Avery1

Jaylin Avery

Professor Jacobs

English Comp . 2

October 26, 2017

Poem Analyticical

This poem portrays the actions of oppression simultaneously showcasing the privilege of

whites in power and demands that the power be challenged. The beaming call for money

overcasts the necessary demand for change as the white landlord threatens to evict the tenant,

who is a black man, ultimately altering his environment and way of life. Langston Hughes

speaks up about the pure sociological oppression of a man through situation & the landlords

authority in his poem: Ballad of the Landlord.

The charge against racial discrimination is purely evident within this poem. The tenant is

only aggravated at the inactivity of his landlord for a few demands not being satisfied to equal an

environment suitable for living. On the other hand, you have a landlord that is oppressing this

man because he challenged his power over the tenant, accusing him of being rebellious and now

seeing him more so as a threat. Come get this man! Hes trying to ruin the government (Lines

22-24) which Which concluded in the tenant is subjected to become another statistic, the tenant

held no bail and was forced to spend two months in imprisonment.

The altercation itself is lawful, but not every law is just and morally correct. The tenant

only wished for his needs to be met, and over time the dissatisfaction of his environment

strengthened his anger to the point where he was no longer afraid to challenge the power. Once
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challenged, the police were informed and saw nothing but a nigga out of line. He was accused

of trying to ruin the government, which indicated the familiarity of blacks being oppressed and

controlled, the tenant was rowdy and rebellious from their point of view.

Later on in the poem the tenant is now accustomed to the judicial trap of posting bail, a tactic

used on poorer individuals who do not have the surplus of funds to overcome the judicial

sentencing, which turned a simple altercation into the tenant serving time at the hands of the

wrongdoing landlord.

In this poem there are three speakers that provide information vital to the concluding of

the poem. In the beginning, the tenant speaks, informing the landlord about the hazardous issues

within the tenants home. The tenant responds to threats from the landlord, which is never stated

directly in the poem but shows the accelerated frustration of the tenant. The only time the

landlord speaks is after the tenant rebels against the treats of his landlord with his own threats,

Um-Huh! You talking high and mighty, Talk on- Till you get through. You aint gonna be able

to say a word If I land my fist on you. (Lines 17-20) In which is replied with the landlord calling

in reinforcements Accusing the tenant of overthrowing the government. The third voice

concludes the poem with a headline from the media, which tells only half the story. The media

only portrays a side beneficial to the landlord, stating that the man threatened him and left out

the landlords wrong doings.

In conclusion, I wonder if Langston Hughes has ever been faced with adversity such as

the situation in Ballard of the Landlord. I also wonder why the landlords threats are shadowed

rather than direct. I can infer that the overall message of the passage intended to portray the

actions of oppression simultaneously showcasing the privilege of whites in power and demands

that the power be challenged.