The “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes is a rhetorical poem in which Hughes questions his social and racial status in society. Growing up during World War I and participating in the civil rights era, Hughes experienced racial tension while studying at Columbia University, at a time when higher education was still reserved for the wealthy and predominantly white. His poem is a reflection of his reaction to a writing invitation from a professor who influenced him to write about his racial and social tensions, reinforced by its structure, rhetorical questions, and use of the first person. The speaker of this poem is Hughes himself, who responds to a teacher's prompt in which he asks him to express himself freely. The use of the first His teacher is white, Hughes is African-American. He is in a class where he is “the only student of color” (Line 10) unlike at his other school, where the schools were predominantly African American. He concludes logically: “So, will my page be colored for me to write? (Line 27). This question posed by Hughes attacks the conscience of the target audience, in this case his teacher, by asking them whether or not they will end up judging Hughes' work on the basis not of integrity and craftsmanship but of the color of his skin. Although he emphasizes the similarities between people of different races, Hughes is clearly certain that his page will not be judged as a "white" paper. He emphasizes how much he loves to “eat, sleep, drink and be in love.” (Line 21) These are qualities shared by every person, regardless of race. They are universal. It is often said that the teacher will learn as much from the student as the student learns from the teacher, and in this case, Hughes uses this to define what is "American" (line 33). In line 29, “it” refers to the universal themes mentioned above, subtly slipping into his ideas, again and again. The emphasis on the italicized “no” (line 25) contributes to