How does Langston Hughes use imagery in Slave on the Block?

Hughes carefully weaves symbolism into the texture of a realistically represented social setting. For example, Anne's portrait of Luther as a slave on the block fits in with Anne's role as an artist in the social context of Greenwich Village. However, the symbolic significance of the painting is profound. Through the symbol of the painting, Hughes suggests that the Luther's relationship to the Carraways echoes slavery, despite the fact that the Carraways think of themselves as liberals and free-thinkers who "love Negroes." Anne poses Luther on a box in the same way that a slave trader would place a slave on the block, displaying him for sale. Anne's social status gives her the power to represent him as a slave, and thus contributes to the production of the kind of stereotypes that oppress Luther in her household.