also suffocates the soul of the young girl.Nature bears witness to the evils of man, the sufferings of love, theloss of a loved one to a brutal and inhumane death. Nature serves not as a symbol of the burden of the freedom of the soul, but as a symbol for the captivity and death of the soul. Here nature is the picture of desolation, evil, and raw human pain. In Langston Hughes' poetry, a Negro speaks of his connection to rivers, deep in the earth, of the softness of the sun, and yet he also speaks of the gnarled tree from which hangs the body of a bruised, dead Negro. The imagery in these two works appear to represent quite different human experiences, but a closer examination reveals that he represents the basic human struggle that plagues the characters/speakers in these works. In these works, the images of nature serves as a symbol of the freedom of the soul, yet simultaneously serving as a symbol for the burden of achieving that freedom, and the anguish of the struggle. Hughes usenature in their works in the form of sweeping imagery, poignant metaphors, and precise, powerful symbolism. The use of nature for this purpose draws their characters/speakers to life and adds great depth to their works. Nature not only represents humankind's greatest bliss, but also symbolizes our greatest enemy . . . the earth on which we live....
