The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain

The mountain holds much symbolic importance in Hughes’s essay. What does the mountain symbolize? How does that symbol evolve over the course of the essay as Hughes’s argument develops? What connections can you make between the mountain in Hughes’s essay and symbolic mountains in other texts or art?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be beneficial to encourage students to ground their thoughts in specific passages from the text. You might ask guiding and probing questions as needed to help students discuss the presence of the mountain (in the title, the beginning/end of the essay, etc.). Consider how to help students make connections to other texts (e.g., “Negro” spirituals, Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, John Winthrop’s “City on a Hill” sermon).

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who would benefit from help in organizing their thoughts, you might provide a graphic organizer that breaks down each guiding question with space to brainstorm individual thoughts as well as take notes during the discussion. Consider having students do a Think/Pair/Share before engaging in a full-class discussion to allow for time to think in a lower-stakes environment.