Every time a policeman's club hits the head of a colored man, it makes the sound bop. Written in1949, Bop reflects the true essence of inequality and the social hierarchy created by color. In Langston Hughes short essay, he utilizes symbolism and onomatopoeia to show the separation between colored and whites and also to describe the mistreatment of African Americans. By using such devices, Hughes is able to augment the distorted view of segregation.
From the very beginning, Hughes shows the division between "white boys" and "colored boys" by the interpretation of music. Hughes shows the contrast between the ability to understand the meaning of Dizzy Gillespie's record playing Bop. Hughes then elaborates that the interpretation of the record is much greater than the difference "between Re and Be" when singing the lyrics, for "Be-Bop is the real thing like the colored boys play" (190). The record is a symbol of the inequality at the time. As the record is able to be sung and interpreted different ways, the different lyrics of Bop reflects the treatment of different races. Hughes explains that "folks who ain't suffered much cannot play Bop, neither appreciate it. They think Bop is nonsense" (191), meaning that a true understanding of the evils of segregation cannot be understood unless experienced. This goes hand-in-hand with the idea the record being sung different ways. The "white folks" who find "it so hard to imitate" are unable to do so for they do not comprehend the depressing history of the song (191). The record, Bop, acts as a symbol throughout the short essay to reflect the segregation and inequality at the time.
Hughes also utilizes onomatopoeia to illustrate the mistreatment of African Americans. By using words such as "Mop! Mop...Be-Bop!....Mop!" (191), Hughes is able to achieve his purpose through pathos. The sounds in the short essay are meant to imitate the sound a club would make when beating someone on the head. Hughes explicitly states that "from the police beating Negroes' heads...that old club says, 'Bop!" (191), showing that the title of the record and the meaning of the lyrics derives from hatred and racism. The onomatopoeia word, Bop, is repeated about 25 times throughout the three-page essay. Hughes stress on onomatopoeia illustrates the repeated actions of violence and inequality.
By utilizing symbolism and onomatopoeia, Langston Hughes is able to show the segregation and inequality between whites and African Americans. The record, Bop, not only holds a depressing history of racism, but also is a story many African Americans are able to reflect to, as seen when Hughes writes that "them young colored kids who started it, they know what Bop is" (192). Through Hughes's writing, he is able to show racism and inequality while illustrating the fighting spirit of Civil Rights Activists in the fight for equality regardless of color.
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