I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.
Langston HughesRead
Lawrence has a wonderful hill in it, with a university on top and the first time I ran away from home, I ran up the hill and looked across the world: Kansas wheat fields and the Kaw River, and I wanted to go some place, too. I got a whipping for it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the desire for exploration and the courage to seek new experiences despite facing consequences.
In this quote, Langston Hughes shares a personal experience of longing for adventure and the feeling of being confined to one place. The hill symbolizes both a physical and metaphorical vantage point from which he views the vast possibilities of the world, igniting a desire to explore beyond the familiar confines of home. The mention of consequences highlights the tension between the yearning for freedom and the societal constraints often placed on individuals.
Themes
ExplorationFreedomAdventureHomeCourage
In practice
Example use cases
During a graduation speech to inspire students to follow their dreams.
More from Langston Hughes
All quotes →My writing has been largely concerned with the depicting of Negro life in America.
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I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.
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An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.
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The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss
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The only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally you'll finish it.
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