Part I, Twenty-One, Beyond Sandy Hook—Father Summary and Analysis

When Langston is growing up, moving from place to place, he and his family have to struggle to make ends meet. Through his various odd jobs, Langston does not imagine that someday he will be a famous writer.

The book opens with Langston throwing all of his books overboard a ship. At the age of twenty-one, Langston has just embarked on his first sea voyage, a trip to Africa. Langston sees this as both his first chance to be a man, and leave his childhood behind, and also a chance to connect with Africa, the homeland of his people. Having left school, Langston wants to symbolically let go of everything he has worked for so far, and start anew, so he throws all of his schoolbooks into...