Question

What effect does Hughes achieve by repeating the phrase "does it" in "Harlem"?

A: Short words and hard consonants create a sense of angry uncertainty.
B: Short words and questions demonstrate Hughes's confidence.
C:The repetition creates a sense of peace and serenity for the reader.
D:The repetition highlights Hughes’s feelings of self-respect.

Answer 1

The correct answer is option A: Short words and hard consonants create a sense of angry uncertainty.

In this poem, Hughes expressed "Harlem" in 1951, and it is one of his most basic topics - the impediments of the American Dream for African Americans.

Harlem, also called A Dream Deferred, is a 11-line poem written by Langston Hughes, published in 1951 as part of his Montage of a Dream Deferred, an extended poem cycle about life in Harlem.

Answer 2

A. Short words and hard consonants create a sense of angry uncertainty.
The repetition of the phrase causes the reader to consider the rhetorical question in the context of the text.