The first poem is entitled “Supper Time”. This poem tells about how poor
the persona is and he has to find a way so that his salary will not be cut down. The poem can be read in datum 98SD02.
This poem describes the persona‟s life which is very poor. He lives in poverty. He looks for water, but there is no water.
He looks for bread, but there is no bread. Even when he has turned on the light, there is still nothing to be used. He has no trunk to make fire. He has no clothes to
be worn. However, he can still realize that he needs to work harder to continue his life.
In this poem the writer only figures out multiple negations. They can be found in the sentence I would make a fire but there aint no wood and That place
where your trunk was, aint no trunk no more. Hughes uses multiple negations to emphasize the poor conditions of the persona, yet he can realize that his condition
will be no better if he does not work harder. The multiple negations are used to attract the reader in seeing the poor conditions of the persona, and make the reader
see the conclusion of the persona at the end of the poem. The second poem is entitled
“Madam and the Movies”. This poem tells about a madam who escapes from reality. She always watches movie every week
to see a romantic man since in reality she does not have one. The poem can be read in datum 90SD03. This poem describes a lonely madam that has no
romance in her life. She is really fond of romantic movies and characters since she does not have them all in reality. She realizes that she is quite weak in an affair.
She has found her wisdom that she can only see the romance through the movies. Thus, she spends twice a week to watch romance movies.
The writer only figures out multiple negations in this poem. It can be seen in the sentence Why real life aint got no romance-man and And there aint no
romance any more. These two sentences imply that at first the persona is still questioning about reality in her life, but at the end she comes to a realization that
there is no romance in her life. She is quite wise to come to that conclusion. That is what Hughes wants to show to the reader; in spite of the sadness in her life, she
can still accept the reality. Overall, the writer figures out only multiple negations that belong to this
function. Hughes uses multiple negations to emphasize the painful life in the first example of the poems, and to show the persona‟s wisdom in the second example
of the poem.
f. To Show Self-Actualization
More or less the same as the previous function, Hughes writes some poems to tell about African-American who can find their inner strength to
persevere against the odds. They reach the state of self-actualization to bear on the situation. The writer figures out six poems that deals with this function. Their
titles are 1 Lonesome Place, 2 Afro-African Fragment, 3 Evil, 4 Pay Day, 5 Ballad of the Killer Boy, and 6 Madam and the Phone Bill. The writer selects
three poems to be discussed further. The first poem is entitled
“Lonesome Place”. This poem tells about the speaker who feels so lonely because no one is welcoming him to a town. Since he
really wants to leave the town but he does not know where to go, he prefers to
stay in that town. The poem can be read in datum 120SD01. In this poem, the persona is told that he feels lonely living in America. He wants to leave the town
where he lived at that time because he wants to find a friendlier place. He feels so weary about his life. He walks down the river and feels comfortable down there.
The writer only figures out multiple negations in the sentence Cause there aint no worries where de waters go. Hughes wants to emphasize the self-
actualization of the persona. He feels comfortable walking down the river. He hears the water flowing. He does not feel worried anymore. This is what Hughes
wants to show the readers. Even in the time of despair, there is an inner strength built from the surrounding of the persona to make him stay in his place. He knows
how to make himself comfortable. The second poem is entitled
“Afro-American Fragment”. This poem tells about an African who stays and lives in America for a long time. He misses his
hometown and he realizes that it is so far away that he should stay in America then. The poem can be read in datum 229SD01. The persona in this poem really
misses Africa, his hometown. He misses the songs and the nuance. He lives far away from Africa and yet he has to wait for a long time to be back there again. He
misses the people also. He feels strange with the songs and also the surrounding in America. However, he realizes he needs to wait for a long time to be back to
Africa and gather with the people there. The writer only figures out subject displacements in this poem. They can
be seen in the sentence So long, so far away is Africa; Subdued and time-lost are the drums; and So long, so far away is Africas Dark face. These sentences
describe the persona‟s feeling towards his hometown and also his self- actualization. He realizes that Africa is far away from the place he lives and he
needs long time to be back there. The third poem is entitled
“Pay Day”. It tells about a man who feels upset because he has to pay all the expenses without any contribution from her woman.
Yet he realizes that he should pay it by himself. The poem can be read in datum 102SD02. This poem tells about a man who comes to his self-actualization. He
realizes that this long time he should pay all the expenses. That time he comes to a decision that he will live by himself and make use of his pay check for his own
needs. He realizes that he does not need woman who can only spend his money for buying furniture and jewelries. It comes to his mind that he wants to live
freely. The writer only figures out a multiple negation in this poem. It can be seen
in the sentence And I wont need no furniture living alone. This sentence implies that the man realizes that he does not need any furniture since he wants to live by
himself afterward. Hughes wants to emphasize the self-actualization from the man that he realizes his woman is bad and he wants to leave her alone.
Overall, the subject displacements and multiple negations appear in this function. Hughes uses them to emphasize the self-actualization of the persona
towards the problems they face. The decisions that were made by the persona are also the results of hisher self-actualization.
