Linsy Fusch

Dr. Matt Kelley

July 25, 2009

“There Ought To Be a Law”: Simply an Insurance Policy for Blacks According to Hughes

In Langston Hughes’s story “There Ought to Be a Law”, from The Best of Simple,

Simple makes the most outrageous argument in the book by stating need for Game Preserves for

Negros. Simple argues that blacks should be given a preserve so they can be protected. This

claim although outrageous is just as shocking as the laws of Jim Crow at the time. This idea of a

Game Preserve for Negros displays the effects Jim Crow had upon the African Americans it

restricted. Thinking of this magnitude could only be expected when a group of people are being

persecuted. It is a means for escape. Through this claim Hughes is able to express himself and

critique the lack of government involvement with aiding blacks in creating a refuge, along with

creating the idea of a hierarchy in which animals were placed above blacks.

Simple discusses the governments lack of interest in creating a shelter for blacks by

stating, “If the government can set aside some spot for an elk to be an elk without being

bothered…or a buffalo to be a buffalo without being shot down, there ought to be a place in this

American country where a Negro can be a Negro without being Jim Crowed” (Hughes 63).

Hughes is making the claim that as animals are given a place to be in peace the same should be

done for African Americans to be able to escape Jim Crow. During this particular time period Jim

Crow was all over the country and the frustration is seen from Hughes in this quote. It appears

that the abolishment of Jim Crow would be ideal for Hughes, so he would be able to break free

from the chains of Jim Crow. He is also critiquing the lack of expression given to blacks at this
particular time by stating a “buffalo to be a buffalo without being shot down” and “a Negro to be

a Negro without being Jim Crowed”. He was not fond of the laws that restricted him and this was

a direct critique of the lack of equal opportunity to be oneself through Jim Crow.

Simple further presses the issue of a needed safe haven by stating, “Congress ought to set

aside some place where we can go and no one can jump on us and beat us, neither lynch us nor

Jim Crow everyday” (Hughes 62). Hughes is critiquing the amount of violence that in sued from

Jim Crow towards blacks. Hughes is critiquing the hypocrisy that was Jim Crow. Jim Crow

claimed to be a peaceful way of separating blacks and whites but it was a war zone for the

middle portion of the 20th century. Hughes sees a Game Preserve as a means for peace for

himself and the black community. The Game Preserve is used by Hughes as a metaphor in order

to critique the injustice of Jim Crow. Simple asks the narrator, “If the Negros was taken out of

the South, who would they lynch? What would they do for sport” (Hughes 63). By Hughes

asking the narrator what southerners would do for sport if blacks were in a preserve he critiques

how whites thought of blacks as “game” to hunt; not only physically by means of beatings but

their spirits too were hunted. Jim Crow was a means for whites to “hunt” blacks and it wore

down upon the spirit of its people. Hughes wants a Game Preserve so he and his spirit can be free

to be themselves without the restriction of Jim Crow.

The most outrageous critique for black’s lack of protection, by Hughes comes when

Simple states, “Didn’t no one say, ‘Get up, deer, you can’t sleep here,’ like they would to me if I

was to go to the White Sulphur Springs Hotel.” Here Hughes is not only critiquing Jim Crow but

an establishment directly. From this quote the reader may know nothing else of the White

Sulphur Springs Hotel but knows that it is one that heavily enforces the laws of Jim Crow. This

effect of Jim Crow is able to be seen through Hughes enforcing the idea of freedom for animals
in comparison to blacks. Hughes appears to have gone mad when he states this. The story itself is

outrageous in its proposal and is the outrageousness continues to build throughout the story.

When Hughes attacks the hotel directly is serves as the climax in the story and is the point of

validation for all his arguments. This is where the fiction meets reality. He has managed to create

a story and concept that is completely fictional and then incorporates this hotel into the story

line. It is a way to remind readers of the reality Jim Crow, and the how the laws have affected

him.

Hughes also manages to critique the preservation of animals over the race of blacks. By

Simple stating, “There ought to be some place where it is nice and peaceful for me, too, even if I

am not a fish or a duck” (Hughes 63) he critiques the hierarchy created by the government. It is

seen that the government places all non blacks as the first priority for protection followed by

animals and then blacks. Hughes believed that people didn’t feel as though blacks were worthy

enough of equality and animals deserved more respect. This is indicated by their placement

above them on the hierarchy. The audacity of Hughes in this quote is remarkable. He is calling

out the US government in a way that many had not done at that time and were not allowed to.

The reader must place themselves in the time period of the novel to see the just how outrageous

this comment would have been. It is brilliant that he defied conformity and spoke his mind when

discouraged.

“There Ought to Be a Law” compared to the other stories does serve as not only the most

controversial story in the collection but sums up the collection of stories in one. This was also

part of Hughes purpose in writing this story. It captivated the need for equality with Jim Crow.

Although the stories in the novel do touch upon various issues regarding Jim Crow this is the one

that leaves the most impact and is seen as the most vital in the collection. Without it the
collection would not be as strong. This story is the most emotionally impacting. It shows the

desperation that Jim Crow caused especially in thought. For human beings to believe that their

only way to obtain refuge was through a preserve is terribly sad. This is exactly the emotion

Hughes wanted the reader to feel when working with the text. In reading the story the reader

feels the same desperation that was felt by Hughes and other African Americans. The collection

and “There Ought to Be a Law” are meant to evoke these emotions in a way that is exhausting, a

means to represent African American’s exhaustion with Jim Crow.

Hughes is accomplished in critiquing the environment Jim Crow created. He is also

effective in his methods of critique. Through the ludicrous idea of a Game Preserve a sane idea

of equality is born. He purpose entirely in writing is accomplished. He has critiqued the Jim

Crow whilst creating an effective solution in giving blacks a place of peace to live in. Hughes

writing in “There Ought to Be a Law” was completely outrageous but, it also was a brilliant way

to tackle the various issues that plagued his world and the world of so many other African

Americans.

Works Cited

Hughes Langston. “There Ought to Be a Law” The Best of Simple. 1961. New York: Hill and
Wang, 1992. 61-64.