Simple Speaks His Mind
E68154
Simple Speaks His Mind is a collection of humorous and socially incisive short stories by Langston Hughes featuring his everyman character Jesse B. Semple, or "Simple," commenting on African American life and race relations in mid-20th-century America.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
book
ⓘ
short story collection ⓘ |
| addressesIssue |
economic inequality
ⓘ
identity and self-respect ⓘ racial discrimination ⓘ |
| author | Langston Hughes ⓘ |
| characterTypeOfSimple | working-class African American man ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| depicts |
African American working-class culture
ⓘ
informal barroom conversations ⓘ |
| featuresCharacter |
Jesse B. Semple
ⓘ
Simple ⓘ |
| form | linked short stories ⓘ |
| genre |
humorous fiction
ⓘ
short stories ⓘ social commentary ⓘ |
| hasCharacterRole | everyman protagonist ⓘ |
| hasCulturalContext |
Jim Crow laws
ⓘ
surface form:
Jim Crow era United States
|
| hasInfluenceOn |
African American social satire
ⓘ
later African American humor writing ⓘ |
| hasProtagonistOccupation | laborer ⓘ |
| hasProtagonistSocialClass | working class ⓘ |
| intendedAudience | general adult readership ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| literaryForm | prose ⓘ |
| literaryMovement |
African American literature
ⓘ
Harlem Renaissance legacy ⓘ |
| literarySetting | African American life in mid-20th-century America ⓘ |
| mainCharacter | Jesse B. Semple ⓘ |
| mainCharacterNickname | Simple ⓘ |
| medium | print ⓘ |
| narrativePerspective | first-person frame narrator ⓘ |
| notableFor |
blend of humor and serious social critique
ⓘ
use of African American vernacular speech ⓘ |
| partOfSeries | Jesse B. Semple stories ⓘ |
| settingPeriod | mid-20th century ⓘ |
| settingPlace |
Harlem
ⓘ
surface form:
Harlem, New York City
|
| subjectMatter |
African American urban experience
ⓘ
interpersonal relationships under segregation ⓘ politics and race ⓘ |
| theme |
African American everyday life
ⓘ
humor as social critique ⓘ race relations in the United States ⓘ racism and segregation ⓘ social justice ⓘ |
| tone |
humorous
ⓘ
satirical ⓘ socially incisive ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.