Langston Hughes’ use of imagery is significant in his short story “On the Road.” The use of snow gave the story a feel of the Great Depression era in which it was set. It gave a sense of the harshness of the time. As nothing grows in the winter, I got the sense of hunger throughout the land. Though this harshness is felt by many, Sargeant doesn’t notice the snow due to his need to fulfill his most basic needs, hunger, shelter, and freedom from harm. During the Great Depression era, segregation was still prominent throughout the country. This reminds me of many stories that my grandmother told me about the Great Depression. She told me of the mundane meals that she and her family had to dine on when they were like Sargeant, fortunate enough to have something to consume. They too had only their physiological needs to satisfy in this cold, harsh land.
I also found the Reverend significant to the story. The one person that should be willing to help any man closes his door on Sargeant. The Reverend is a symbol for the unfortunate repression of blacks, as well as any other non-white race. This kind of repression was also felt by my grandmother and her family. One difference between them and Sargeant, however, is that they were fortunate to have a light enough skin tone that they could pass for white. Because of the rampant racism that consumed the United States during this time, my great-grandmother had to make a conscious choice to have “white” put on all of her children’s birth certificates. They were forced to leave their culture behind so that they could fit in. This culture has been long since forgotten and never taught to the generations before me. In essence, like many Afro-Americans a piece of all of us has been lost due to the hatred one man may feel for another. Had my grandmother walked up to the Reverend with her head held high and in a loud, proud voice had said, “I am Creek Indian;” she too would have been turned away by him.
While continuing his quest to fulfill his basic needs, Sargeant happens upon a church. Its great high arched doors and strong features represent hope and warmth for the tired, cold black man. Raised by religious parents, my grandmother often speaks of the need for the church during the Great Depression era. It was the only place that would give them food when they were hungry. It was the only place that they could sleep when their home burned to the ground. It was the only place that they could go to get out of the cold when their feet were frozen. It is not until a probable solution to his most basic need is surely to be met that Sargeant even notices the snow. However, this church with its two broad, strong doors is not for him. The demonstration of abuse Sargeant endures at the hands of the church’s patrons is a reflection of their close mindedness. Their doors too were closed to any person unlike them. This kind of treatment of mankind is why my great-grandmother chose to leave her history and culture behind her. This is not the treatment that she wanted her children to have to suffer. This is not the kind of pain that she wanted them to feel. This was her quest to fulfill her children’s need for survival. In his quest to fulfill his need for survival, the battle between Sargeant and the patrons brought down the church.
All along, Sargeant had Christ with him and the abusers were without Christ. They were hypocrites. Christ told Sargeant, “they have kept me on a cross for nearly two-thousand years,” as a protest for the actions of the church patrons (116). True Christians they could not be and Christ was not with them. Christ too was persecuted for being different. He was persecuted for being a Jew. He had died for all men’s sins, regardless of race. However, his believers in this particular church did not look at man regardless of race. Racism is what got Sargeant beat down. It is what kept him cold, hungry, and tired. It is what kept my grandmother’s family poor and living on the side of the railroad tracks in a tarpaper tent. It is what kept the church patrons’ doors closed. Doors are symbols for barriers. Racism is a barrier. It is a door that a person chooses to keep closed or to open. Although the patrons felt they were Christian, they kept Christ outside, and left him there while they communed behind their tightly shut doors, just as they kept the doors to their hearts closed to people of color. My grandmother has no doors. Sargeant had no doors. He only had the clothes on his back, his body, and his soul. He now knew his place. His place was with the poor, the homeless, the wretched, and the down trodden. They too had no doors. They too had a quest to fulfill their basic needs. They too had that quest for survival.
I believe that Mr. Hughes did a good job relating the harshness of the era to the story. There is a great deal of racial inequality in the story; however, there is also a great deal of spiritual equality in the story. Because the story is about racism, I was prompted to take a Sociological Approach while writing this paper. Also, because Mr. Hughes’ story reflected the time in which it was set, I decided to incorporate a New Historicism Approach into the paper. Many stories written during the Great Depression are significant to the history of the United States. I have learned throughout my life that you can learn more about a specific historical era from the literature written during that era than from any history book. Finally, to all of us, the basic need for survival and the basic need of spirituality are prominent parts of our existence. These needs are essential components of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. For this reason, I chose to add a Psychoanalytical Approach to my criticism. Furthermore, Langston Hughes used a great deal of symbolism in the story. From the use of doors to the snow, this use of imagery gave me a feeling of what the story was truly about.
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