Question

Read these lines from “Dream Variations” by Langston Hughes.

Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me—

What do these lines suggest?


Hughes compares himself to the night—dark, cool, and gentle.

Hughes sees the night as a time when he can let his guard down and relax hidden from white prejudice.

After working all day, Hughes sees the night as a quiet respite from the exhaustion of the day.

Hughes’s description of night coming on gently is a celebration of African Americans’ blackness.

Answer 1

C

"Hughes sees the night as a time when he can let his guard down and relax hidden from white prejudice"

Step-by-step explanation:

The theme of this poem is about a black mans dream of freedom and security. Both option A and C exclude this so we can rule them out. Option D also doesn't make sense since the example stanza isn't a celebration but rather details the idea of cool comfort. Night is a time for peace and relaxation, devoid of the anger and sadness that comes with life as an African American at the time.

The line, "While night comes on gently, Dark like me-" shows the correlation between the night and the black man, it describes the night as cool and restful so we can assume this can be applied to the speaker as well.

I just took this test and got it correct, this is just to show my reasoning.