Ballad Of The Landlord By James Mercer Langston Hughes

â€Å"Ballad Of The Landlord† is a free verse poem by James Mercer Langston Hughes. This poem depicts an encounter between a African-American tenant, living most likely in the ghetto of a major city, in the USA, and his landlord. The tenant informs the landlord of the maintenance problems in the house, which included a hole in the roof that leaks and broken steps. The landlord overlooks the tenants issues and lets him know that his ten dollar lease is expected. This reaction infuriates the tenant, so he decides not to pay his rent until the landlord fixes the maintenance problems of the house. Promptly, the landlord threatens the tenant to kick him out, turn off the heater, and toss all of his furniture into the road, if he he does not pay the rent. In anger, the tenant decides to punch the landlord in the lips to quiet him down. Because of the tenants action, the landlord calls the police. The media twists the incident and depicts the unfairly treated tenant and not the landl ord as the aggressor. The tenant is captured and thrown into jail for 90 days without bail. The poem’s theme is the unfair inequality between black tenants and white landlords. Through the use of hyperbole, rhetorical questions, and irony, Hughes sheds light on a current and crushing social problem. According to poets.org James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents were divorce as a young child therefore, he was raised by his grandmother then his motherShow MoreRelatedLangston Hughes: A Jazz Poet1045 Words   |  5 Pages Langston Hughes (James Mercer Langston Hughes) was a poet, columnist, dramatist, essayist, lyricist, and novelist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry. Hughes, like others, was active in the Harlem Renaissance, and he had a strong sense of racial pride. Through his poem, novels, short stories, plays, and kids books, he promoted equality, condemned racism, and injustice, and celebrated African American culture, and humor. (Illinois). Langston HughesRead MoreLangston Hughes Research Paper25309 Words   |  102 PagesIn 1919, when Langston Hughes was seventeen years old, he spent the summer with his father, Jim Hughes, in Toluca, Mexico. Langston had not seen his father since he was a small child, and he was excited about making the trip. However, during this visit, no affectionate bond would develop between Langston and Jim. Jim Hughes was a cold, difficult man, who was driven by ambition to make money and achieve respect. He had moved to Mexico to avoid segregation and racial injustice in the United States