Question 30 • GA-American Literature and Composition B ULHS
Read the excerpt from "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain," by Langston Hughes. But jazz to me is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in America; the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul—the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world, a world of subway trains, and work, work, work; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile.How does Hughes inject elements of jazz into the excerpt?
Answer
A
by repeating the word “work,” which emphasizes the need to relax
B
with references to the “white world,” which accentuates the targeted audience
C
with figurative language such as “pain swallowed in a smile,” which acts as song lyrics
D
by repeating the phrase “tom-tom,” which acts as a drum beat
Explanation
Hughes repeats “tom-tom” to create a rhythmic, percussive effect that echoes the beat of a drum. This repetition brings the rhythm of jazz into the prose. The word “work” is also repeated, but that repetition emphasizes the exhausting routine of labor rather than the musical beat.
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