It is something your soul can reach out and touch. It originates from all over the world since time began. Complex or simple, fast or slow, loud or soft. It is what you feel, or it could be your method of escape or it could just keep you alive.” Music has many different ways of affecting people. In some ways, it can be good for the body both physically and mentally. In other ways, people think that it is just nice to listen to. More detailed, music has personalities, which can express what people feel. There are many opinions involving different ways to express human emotions. Emotions are very interesting, especially when music is involved. Music can have many personalities, affect people’s emotions, and be used as therapy. If music reveals emotions, it is not a normal emotion like any other. Hughes incorporates the blues and jazz by writing about topics that had a negative impact on the African American community at the time. In his music Langston Hughes repeats lines, which implicates the main topic. To add more of an artistic effect he adds metaphors and symbolism to his work.


    You’re 1,692 miles away
    1,692 miles away.
    Why did you leave?
    Why did you leave?
    I’m still counting the days till you come back,
    Dreaming about the forever
    But I know it’s more like never.
    The day you left was the day my heart shattered into a million pieces.
    Waiting for you is like waiting for the sky to fall.
    But I’m willing to wait for the day that you return.
    Day or night
    Winter or fall
    I’ll stick around through it all.

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  21. I think there are different types of music not just genre but emotion. Some kinds of music are a product of creativity while some are escapes from society. Putting on headphones is like wearing a wall between yourself in which music is isolating you from the world. When I put on headphones after my mom lectured me on responsibility, I miss the entire reality of the lesson because I am only avoiding her by creating a world where I tune out of society by tuning into music. True music is a result of cumulative life experiences and emotions. When you make music out of your own creativity through your emotions, you become a leader. Leaders like Hughes made his work his own by incorporating blues and jazz. Including emotions from his childhood and the way he lived as an African American during racism has influenced his work.

    Who has responsibility?
    Someone is getting played.

    Seems like a collaboration
    Someone is getting played.

    Time passes without elation
    Someone is getting played.

    The source is I
    How happy is elation
    without suffering?

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  22. A person truly can only take so much and though messages imparted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi were sweet; life’s harsh realties unfortunately are not. The conviction lucidly implicated in Claude Mckay’s “If we Must Die” was violent. Many may not choose to condone in violence but I believe that in order to ultimately stand up for oneself, you must rely what you’re about’ never succumbing to the injustices of others. “If we Must Die” has heart. How can you call yourself a dreamer if you’re not willing to chase those dreams; a believer if you’re not to go all in for that belief; how can you call yourself wanting rights if you’re not willing to fight for your right, even if that means to the deaths. I agree with Claude Mckay’s philosophy because sometimes one person’s doomed resistance is all it takes to open people’s eyes to what is real and in the end isn’t that what matters most? Having the power to wake others up is transcendent. Not everybody has what it takes to have the courage to react to violence by giving the perpetrator a dose of their own medicine. It may be looked down upon as an act of stupidity by those who are scared or other cases praised by many more for doing something which they could only dream of yet never accomplish themselves. It takes great efforts of vigor and diligence to put your life on the line; to say enough is enough.

    - Uneek Jordan

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  23. prom blues
    who should i g to prom with?
    no one specal
    just someone nice
    but who?
    no one comes to mind
    someone who will have fun
    laugh with me,
    dance with me,
    who to go to prom with
    someone who is a close friend of mine..

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  24. I think that reacting to violence violently is a stupidity and not intelligence. It’s stupid to fight back violence with violence because not only you would get what you were fighting for, many people get hurt and not just yourself. Because everyone around you and not just you or the people that you are fighting will get hurt. Violence is not the answer to everything or anything. Violence shouldn’t even be considered with what you are willing to do. For example, if your brother gets into a fight, you wouldn’t jump into the fight; you should pull your brother out of the fight and talk to him and the person he is fighting. Talk to teachers and counselors to help out your brother and the other persons situation. There are many ways to solve a situation than violence. So overall, reacting to violence with violence is a really stupid thing to do. Always look for other options.

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  25. Music is a way for many people to get over there emotions and could be used as an escaping realm for numerous reasons. This could help you overcome certain things you’re going through in life or just to get away and be transpired by the sound and the amazing sounds of what ever music you enjoy listening to. Hughes does a great job in incorporating blues and jazz and just everything else. That enables him to write and produce so many amazing pieces that truly make him a fantastic writer. The pieces that he is able to complete are an amazing thing that can truly put him as a great classical writer of all the different types of music he consistently writes. A true great jazz and blue writer needs a good composer of music and that can be someone who is truly born with a gift of writing. If I was the one writing a blue’s or jazz song I would come up with a truly amazing name that is fitting such as the “Jazz and Blues”. Writing a song like this would require a lot of time and knowledge but I would be able to complete it if I took my time and familiarized my self with the music of jazz and blues.

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  26. Sheyla Gonzalez

    When ever I'm having a bad day wether I'm sad or mad, I listen to music. The words some songs say or the beat, the melody I hear relaxes me. The way music gets to you is magical. What ever it is that you are feeling there is a song for it. You don't have to be mad or sad to find confort in music when your happy you also listen to music. You dance and smile and laugh. Music is like a friend it's always there for you. Hughes is a great writer. He combines the blues with jazz creating the best songs of the Harlem.

    Friendship Blues
    I regret screaming at her..
    She's my best friend
    I can't say sorry
    My pride doesn't let me
    I miss her..
    I have so many things to share
    with her
    Ughh..
    I take a big breath
    and gather strength and
    I say..
    I'm sorry.

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  27. Gianna Canamar
    During the Harlem renaissance Claude McKay believe the even a doomed existences. During the is time the country was segregated and there was no justice for African American. He probably believe that anything was worth more than to live in a world where there was injustice. He approach hiss massage of fighting for freedom violently in his poems. He believes that violence and that they must be willing to die is a way to archive this goal. His method might have inspire many, however I don’t believe violence should be use to react to violence. In other to achieve a goal such as equality should always try to earn the respect of the oppressor. When you react violently against someone that person will not be willing to listen or try to see you as an equal. I believe that when you’re clear headed and calm you have a better chance of getting people to understand. Also it shows that you are educated, and the more educated you are the more you can prove your point. A modern example of using peace versus violence are the civil right movement and the different approach Martin Luther king jr and Malcolm X approach it. While MLK use civil disobedience Malcolm used McKay’s idea. Today Martin Luther king is more recognize because he was more respected for gaining equality through peace. Not to say that there actions are deplorable, but its better to achieve things through peace than violently.

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  28. The reason Claude McKay says that even a doomed resistance is worthwhile is because he feels so strongly about the cause for civil rights that he is willing to resist even if it were to be an unsuccessful resistance. In actuality Claude McKay doesn’t see a doomed resistance as a bad thing but rather as a demonstration of hope and courage for other generations to rebel again until they are successful in their cause such as the civil rights movement. Claude McKay’s philosophy is easily visible throughout the struggle of the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement took many unsuccessful generations of people fighting for the cause but each unsuccessful generation brought greater cause and determination to the next generation. Although Claude McKay’s Philosophy is very proactive and effective, fighting violence with violence however is not. Violence is a very easy way to have your cause/resistance be looked at in a destructive way, peace is the most effective way to voice your cause because it is a double edged sword in figure of speech because it makes you look good and makes you enemies seem even worse when using violence against you, the peaceful ones. Claude McKay’s solution for violence is also what probably didn’t get him noticed as much compared to other people of the Harlem renaissance. The fault of this philosophy can also be seen later in the civil rights movement such as the fact that peaceful Martin Luther king Jr. was more noticed than his violence with violence counterpart Malcolm X.

    Bluesy-
    Was playing Xbox and remembered about my online journal Blues…..

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  29. Lindsay Price-Friend
    Many people use music to express their emotions. Whether it be to express happy feelings or sad feelings music can express it all. There are many different types of music therefore everyone can relate to music and how it can carry a message. All around the world music is one thing that all countries have in common. All the countries use music to tell their stories, explain the lives to other people. And it is also one way that all of the countries can connect despite the language barrier. Music is played at the happy times and the sad times, even the frusterating and emothional times. It can get people through hard times just like a couceler or a therapist. Music can show things are going on in peoples lives and also it can reflect the artist in many ways. Hughes incorporates the blues and jazz culture into his pieces by singing and playing about the things that are going on in his life. In his songs it can express how he feels about the stuff going on. Some lines could be:
    I just failed a test and there's nothing i can do about it blues.....
    I just failed a test and there's nothing i can do,
    The test was just so hard.
    I guess i could have sutdied a tiny little more than i had...
    It's too late to do anything now.
    Just another day,
    another school daY....
    I just failed another test blues..

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  30. Music? I couldn't live without. Music is what makes us get through the day. Listen to it as we sleep, get ready in the morning, during a test, throughout a workout, at a party, and again when we sleep. As new music rises and new artists come out, music becomes a large part society. It has gained so much power throughout the years, enough to control our moods, words, actions, and feelings. But why do we let these tunes and lyrics control our emotions you ask? We as different people, all go through different problems in our lives. When we listen to music, the lyrics are words a large part of us can sometimes relate to. It may seem like the people around us may not understand, but hearing this music will let us know that someone else out there is feeling the same way. Not only is music consolation, but also may be a representative of different cultures. For example, Langston Hughes does a combination of Blues and Jazz in his poems. The Blues and Jazz music are two different types of music used to express Hughes words.

    The NoMilk Blues
    Sittin' there with a lot of cereal,
    Poor Cindy sittin' there with a whole lot of cereal.
    Woke up this mornin'
    With her stomach all growlin'
    Only up to see a dissapointment
    Now poor Cindy singin' the NoMilk Blues..

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  31. Claude McKay says this for the fact that if you believe in your fight even if it’ll eventually fall apart you should still fight. In many case the fight can be violently violent but that doesn’t mean it’s dim-witted or intelligent. The view depends on the people looking in to the situation or the person who is under those circumstances. If fighter believes it’s intelligent to attack then assault should take place yet if it was unnecessary then yes you are stupid for causing the unnecessary insanity. Sometimes violence is seen as rebellion but that isn’t always true. The attention give to violence is greater than that which is given to peace. People rather read about acts of violence happening in their area then acts of kindness accruing around them or at least that how our world portrays it. Violence against violence can cause fear and stop all violence or it can cause a rebellion only bringing more violence which may not be stopped with more violence but in actuality provoked. Provoking the hostility would not benefit anyone allow insanity to spread through the region and innocent people left to get hurt from the stupidity of the violence taking place. Even planned violence can have unfortunate consequences. The doomed resistance can be seen as the unfortunate consequences caused by the planned violence. Any violence that takes place has its penalties whether they are innocent people’s lives or a war or just more hatred.

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