On the Road by Langston Hughes
"On the Road" by Langston Hughes is a poignant narrative that follows Sargeant, an African American vagrant, as he navigates the harsh realities of life during the Great Depression. Set against the backdrop of late 1934 in Reno, Nevada, the story opens with Sargeant desperately seeking food and shelter amid a bitter snowstorm. His initial encounter with the Reverend Mr. Dorset at a parsonage highlights the social barriers he faces, as he is turned away despite his desperate state. This rejection leads him to the church next door, where his longing for refuge is met with violence as he is confronted by police while trying to find solace.
The narrative explores themes of isolation, hunger, and systemic inequality, embodied in Sargeant's interactions with the institutions meant to provide help. His spiritual journey takes a surreal turn when he envisions a conversation with Christ, who walks beside him after the church collapses. This encounter symbolizes Sargeant's search for dignity and redemption in a world that frequently dehumanizes him. Ultimately, the story concludes with Sargeant in jail, reflecting on his experiences and questioning his situation, leaving readers to contemplate the broader implications of society's treatment of marginalized individuals. Hughes' work serves as a powerful commentary on the struggles of the downtrodden during a tumultuous period in American history.
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On the Road by Langston Hughes
First published: 1935
Type of plot: Satire
Time of work: 1934
Locale: Reno, Nevada
Principal Characters:
Sargeant , an African American vagrantMr. Dorset , a white ministerTwo white police officers Christ
The Story
Sargeant, an African American vagrant, seeking food and shelter, arrives in Reno, Nevada, in late 1934 in the midst of a dangerous snowstorm. It is bitterly cold but his overwhelming concern is to find food. To him, the snow falls almost undetected; he is too hungry, sleepy, and tired to notice the storm. The first potential refuge that Sargeant encounters is a parsonage. Its occupant, the Reverend Mr. Dorset, opens the parsonage door and sees Sargeant as "a human piece of night with snow on his face" standing on his porch. Before Sargeant can open his mouth, Dorset directs him to the local relief shelter, emphatically stating that he cannot stay at the parsonage.
The parsonage door shuts in Sargeant's face before he can say that he has already been to the relief shelter and that it is not open to his kind. Sargeant recalls his vast experience with similar relief shelters, which are usually out of beds, out of food, and out of bounds for him.
As Sargeant stands outside the forbidden parsonage, he connects it to the large church next door—one with two large doors. Dazed by hunger and cold, he stands before the church steps observing its high, arched doors, with pillars on each side, balanced higher up by a window displaying a crucifix with a stone Christ hanging from it. As he gazes at the crucifix, Sargeant notices the snow again and feels the cold and hunger more than before. He climbs the church steps and knocks at the doors, but no one comes. He then pushes with all of his strength against the doors, which begin to give, but not before calling attention to his actions. Several white people are alarmed by his actions, but he explains that he simply needs a place to sleep.
Just as the doors give way, two white police officers pull up to the church and attempt to stop Sargeant. As he resists, he grabs an armhold on one of the church pillars. The police beat him over the head and the church falls down.
Sargeant dreams: The whole church falls down in the snow, bystanders, police, and all. He picks up a stone pillar and throws it six blocks up the street and continues walking, the crunch of his shoes loud on the snow. Sargeant discovers that Christ is walking beside him. He is startled but realizes that this is the first time he has ever seen Christ off the cross, apparently a consequence of the church's falling down. They both laugh.
The conversation between Christ and Sargeant continues as they walk toward a hobo jungle, an apparently safe place for Sargeant, but Christ has other plans. He is going on to Kansas City. Sargeant enters the hobo jungle, sleeps, and at 6:00 a.m. hears a train, wakes up, and pulls himself aboard a slow-moving coal car. He climbs into the coal car but discovers it is full of police.
Sargeant wakes up and discovers that he is tightly gripping bars in a jail cell. One of the police officers tells Sargeant, "You ain't in no jungle now, this ain't no train. You in jail." Sargeant has been incarcerated since the incident in front of the church and has been unconscious the entire time. He sits on a wooden bench in the cell, nursing his swollen fingers and various bruises from the beating he has received from the police. As Sargeant vows to break down the cell door, he wonders if Christ is really on his way to Kansas City.
Bibliography
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