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In Langston Hughes “On the Road” the main character “Sargeant” goes on not only the literal sense of a journey, but a metaphorical sense. A metaphorical sense of a journey can be described as a journey you make to better yourself, or personal ordeals you endure with out stepping foot outside your home. An example of this can be through a dream, as it happened with Sargeant.

Sargeant is journeying literally through a small town looking for shelter, but it is not until he reaches the church that it appears he is metaphorically journeying through the rest of the story. When the police start pulling on Sargeant while he is holding onto the church and said church comes down to be more exact is where the metaphorical journey begins. This is also dependent on how the reader interprets the story.

In Sargeant’s dream journey he is walking with a stone Christ that he freed by tearing down the church. I felt this was symbolic of Sargeant getting to know his own views or lack there of on religion through this stone representation of Christ. Through the story, the stone Christ seems like a weak figure, and almost childish. This could represent how Sargeant views religion and its power.

Sargeant and Christ walk on each making their way to their own destinations. It is unclear where Christ is going exactly, just that he is heading towards Kansas City. Sargeant and Christ come upon a hobo jungle. Sargeant says “I can go sleep there” (Hughes 4). Sargeant explains to Christ that he can sleep there because there are no doors there to keep him out. I found it odd that it was when Sargeant finally found a place that wouldn’t block him out that it was then that the stone Christ left him. When Sargeant wakes up as the freight train goes by and he grabs on only to find that it is full of cops. This could represent that the white power has gotten in the way or where he needs to go. Such as in the literal journey, the whites wouldn’t let him stay with them for the night, and now the white authority is stopping him from getting on the train and getting away.

Sargeant wakes up with a headache in the prison, giving away that he hasn’t really traveled with the stone Christ at all, and that the police took him to jail from the church. Sargeant claims that he will tear down the doors that bind him, just as he did to the church that kept him out in the cold.

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Comments from your instructor:

A nice read - I appreciate your effort on this!

~Lee Hobbs

Amanda Farabaugh
English-Blog/Turnitin.com
Idea of Journey as a Metaphor in “On the Road”

A journey is defined as a passage to another stage, a distance traveled, going from point A to point B, or a trip. Sargeant is the protagonist in the short story by Langston Hughes. In his short story, Sargeant is on a journey both in reality and non-reality. By non-reality, I am referring to his thinking and the metaphor that Langston Hughes describes. Sargeant is a homeless African American trying to seek refuge in a town. He starts by asking a man, who to the eye is a man of holy, but in Sargeant’s eyes, the man of holy is being rude and inconsiderate. He tells Sargeant to try a shelter, in which all are full. Sargeant continues his journey and finds himself at the steps of a church- a church that is designated to white men and women. Although, he has come across yet another obstacle, the doors have been locked and no way to get in. He has a confrontation with men of the law and the citizens only to end in a meeting with Jesus. Jesus and the protagonist walk briefly with one another until they’ve reached the railroad yard. This is where Jesus departs and leaves Sargeant to continue on his journey. Sargeant seeks refuge in a hobo jungle, only to waken in a jail cell thinking he had really meet Jesus and pulled the pillar off the church. Was it a dream he was having or not?
One journey that is noticeable would be Sargeant traveling, trying to find a place to rest. He starts at one point in the beginning of the story and ends up in a jail cell. This is showing that he had made a journey into town and to the jail, just so he could find a place to rest. His intentions were not going to jail, though under the circumstances he had put himself into; he ended up there. This type of journey is showing a person traveling from one place to another. This is showing that he has a reason to travel and to find his end.
Another journey that Sargeant faces is between the white men and women and he. Sargeant is an African American man who is in a town, which is full of racism. He must journey through the racism and hardships that comes his way. Going from point A to point B is easier to overcome than journeying through racism. Sargeant needs to muster up his energy and will power to over come the hatred and troubles that are thrown at him.
These are quite common journeys in other novels, short stories or movies. A big example, one that everyone knows is the “Wizard of Oz”. Dorothy, our protagonist is on a journey to go home, though her journey seems made up or all just in her head. This is similar to Sargeant. He is on a journey to find a place to rest, when he dreams he pulls down a church with his bare hands and then meets Jesus. Only difference is that Dorothy was already home and Sargeant is temporally in a place to rest. Another example would be “The Last Unicorn”. This is an animated movie that shows a unicorn on a journey trying to find others like her. She is faced with a problem of the Red Bull; a beast that lures unicorns into the ocean, to stay there for all eternity.
In the majority of novels or short stories, the protagonist is in some sort of journey. The protagonist must make their way to a destined place, or they must make their way through life dealing with pain, hurt, sorrow just to live and keep a happy thought.

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Comments from your instructor:

This also shows some thoughtful engagement with the text.

~Lee Hobbs

Journey as a Metaphor

The word journey is defined on Dictionary.com as “a traveling from one place to another or a passage or progress from one stage to another.” The word metaphor is also defined on Dictionary.com as “a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance.” In Langston Hughes’s “On the Road,” there are many journeys that Sargeant, the protagonist, walks. His journeys are physical journey’s that get him from point A to point B. But there are also metaphorical journeys that should be discussed.
First, there is a physical journey that Sargeant makes as he is walking through the story. He is walking from the freight train and is in search for food and shelter. In the beginning of the story, Sargeant is getting off a freight train and in the end of the story he is in a jail cell. The physical journey in the story is how Sargeant gets from the freight train to the jail cell. There is also a second physical journey that Sargeant completes. Sargeant completes a journey from unconsciousness to consciousness. When Sargeant was breaking down the door of the church, “the cops began to beat Sargeant over the head, and nobody protested” (Hughes, 1963, p. 2). This is where I believe that Sargeant entered unconsciousness and began a metaphorical journey.
After Sargeant gets beat over the head by the cops, he begins to dream. He dreams that he has pulled down the church on top of all the people who were pulling on him. Part of the metaphorical journey in “On the Road” is a fight against racism. Throughout the entire beginning of the story, Sargeant is pushed away and belittled by white people and, ironically, people of the church. Once Sargeant is knocked out, and begins to dream, he believes that he has triumphed over the white people. They can no longer shut a door on him because he has knocked the door down. (Hughes, 1963)
Another metaphorical journey that is present in “On the Road” is finding Christ. When Sargeant begins to dream and pulls down the church, Christ falls down from the cross and carries it on his back next to Sargeant. Sargeant and Christ have a conversation while walking down the street. During the conversation, Sargeant tells Christ that if he had more money, he would show him around. Christ replies saying, “I’ve been around” (Hughes, 1963, p. 3). This gives Sargeant the feeling that he has something in common with Christ and that they could be friends. Finding Christ in his dream helps Sargeant when he returns to the literal journey of the story and becomes conscious again. Sargeant says, “I wonder where Christ’s gone? I wonder if he’s gone to Kansas City?” (Hughes, 1963, p. 5)
In “On the Road” by Langston Hughes, I saw four journeys present in the story. Two journeys were literal; the journey from the freight train to the jail cell and the journey from unconsciousness to consciousness. There were also two metaphorical journeys; journey as a fight against racism and a journey in finding Christ.

Works Cited

Hughes, Langston. “On the Road.” Something in Common and Other Stories. New York: Hill, 1963. 207-12.

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Comments from your instructor:

Thanks for using a works cited section here (class, take note!). I like the analysis too.

~Lee Hobbs

Journey is defined in many different ways by different sources. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, journey is defined as an act or instance of traveling from one place to another. In Langston Hughes’ “On the Road,” Sargeant goes on a journey throughout the story. Not only is there a literal journey, but there are metaphorical journeys as well. A metaphor is defined as a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them, according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.
The first journey in “On the Road” that I found was Sargeant’s struggle to fit in as an African American man during the Jazz Age. This was a very tough time for blacks in America because the white people of this time were not accepting of African American people. Sargeant does not see a difference in blacks and whites, which is obvious to me in the first paragraph of the story. “When he got off the freight, one early evening during the depression, Sargeant never even noticed the snow.” (Hughes 1) When I first read the story, I did not even realize the contrast between the dark night and the white snow. This shows that trying to break the barrier between whites and blacks is a long journey for African American people.
Another metaphorical journey in “On the Road” is the journey of the American people through the depression. Times were rough for many during this time. Many people had no where to sleep, no food to eat, or warm clothes to wear. Sargeant was one of those people. “He was too hungry, too sleepy, too tired.” (Hughes 1) Sargeant tried several different places where he thought he would be able to keep warm. He first tried to go to the Reverend’s house to stay. The Reverend told him that he could not stay in his house, so Sargeant’s journey through the depression went on. He then went to the Church. Sargeant tried to sleep here as well, but was arrested when he tried to break down the door. At the end of his “journey,” Sargeant goes into the hobo jungle and spends the night.
One of the other journeys that I found in “On the Road” is the faith journey. Sargeant is portrayed in a way that he has a carry a heavy burden much like Christ did when he carried the cross. After the Church fell down, we were given the imagine of Sargeant walking down the street carrying one of the white stone pillars from the Church. This is the same way Christ carried his cross. “Sargeant got out from under the church and went walking up on the street with the stone pillar on his sholder…And threw the pillar six blocks up the street and went on” (Hughes 2). This shows that in a way Sargeant was freed of his burden of being suppressed by whites. In his eyes, he stood up for his own needs.
Not only did Sargeant go on a literal journey in “On the Road,” but there are many journeys that are Hughes incorporated without recognition. When I first read the story, I did not realize there was so much involved. After thinking about it when we were given this assignment, I found that there is a much deeper meaning to the story.

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Comments from your instructor:

Thoughtful argument here. Keep this up!

~Lee Hobbs

Blog Post 2
Journey as a Metaphor

Journey as a Metaphor in “On the Road by Langston Hughes”
The idea of “journey” usually is defined as a long trip, with someone either walking, or using another form of transportation to get somewhere (Dictionary.com). However, there is also the idea of a deeper journey towards maturity, higher education, or spiritual enlightenment. Sargeant, the main character in this story, goes through many physical and emotional journeys throughout this short story.
A metaphor is a literal statement posed between two objects to express that they are similar or the same (Dictionary.com). Therefore, themes in life can be linked to themes in literature and vice versa. This is used constantly in the study of art, music, and written word.
The physical journeys the journeys he takes to find a place to stay, the short walk with Christ, and his journey past Christ to the eventual “train” he would grab onto. Although the lines are significantly blurred in the physical sense of Sargeant’s journey, there still remains the fact that they are presented as physical. This could be considered a metaphor for how humans physically deal with an issue. First, a human will innately seek help from another human, which explains why Sargeant first went to the preacher. If that fails, a human will seek a higher power if they believe in one, much like Sargeant seeks the church and walks with Christ. Lastly, a human will look by himself for guidance, which is exemplified in Sargeant searching for the train. This story is very similar to the novel Siddhartha by Herman Hesse where the main character searches for help from a higher power in the beginning, help from another in the middle when he meets a lover, and finally finds his help within himself at the end.
In the non-literal or non-physical sense Sargeant was in many other types of journeys. Another metaphor of journey is seen through racism. Sargeant tries to integrate himself into the world of Caucasians by trying to sleep in the white preacher’s house and then in the white church. This journey could also be considered a metaphor of racism. Christ sees no difference of color which also aids in the aforementioned description. In his ongoing journey to break the bonds of racism, he breaks down the church and begins to walk with Christ. Sargeant’s walk with Christ can be considered a part of his spiritual journey. The fact that Sargeant breaks down the white church and walks with Chrsit can also be seen as an overarching metaphor of the journey of racial and spiritual acceptance. Both of these non-physical metaphors of journey are integrated into the idea of the journey as a metaphor for life in the larger spectrum.


Works Cited
Hesse, Herman. Siddhartha. (Bantam Books, 1951).
journey. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved February 26, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/journey
metaphor. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved February 26, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/metaphor

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Comments from your instructor:

Thanks so much for bringing up Hesse's Siddhartha. I just read this before the semester started...isn't it great?

~Lee Hobbs

Journeys mean different things to different people. When I surveyed each of my three roommates, I got a different answer from each of them. A journey could be a physical trip that ones make, a period of time, or emotional change over time. What one strives for on their journey could be positive or negative, yet one thing remains the same: each and every person (in real-life and literature) goes through journeys at one point or another. In Langston Hughes’s, “On the Road,” every character, from the Sargeant and Jesus, to Reverend Dorsett and the cruel white people are on a journey, some physically, some metaphorically, and some a combination of the two.

It is immediately evident from the first few lines of the story that the Sargeant is on a physical journey to find food and shelter. When it appears that he may have accomplished what he was looking for on this journey through a Reverend, he is only set on another journey (this time with specific directions from the Reverend) to the homeless shelter. It might appear that the Reverend is a static character incapable of experiencing a journey himself; however, this is not the case.

The Reverend is on a journey to becoming more tolerant of black people, a little at a time. Although he was not right in turning the Sargeant away, and he should have morally assisted him more, the Reverend made an attempt by giving the Sargeant directions: “Go right down this street four blocks and turn to your left, walk up seven and you’ll see the Relief Shelter” (Hughes 1). If he were not on this particular journey, he would have not answered the door at all, or, he would have simply said no and slammed the door. The white people and the cops are also on a journey of their own; their journey is one to make sure that black people are “kept down” and away from their church permanently. “‘A big black unemployed Negro holding onto our church!’ thought the people. ‘The idea!’” (Hughes 2).

Christ too is on a physical journey in the story, yet he does not know to where. The Sargeant’s physical journey to food and shelter could be compared to Christ’s journey to Calvary. They both walk a seemingly endless walk through uncomfortable conditions. Similarly, they are surrounded by people who know they need help and who know that what is happening is wrong, yet refuse to give it to them because they are different—Jesus a radical Jew, and Sargeant an unemployed black man. Similarly, both Christ’s journey to Calvary and Sargeant’s physical journey for food and shelter, as well as his metaphorical journey to overcome his status and skin color, seem pointless.

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Comments from your instructor:

First-rate response!

~Lee Hobbs

T. Wineland
Professor Lee Hobbs
EL 267.01 American Literature 1915-Present
13 February 2008

In “On the Road,” by Langston Hughes, Sargeant begins his journey as a black man living amongst the circumstances in a white man’s world. He is forced to face the barriers put up before him by the white society. He is forced to acknowledge the existence of these barriers and either accept them or fight against them.

At first, Sargeant follows the rules of the white man and recognizes his limitations when he is turned down by Reverend Mr. Dorset when looking for a place to stay. However, when he reaches what he refers to as “the white folks’ church,” he begins to acknowledge that the only way for him to survive in this world is to fight the barriers placed before him by the white community. After all, a church is supposed to belong to God, not the white or black race.

Therefore, Sargeant refuses to accept the closed doors as boundaries placed before him and instead uses his bodily force to break the doors down. Even more so, by the end of Sargeant’s journey, while he is behind bars in jail, he ultimately accepts that life and its barriers will not keep him from moving forward, even if breaking them is a struggle.

The hobo jungle didn’t have doors so there was no question as to whether he would be accepted or refused. He knew there would be no struggle to take rest there. He knew that the doors closing him off from entry into the white man’s world would cause him great struggle in the future, but in his mind the fight became worth the potential gain.

Sargeant learned to recognize the barriers for what they truly represented, but instead of accepting their existence he vowed to not let them keep him from moving forward in his journey in life, because that was the only way he would survive.

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Comments from your instructor:

Good - there's a kernel here that I think can be developed even further!

~Lee Hobbs

The protagonist in Langston Hughes’ “On the Road” has likely been involved in a physical, emotional, and spiritual journey his entire life. Sargeant is a strong black man who is, first and foremost, facing a struggle against the odds. His intimidating size and strength coupled with his anger at the sense of injustice rouses fear and concern in others, which inadvertently sends him on a journey of a legal nature. The emotional toll of the spiritual journey that follows ultimately strengthens Sargeant’s faith and determination, resulting in a man who will probably become virtually unstoppable.

Sargeant’s most recent journey has seen him step off a train into an unwelcoming town whose inhabitants do not seem to share his sentiment for simple, all-encompassing Christian kindness. His physical walk through the streets to find shelter, a basic human necessity and inalienable right, sends him on a quest that only reinforces his beliefs that he must venture far and wide in order to create a path that others can follow. The refusal of any outstretched hand angers him to the point that he questions his faith, which sends him on a spiritual journey.

Sargeant’s walk at the beginning of the story through nighttime snow leads him to a church that he thinks would surely offer him shelter for the night. The locked doors, another denial of his chance to move easily along his path, frustrate him to the point of blind destruction. His “damage” to the church leads him to jail. These ideas are presented rather quickly in the story, providing the reader with a sense that the entire piece will be one journey after another.

At some point, after the damage to the church and prior to his waking up in jail, Sargeant has a vision or dream of meeting and traveling temporarily with Jesus. At once, Sargeant is elevated to the level of Jesus, walking alongside the prophet throughout a portion of his journey. While nothing in the story seems to faze Sargeant, his meeting of Jesus seems almost expected, as if he met up with an old friend. This walk almost solidifies the spiritual level on which Sargeant functions, as Jesus is brought to a very real level of humanity.

With one journey leading directly to and overlapping another, Sargeant travels many miles in just a single night. Arriving weak and exhausted, the end of the story find him strong and ready to take on the world. Although one can only surmise the depth and number of literal and figurative journeys on which Sargeant ventured, it can be suggested that he grows immensely.

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Comments from your instructor:

Well stated! I couldn't have put it better myself.

~Lee Hobbs

There are several levels of journey in Langston Hughes’ short story “On the Road.” Firstly there is a literal, physical journey that the main character, Sargeant, goes through- namely his travels from one place to another. Sargeant also undergoes a metaphorical journey from the accepting man in the beginning to the fighter of the end. Finally, Sargeant’s journey is a metaphor for all the anti-segregation feelings of that time. These multiple levels of reality in the theme of journey allow “On the Road” to have more depth and intricacy than the average short story.
Sargeant’s physical journey begins with him stepping off a train in front of a parish in the winter. This fact, along with Sargeant’s familiarity with the policies of relief shelters and hobo jungles, lets the reader understand that this is only a very small segment of Sargeant’s journey, which he has been traveling for years while he searches for warmth, food, and shelter in the harsh and bigoted world of the depression. After being denied access to refuge in a white church, Sargeant is overcome by rage at the hypocrisy of the white church and breaks down the door, causing a fight with the police that results in a blow to Sargeant’s head. Sargeant then undergoes what is assumed to be a hallucination and wakes up in a jail cell. Ironically, all the intents of Sargeant’s original physical journey (warmth, food, shelter) are met by his stay in the jail cell.
On another level, Sargeant’s journey with Christ is a metaphor for his decision to give up on relying on others and start relying on himself. Instead of being rescued by Christ, Sargeant actually has to rescue him. When they walk together, Christ seems just as helpless and aimless as Sargeant. This is a metaphorical statement about how the good intentions of religion and religion itself has become chained and trapped by the hypocrisy of the worshippers, and can no longer be relied on in real life. Sargeant’s parallel walk beside Jesus depicts his journey from a man who accepts everything the way it is to someone who wants o change things himself.
The journey is also a metaphor for the whole society. Just the name “Sargeant” is suspiciously close to the word “sergeant,” and that seems to be exactly what Hughes wants him to be: a leader who will rally society to stop waiting for salvation and put a stop to the injustices. The images of Christ and Sargeant are paralleled (Christ holds a cross while Sargeant held a pillar of the church that he threw down the street) giving more strength to the argument that Sargeant is supposed to free and liberate his people, but unlike Jesus Sargeant will not be trapped by the very people he is trying to protect. The journey of Sargeant, then, becomes the same journey that everyone must take in order to stand up for what is right.

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Comments from your instructor:

Interesting and entertaining assessment!

~Lee Hobbs

The word “journey” in the online dictionary, is defined as “passage or progress from one stage to another.” I feel that this definition best described the word journey. A journey can be made mentally or physically and this definition applies to both. In Langston Hughes’ short story, “On the Road”, one of the themes presented in the story is journey. A theme is defined as “a subject of artistic representation.” In Hughes’ story the reoccurring theme of journey is made physically in mentally.

An example of journey, in “On the Road” is when Sargeant physically travels from the pastor’s house to the church. This is a physical journey from one place to another. This part of the story shows external parallelism to the story of “the good Samaritan” in the New Testament of the Bible. In the story of “the good Samaritan” a man is also on a journey. The man in “the good Samaritan” was on a journey to a far away city when he was beat up by thieves. The man lay on the side of the road after being beaten and a priest comes walking along. The priest sees the beaten man and decides to turn around and take another road. The priest, who is suppose to be god’s worker, does an unchristian-like thing and walks the other way, instead of Christianly helping the hurt man. The pastor in “On the Road” does the same thing when Sargeant knocks on his door. He refused to help Sargeant, even though it was a cold, snowy, night.

Another example of journey takes place throughout the entire story. Sargeant goes on a mental journey. When Sargeant knocks on the door to the pastor’s house, he is turned down. Sargeant is cold, tired, and hungry. He does not protest the pastor’s doing. He is numb to the white man’s oppression. He was not surprised at all. Then Sargeant sees the church. Mentally, he becomes content because a church is suppose to be a welcoming place. Next, the police and townspeople try to pull him away from the church, but Sargeant is hanging onto a pillar. This pillar is a sign of faith (because it is a church pillar), which gives him strength. He builds enough strength to pull off the pillar and destroy the church. The church is white stone which symbolically means the white man. Sargeant tears this pillar down, destroying the white church, and symbolically destroying white oppression.

Sargeant then walks up the street with the stone pillar on his shoulder. Sargeant is now on a journey to find shelter. As he is walking he notices that he is not alone. Beside him walking was Christ who is on a journey to Kansas City. At this point, Sargeant is making a physical journey to shelter, and a mental journey to faith. This faith is expressed when Sargeant, in the beginning of the story, knocks on the pastor’s door, is refused, and then quietly turns away. Now, Sargeant is in jail and he is trying to get out. He thought he was trying to get on the train, and the cops were knocking him off. He finally becomes aware that he is in jail and says “I’m gonna break down this door.” In the beginning of the story, he quietly turned away. At the end of the story, he stood up for himself. His mental journey went from no hope to faith, while he was on this physical journey for shelter.

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Comments from your instructor:

Fine work Ryenn! I concur on several points

~Lee Hobbs

In the story “On The Road” by Langston Hughes, the reader is shown how the old adage “Life is a Journey”, is true, from both a literal and metaphorical standpoint. Langston’s use of the concept of a “journey”, symbolism, and external parallelism helps the reader to paint a broad picture in their mind of the United States during the times of the depression. It was during this time that racial equality was unheard of, even in the community that preached the idea that all humans are created equal, religion. The main character of the story, a homeless black man named “Sarge” seemed destined to be on the path to change the views of racial superiority.
“On The Road” begins with Sarge exiting a railroad freight car. This is the beginning of his physical journey. There does not seem to be any specific reason why Sarge chooses to exit the train in Reno, Nevada, other than to seek shelter to sleep and possibly find something to eat. The journey then continues through the town while Sarge travels from door to door seeking shelter. It does not appear that the character really had any intention of staying in Reno, as in his dream he once again tries to board a freight car. Hughes makes the physical journey come full circle in that he got off of a freight car in the beginning, and is getting back on to a freight car in the end. The title of the story itself tells the reader that a journey is taking place.
The metaphorical journey taking place in this story however, has nothing to do with travel or a freight train. It is based in religion and society. After Sarge breaks down the church and Jesus is released from his cross, he and Sarge walk together. Sarge asks Jesus “Where you going?” Jesus answers by saying “God knows, but I’m leavin’ here.” This brings many readers to say “what do you mean he didn’t know? He knows everything!” Apparently, Hughes wanted the reader to wonder why Jesus was leaving Reno. Was he leaving because he was fed up of being used as a pawn by people to promote whatever agenda they were toting, in this case, white racial superiority? Was he leaving because he was subtly telling Sarge “hey, this is your issue, you fix it on your own” or was he simply leaving because something more exciting was happening in Kansas City? The journey that Jesus is taking with Sarge is symbolic in nature because they are both just wandering around together…two lost souls perhaps.
Sarge is also undertaking a metaphorical journey down the road of racism. From the time he is turned away by the pastor, while he was being beaten by the white cops, and being held in prison, it is apparent to the reader that he is a victim. Every obstacle Sarge comes across (with the exception of Jesus) is white. When Sarge picks up the white pillar, symbolic of the white church that he had just pulled down, it gives the reader the image that Sarge has just taken racism upon his shoulders. When he casts the pillar aside, it appears as though he wants to cast that worry of hatred from his back. Casting aside the pillar, and the hatred, both would make the journey towards equal rights easier.
Symbolism is often used in literature to tie together a story with its setting in history. “On The Road” is no different. The snowstorm and the fact that is white (a white storm) set against the black of night and against a black man is the first use of symbolism. This use of black vs. white could be seen as being symbolic of the chaos and the struggle within society. Sarge’s mental state appears to be very depressed, and along with the use of the story taking place in winter, can connect the story with the fact that it is being set in the depression. When winter is used in a story, it is often for the purpose of depicting a time of darkness and despair. Throughout “On The Road” Sarge continually mentions breaking down doors. Doors, especially solid one’s, are thought of as barriers. As he breaks down these doors, it appears he may also be breaking down the barriers of racism.
Aside from the everyday stories of how heroes overcome their minority births, a different external parallelism occurred to me as I was reading “On The Road Again.” The part where Hughes talks about footsteps, and them doubling beside Sarge, reminded me of one of my favorite poems “Footprints.” A man is looking back at his life once he dies and often sees only one set of footprints, which occur at the lowest points of his life. He says to the Lord “you told me that once I decided to walk with you, you would always be by my side. Why is it when I needed you most, I only see one set of footprints?” The Lord answers “when you only see one set of footprints, it is then that I carried you.” But in the case of Sarge and Jesus, the opposite is almost true. Sarge is used to walking alone. But when he may need Jesus the most, during his loneliest and darkest times, Jesus is there beside him, walking as his equal, giving Sarge the strength to continue. Thus creating two sets of footprints.

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Comments from your instructor:

Fine work Jodi!

~Lee Hobbs

In Langston Hughes’ “On The Road” I feel that there is a metaphoric journey taken by Sargeant. I think he goes from feeling shut out of society to knowing that he must break the walls that separates him. We first notice this separation when he is described as wondering in the cold looking for a place to stay but there was none. We see his intensity grow when he tries to pry the doors of the church open so that he can find some warmth. I truly feel his journey hasn’t ending because he states that he will break down the walls around him in the jail cell. When this topic was talked about in class I found the interesting point that although one can open a door, it can still be shut. Sargeant doesn’t want to leave room for the door to be re closed. He instead insists on breaking down the walls. The best way to map out this psychological journey is by analyzing each progression in the story. First we see his numbness to his current situation. Hughes portrays this by constantly reminding us that Sargeant doesn't notice the snow. We then see his rebellion against his situation by his forcing his way into the church. We then see him analyze his situation while walking with Jesus. He asks Jesus about his feeling of entrapment. Finally he comes to a conclusion about his situation and he decides to not settle for his separation but force integration.

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Comments from your instructor:

Very nice analysis!

~Lee Hobbs

In Hughes’s On the Road, the idea of journey is definitely a metaphor in this story. The main character, Sargeant, is on a journey simply to find a place to stay, but in reality his journey is a bigger one.
I think Sargeant is on a journey to find a place where he belongs. His journey is finding a place that accepts him no matter the color of his skin. He comes to a town where everything is white, the people, the buildings, and it’s even snowing; so, technically the atmosphere is white.
This man is just looking for a place to stay, but because of the color of his skin, he starts a journey where he pulls down a church, meets and befriends Jesus, and then wakes up in jail. His journey is different than the white people’s journey in the story. They are there to witness his journey.
In the end, Sargeant wakes up in jail, beaten and hurting. “You wait,” mumbled Sargeant, black against the jail wall. “I’m gonna break down this door, too.” His journey helped him realize that walls and jail cells can not hold him. He can stand up to the odds wherever he goes and know that Jesus is with him, and he can overcome anything. He can “break down the door” and be free.

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Comments from your instructor:

Excellent!

~Lee Hobbs

Langston Hughes’ “On the Road” consists of many metaphors and symbols. The symbol that represented the most to me was the snow. It is interesting that Hughes states, “a human piece of night with snow on his face.” Sergeant is compared to night, when all of the “white folk” are in their nice warm homes however the snow also represents the white folk’s coldness. The snow was also representative of white men pushing down on black men to make them extinct. In 1952 there was still a lot of animosity between blacks and whites. White people saw themselves as upon a pedestal to black people. “On the Road” gives the reader a true taste of the tension. As big as Sergeant is described he never became physical with a white man through the whole story. You would think that a big black man, in stereotype, would be aggressive. Realistically the white people in this story were the aggressors, like the snow. The snow becomes a trial that Sergeant must overcome which represents the white people. It is interesting that the repetition that the readers are confronted with feels like snow beating down upon you…”too hungry, too sleepy, too tired.”

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Comments from your instructor:

I agree. Good job!

~Lee Hobbs

Heather Stull
Mr. Lee Hobbs
EL267.01
2/27/08

In Langston Hughes’ “On the Road”, the protagonist Sargeant gets knocked out and dreams of carrying his burden (the pillar) and tossing it aside. He also finds companionship (with Christ), something he felt alienated from before because of Christ’s association with the church, and in turn, the church being associated with the white people in the story, therefore Christ would only be accessible to the whites. He learns that Christ was not happy spending two thousand years on the cross…a glimpse that the religion and acceptance into the whites’ formalized Christianity was not as coveted a position as he may have once thought. Christ and Sargeant part ways near the end of the story. When asked where he is going, Christ replies “God knows…”, implying that he is not fully in charge of himself, whereas Sargeant is. However, this only serves to get him into trouble.
All of these incidences and several other uses of symbolism reveal, in my opinion, several metaphorical journey’s of Sargeant. Mainly, I think that Sargeant discovers himself and realizes that he has personal worth despite the color of his skin and the treatment he receives from others. Also, I think that he goes on a spiritual journey and begins to wonder about a relationship with God.
His journey of awareness is clearly represented by the snow. At first he is not aware of it at all. He is just walking along, trying to take care of his needs and wanting the basic things that all humans want … food and shelter. After he starts to be rejected he begins to notice not only the snow (symbolizing the oppression from the whites. It is crushing down on him and surrounding him just like their oppression is. It is blinding him and discouraging him just as the whites are doing by blocking his way to the things that he needs) but also he agonizes more and more over feeling tired, cold, and hungry. When Sargeant reaches the church he comments that he “…..felt lost, felt not lost…” hinting that he may have already begun to entertain the notion of a relationship with God (1). Something about the church was almost comforting to him.
Some passages seem to represent the blacks’ struggle for civil rights. For instance, the breaking down of “barriers” or doors: “Suddenly, with an undue cracking and screaking, the door began to give way to the tall black Negro who pushed ferociously against it” (2). And, to the resistance that the whites demonstrated when presented with the idea that blacks should share the same rights as them: “The cops pulled. Sargeant pulled. Most of the people in the street got behind the cops and helped them pull. ‘A big black unemployed Negro holding on to our church!’ thought the people. ‘The idea!’” (2).
As Sargeant is turned away from the Reverends door and denied entry into the church he begins to realize that although he is black he still has the same needs that white people do. He decides to do whatever he can to fight for those rights, an idea that he is still sticking to at the end of the story when he threatens to break down the jail cell door (5). He is introduced to the idea that Christ may not only be for whites, when during his dream Christ appears at his side and begins walking with him (2). He realizes that Christ’s way is determined by God, but that he is free to go where he pleases, a choice that leads him to the hobo jungle. And what does he get for this choice? He ends up waking up in the jail cell, his hands being beaten by the cop. He stands firm in his resolution to fight for his rights but he begins to wonder about where Christ has gone (5). Is he still there at his side? Or has he gone on to Kansas City to walk with someone else? Maybe a white man….

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Comments from your instructor:

Just what I was looking for!

~Lee Hobbs

Sargeant, the protagonist in On the Road, describes his journey through life as he tries to find a place to sleep on a cold night. This poor black man was living in a time where the Catholic Church did not support minorities. He spent the entire story being constantly reminded of his skin color, as he fights for his rights as a human being.
Sargeant’s journey can be seen as a fight to overcome racial barriers. The closed doors in this story represent the limitations he faces as a black man. The reverend closes the first door because he sees that the man is black, he refuses to help. The church doors are locked because he is not welcomed into an environment only for the white folk. The train was closed off, and when he tried to enter, he was beaten for it because African Americans were not allowed on the train. All of the characters in the story, even Christians, show that Sargeant is not accepted due to the color of his skin. They treat him inhumanly by leaving him in the cold, beating him, and putting him in prison. His journey to break down these doors symbolizes that he is attempting to put a stop to racism and discrimination.
Even though the church is suppose to reach out to the poor and vulnerable, it isolates those individuals and leaves them out in the cold. Hidden throughout the story is the journey of the church, and how the church’s values have changed. The reverend in the story closes the door in Sergeants face rather than being Christ-like and helping someone in need. The church in the story is known as a white man’s church, and he is therefore not allowed to enter. Sergeant tries to open the closed church doors anyway, and he is soon greeted by policeman. Sergeant wants so badly to be warm, to be accepted, and to witness change that he grabs onto the stone pillars of the church and holds on. He does not let go, even when he is pulled away by the police. He eventually pulls the pillars off the church and the church falls down. When Jesus Christ is actually pulled off his cross, it symbolizes a change in the Catholic Church. More people should be Christ-like by helping others, rather than discriminating.
Sargeant undergoes a major journey in On the Road as he fights for his rights as an African American. His struggles to break down the racial barriers show how he has journeyed through this discriminating time. The church’s journey to break away from the traditional values and focus more on members being Christian-like is evident in the story.

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Comments from your instructor:

I know! Thanks.

~Lee Hobbs

In Langston Hughes’ “On the Road” there is a journey taking place. Of course, traditionally, a journey is thought of as a trip with a purpose. It is the physical act of moving from one place to another. However, there are also journey’s of the mind, spirit and self which may not be seen by anyone but you. You might not even know you are on a “journey” until many years later.
The character, Sargeant, takes a few different journeys in this story. I believe that he took a spiritual journey. In the story, Sargeant walked with Christ. Many times when people say they walk with Jesus, they are referring to their way of life, which is lived to please the Lord. In Sargeant’s case I feel that he walks with Christ as he would walk with a friend. He seems to be unmoved that the Lord is actually walking by his side. Maybe this is a reference to his feelings about God, maybe he believes that he is always there as a friend and companion. Or, maybe Sargeant is unaware of the magnitude of the situation. In the end of the story, though, he wonders what happened to Christ. Maybe he misses him? Maybe he had a spiritual awakening.
Sargeant is also on a journey to end racism, whether he is aware of it or not. In the first instance he is unaware of the whiteness of the snow. In the first sentence it says that he took no notice of the snow. The snow could be a dual reference. One, to actual snow and two, to the white people in the town. He just wanted to find somewhere warm to stay. Additionally, Sargeant sees white steps and white pillars at the church but seems to take no note of them. Is he looking past race and color?
Secondly, when the police come, Hughes states that Sargeant had no intention of being pushed or pulled away and made reference to this happening to Sargeant in earlier times. Maybe the story should be titled “On the Road Again”. Then the “white” pillars come down. Even if this did not change people’s minds, maybe it means that Sargeant’s journey to end racism has broken through the slightest bit. Maybe a member of the town took in what was happing and realized it was wrong. I think that Sargeant’s journey literally and metaphorically broke barriers.

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Comments from your instructor:

Great thoughts here!

~Lee Hobbs

Chris King.

Journey is defined as traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time; a distance, course, or area traveled or suitable for traveling; a period of travel, passage or progress from one stage to another. Journey can also be described as a non literal course through life or an event that gives different experiences rather than travel.

Sargeant’s journey through out the story can hold a few different meanings depending how you look at it. One way I took his journey was that he physically/literally traveled. Sargeant visited different locations in hope of finding shelter from the snow. He was turned down in his venture and actually ended up in jail; a place of warmth and safety, although surely far from what he had hoped to receive.

Another journey I saw was in the path of Christ. For some reason, Sargeant’s “dream” that he had lead him to be with Christ; whether Christ was real or not. Sargeant walked and talked with Christ about a few different things. He was confiding in Christ about his issues; how he could not find shelter or anyone to help him get warm and be out of the cold snow. Sargeant felt safe enough with Christ to confide his thoughts and emotions about the troubles he was experiencing.

The last journey I found was the correlation between black and white. Sargeant described the “white” snow on his “black” skin. This proved to be a defined line between blacks and whites. He further proved this by the discrimination he experienced. Everyone he sought out to for help turned him down. Finally Sargeant received shelter and a warm place to sleep, but only because his journey lead him to a so-called helpful place which actually wasn’t so helpful. This turned out for the worst in Sargeants case where he actually was placed in jail by white folks for trying to find shelter.

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Comments from your instructor:

Yes! So true on several counts.

~Lee Hobbs

“A Snowy Journey”

In the short story called “On the Road” by Langston Hughes, the main character was a fellow named Sergeant. Sergeant was a tall black man that didn’t see color or snow. The story starts with Sergeant getting off of a train and walking down the street where he arrives at a Reverend’s house that will not let him in and tells him to go into town to the homeless shelter. Sergeant then turns around and notices a church that is locked, so he tries to open it for some time. Eventually after a couple white people gathered behind him, he finally gets the door open, but as soon as he does, the cops are behind him. Sergeant grabs onto a pillar and won’t let go, even with two policemen and a couple townspeople trying to pry him away from it. The church finally gives way and comes down in a heap. Sergeant then arises and can see the snow, so he starts to walk down the street and eventually notices that Jesus is walking next to him. They converse for a couple of blocks, then part ways at the train tracks, Sergeant to the boxes and tin on the side of the train track to sleep in, and Jesus to Kansas City. Sergeant arises the next day and immediately tries to jump onto a train going by. He grabs a hold of the side of the freight car and tries to pull himself in, but when he tries to pull himself in, he is greeted by a car full of policemen that are beating his hands. Sergeant pleads for the police to let him in the car, but Sergeant isn’t in a freight car, he’s in jail.

Throughout the story, Sergeant, the main character, struggles with the burden of his color. This is a metaphor that is actualized with the appearance of Jesus walking next to him in the snow. Prior to seeing Jesus, he is 'blinded' by his hunger, tiredness, and struggle to survive. It is not until he sees Jesus that he is able to look past his burden, and is able to see the beauty of life.

Sergeant and Jesus are similar in this story because they both share the burdens that society places on them. In the case of Jesus, society ostracizes him due to his beliefs and ideals that he attempts to spread amongst the people. Sergeant is outcast by society due to his color. We see similarities amongst these two because each have the burden of society. This can be seen following Sergeants destruction of the church. He like Jesus carries the cross through the streets as a burden upon himself, much like Sergeant carries the boulders on his shoulders after demolishing the church.

The metaphor within this story is the journey that Sergeant takes to "open his eyes" to the world. Prior to walking with Jesus, Sergeant is 'blinded' by the cold shoulder of society due to his race. It is not until he walks with JC that his eyes are opened and he is able to see the beauty of life. This story represents the journey that Sergeant must take in order to appreciate life. He is burdened throughout the story, but once his eyes are opened his able to see the big picture and appreciate life.

Thomas A.

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Comments from your instructor:

Nicely put!

~Lee Hobbs

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