Ethics

The word "ethics" means a set of moral principles, esp. ones relating to or affirming a specified group, field, or form of conduct. For most people, your ethics are determined on what kind of group you tend to involve yourself, what kind of heritage you come from, and what your elders/parents/teachers tell you what is right and wrong. There are simplistic and taboo ethics like don't steal, cheat, kill people, etc. But when looked at more closely, there might be complications to these taboo ethics like you can't kill people, UNLESS they are trying to kill you or even it's o.k. to steal things, BECAUSE I need them to survive. These loopholes are influenced by the environment that you or some other force surrounds yourself in.
For me, I generally try to surround myself with people who have good intent. I have my share of generally taboo ethics like the ones that they teach me in church. These include don't be covetous, don't kill, don't cheat, etc. I try to obey these things and be a somewhat good-natured person, but not all moral principles are as clear cut and have a definite demarcation line to it. This normally happens when your peers or parents take hypocritical decisions. If your parents say not to do something and you see them doing it anyway, your perspective on the subject could completely change. Thoughts might come up like if it's o.k. for them to steal or cheat, then I can steal or cheat too, or because they are hypocritical and they don't put any worth into their teachings, why should I learn from them? The actions of others can greatly impact your ethics and either lead you down a good or bad path. A wise man once said, "A fool learns by his own mistakes, a wise man learns from others' mistakes." This implies that you should learn from your friends' and parents' guidance but you should do as they say, not do as they do. Follow their teachings and make your own decisions based on others' thoughts and opinions.

Hughes and McKay

Langston Hughes and Claude McKay are two great poets who have both similarities and differences between their works. Structurally, McKay’s poems have more of a very defined arrangement of ten syllables per line. Hughes is trying to have his poems look Shakespearean, and trying to add more worth to his poems to show to the white men. Hughes’s poems don’t really have much of a structure, like take for example “Mulatto.” The writing seems somewhat scattered about the page, but it ends up working out in an odd way. Hughes’s writing seems more laid back, like in “Theme for English B.” The poem seems almost like a half-assed poem turned in for English class, but it ends up having a twist ending.
Twist endings are actually a major similarity between Hughes and McKay their poems also discuss important African American issues (which makes sense because they are both African American poets/writers) during the Harlem Renaissance. Both of them talk about the city Harlem itself, both in their own way.
In most of McKay’s writings such as “America,” “To the White Friends,” and “If We Must Die,” he discusses how Blacks need to fight and prove to the whites that they mean business and want to be a part of this country. In “If We Must Die,” he states, “If we die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us through dead!” (1007) Hughes’s poems seem to disagree with McKay, and most of his pieces display the beauty of African race like in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “The Weary Blues.” Hughes also discusses how they (the Blacks) should ask the whites how they could get along and succeed in arts. In “You are white- yet a part of me, as I am a pat of you. That’s American. Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me. Nor do I often want to be a part of you. But we are, that’s true! As I learn from you,? I guess you learn from me- although you’re older-and white- and somewhat more free.” (1310) Hughes is supporting the unity of the whites and blacks, and that is what he feels America is all founded on.

Booker T. Washington

The way that Booker T. Washington addresses the “go north, stay south” issue after the Civil War relies heavily on peace within races. He uses an allegory on page 595 that says, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” This term is used to say that you should open yourself up and reach out in making new friends of people of all races that surround you. This can also mean to stride for new goals and potential opportunities where you are. Washington adds again on page 595, “…it is in the South that the Negro is given a man’s chance in the commercial world, and in nothing is this Exposition more eloquent than in emphasizing this chance.” He explains in this passage that probably one of the most important things for both the Negro’s and the Whites in America economically if for Negro’s to stay in the south. If the Negro’s don’t take this chance now, they risk very dire costs in the future. He expounds on the costs by stating, “Our greatest danger is that in the great leap from slavery to freedom we ay overlook the facts that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands, and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dignify and glorify common labor and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life.” (595)
He also dwells on how the Negro’s must begin from the bottom and work to get to the top, and prove themselves to the white men. Washington explains that if the whites allow the blacks to do so, the will “be surrounded by the most patient, faithful, law-abiding, and unresentful people that the world has seen.” (596) So both of the Whites and Negros need to join together to try to solve the “go north, stay south” issue. It wast just a Negro problem; it was a problem for all of America.

Protest Songs and Such

These protest songs follow a path of no one is going to hold us back and we are going to persevere and keep on fighting for what we want to do. This is present in "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round", because the singer keeps singing that nobody is going to "turn me 'round" (pg. 44). This means that no one is going to get in his way, and later on, he talks about marching up to the freedom land, so the song is essentially about how no one is going to stop him from trying to get to the freedom land. This ties in especially with the character "Stackolee", who doesn't let anything get in the way of what he wants, including the devil.
The song "We Shall Overcome" is also about no one holding you back from what you want, but it also sends the message that the singers (presumably black slaves) will eventually overcome these hard times. This loosely refers back to the folklore of Brier Rabbit who would always get into some sort of mischief, but in the end he would come out on top and outsmart the fox. The song also refers to the slave song, in which it would have a simple rhythm, a steady beat, and an uplifting message to help the slaves keep on going.
Most if not all of these songs and readings are about someone, something, or some group stuck in a bad situation and have to use their minds and their resources to get out of said situation. Whether it be to persevere until the very end or to use their wits to outsmart a fox, nearly each one of these readings represent the "underdog" figuring out a way to come out on top in the end.

Hip Hop and John Henry

The main message I get from "John Henry" is overcoming impossible odds. In the ballad, John Henry is a "steel-driver" and is known to be the best there ever was. He was challenged to a battle of steel-driving against a machine that the whites built, which would seem impossible by today's standards. In "The Message," the overcoming of impossible odds is present because the singer feels like he's at his breaking point and he doesn't know if he can continue to try and complete what seems like near impossible tasks that seem like everyday chores to us. The singer of "The Message" describes his enviornment to be incredibly hostile and hard to live in using such lyrics as, "Broken glass everywhere/People pissing on the stairs" (Pg. 82) and "Eating outta garbage pails." (Pg. 83) "N.Y. State of Mind," is similar to "The Message" because it deals with a young black man in a horrible environment, but he deals with his actions a little more violently and bluntly using weapons and such. Both utilize the theme of overcoming what seem like impossible odds, but in a different manner.
"John Henry" also in cooperates how even though you can be victorious and successful, the outcome might not be what you thought it would be. John Henry was able to beat the steel-driving machine, but doesn't live to tell the tale. In "N.Y. State of Mind," the singer talks about how even though he's able to survive and make money off of his rap, he still lives a very tough life and it wasn't really a very glamorous end. He talks about how he he's addicted to "sneakers, twenties of buddah (money) and bitches with beeps (women)," and how he's taking rapping to a new plateau, but he refers to earlier times when life wasn't so complicated living in New York.