Langston Hughes is represented in Black Voices by the Tales of Simple. Hughes
first presents his character Jessie B. Simple in the Forward: Who is Simple? In this tale the reader is given its first look at the character Jessie B. Simple who is a black man that represents almost the "anybody or everybody" of black society. Simple is a man who needs to drink, to numb the pain of living life. "Usually over a glass of beer, he tells me his tales... with a pain in his soul... sometimes as the old blues says... Simple might be laughing to keep from crying" (98, 99).
Jessie B. Simple, also known as Simple, has just the right combination of qualities
to be Black America's new spokesman and unsung hero. Simple seems to possess just
enough urban humor and cynicism, down-home simplicity, naivete, and "boy-next-door innocence" that Simple easily becomes a character that hard-working, average, everyday people can relate to. He quickly becomes this sort of Black Every man whose bunions......
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Approximate Word Count: 843
Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |