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Hughes' "Black Voices Oby The Tales Of Simple": Jessie Semple - College Essay

Hughes' "Black Voices Oby The Tales Of Simple": Jessie Semple

Langston Hughes is represented in Black Voices by the Tales of
Simple. Hughes first presents his character Jessie B. Semple in the
Forward: Who is Simple? In this tale the reader is given its first look at
the character Jessie B. Semple who is a black man that represents almost
the "anybody or everybody" of black society. Semple is a man who needs to
drink, to num 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. Semple, also known as Simple, has just the right
combination of qualities to be Black America's new spokesman and ...

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he maintains a
seriousness for all his wisdom to come through; his presentation of the
facts is given in a humorous manner. In Bop, "That's why so many white
folks do not get their heads beat just for being white. But me --- a cop
is liable to grab me almost anytime and beat my head- just for being
colored " (105). This side to Semple is an example of Hughes attempt to
give simple facts or actual truth but instead of telling these things
harshly and angrily he tries to sweeten them with a little sarcastic humor.

At times, Simple is full of pain. "I have had so many hardships in
this life," said Simple, "that it is a wonder I'll live until I die" (105).
This comment by Semple is one of many that help portray him as a simple
man who has been both mentally and physically broken-down by society but
who in Census also says that, in spite of all the hardships he has
experienced, he is still here.
Hughes, by using Semple, shows his discontent of the black man's
world, yet in ...

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Hughes' "Black Voices Oby The Tales Of Simple": Jessie Semple. (2005, December 7). Retrieved January 16, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hughes-Black-Voices-Oby-Tales-Simple/37620

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"Hughes' "Black Voices Oby The Tales Of Simple": Jessie Semple." Essayworld.com. December 7, 2005. Accessed January 16, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hughes-Black-Voices-Oby-Tales-Simple/37620.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/7/2005 07:31:35 AM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 854
Pages: 4

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