Aunt Sue's Stories Essay Questions

What is the role of the child in “Aunt Sue’s Stories”?

The child listens to and is comforted by Aunt Sue. The child becomes “dark-faced” because of the change of setting from a porch at dusk to the darkness of night. The inclusion of a listening child throughout the poem illustrates how Aunt Sue’s stories hold the listener’s attention throughout time. This child is also a proxy for the reader themself. The child guides the reader through Aunt Sue’s vivid storytelling and leads the reader to the conclusion that her stories are not fictitious, but life experiences.

How does Hughes’s use of free-verse form, repetition, and alliteration inform the meaning of the poem?

The free-verse format that Hughes uses allows the poem to take on a lyrical or conversational tone. The words could be put to improvisational jazz music in the likes of the Harlem Renaissance era. This format aligns with how stories were told orally during the time of slavery and the years that followed. These stories would not follow a rhyme scheme or meter, but instead an improvisational rhythm. In this way, Hughes participates in the oral storytelling tradition as well by simply using free verse. The alliteration and repetition also contribute to the poem’s resemblance to a song. “Black slaves” is repeated as a type of refrain or chorus, but also to emphasize the tragic context in which the heritage of African American culture was passed down.

What is the significance of the dark-faced child realizing that Aunt Sue’s stories come from her own life?

When the dark-faced child realizes that Aunt Sue’s stories come from her own life, the child is then able to regard them as artifacts to be passed down to future generations. The child knowing that Aunt Sue’s stories are real informs the reader that Aunt Sue’s stories are not fairy tales or myths, but tales of enslavement, endurance, and family history.