Berry

Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was known as "the Laureate of Black America."  “Berry” is a short story written by Langston Hughes and the boy, Milberry Jones, was referred to a young Langston Hughes. In “Berry” at the Summer Home for Crippled Children Berry was hired after the kitchen boy left that morning. Berry was different from the other workers though, he was black. During this time period in which the story “Berry” took place, coloured people were not well accepted. He was always yelled at and talked about and because of his colour he even got paid less and was expected to anything asked of him even if it was not his job. The theme of oppression is expressed repetitively throughout this story. White workers and superiors kept expecting Milberry to do more and more. Milberry’s response to these requests was a quiet acceptance without bitterness because he was happy and thankful enough to have this job and food. In the story Milberry found happiness in helping the crippled children at play during his brief rest period. At first the nurses were hesitant whether they should allow it or not. At the end of the story the nurses had changed their mind frame about Berry and would come looking for and demanding his immediate help. In his typical nature in responding to and accepting their demand he unknowingly caused his own demise. While Berry was helping a boy in a wheelchair down the stairs, due to know fault of Berry’s own doing, the boy fell out of the chair onto the grass and the wheelchair onto the walk. In the fall the boy was not hurt but the wheelchairs back was snapped off. In this scene Langston Hughes uses the wheelchair as a symbol of Milberry’s undoing. The wheelchair’s falling represents Berry’s falling from the grace of the white people’s acceptance. The snapped back of the wheelchair foreshadows Berry’s immediate termination of employment. Even though it was the white nurses responsibility and job they quickly and gladly placed all the blame for the accident upon Berry. This truly exemplifies the use of oppression of white people over blacks.