Chapter 3, Homesick Blues Summary

When he was fourteen, Langston's mother, who had just remarried, sent for Langston, and he joined his mother, stepfather, and stepbrother in Lincoln, Illinois. Langston had little interest in poetry, and liked only Longfellow and Paul Lawrence Dunbar. He would rather read fiction, especially Westerns, and he had not yet become interested in writing.

Langston's mother, however, wrote and performed verse for church programs. Langston recalled an incident when his mother dressed him up on stage and had him act out a role. He became bored and started rolling his eyes and giggling. The audience laughed, but afterwards his mother whipped him and taught him a lesson about respecting other people's art.

Chapter 3, Homesick Blues Analysis

Hughes reunites with his mother in this chapter. The reader learns more about Hughes' history as writer. However, Hughes is still disinterested in...