Compare the theme of Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich and "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes.

Love Medicine is a novel written by North
American Indian writer Louise Erdrich while "Theme for English B" is a poem written by African
American poet Langston Hughes. Love Medicine tells the story of broken lives
and loves starting from the death in 1981 of the pivotal character, June Kashpaw. Erdrich then
flashes back to the remotest beginning of June's story when in 1934 the aunt who raised her,
Marie Lazarre Kashpaw, joins a convent at age fourteen. "Theme for English B" is the result of an
assignment given to Hughes while in a college class for which a "true" page is requested by his
non-African American professor. In the assignment, and in the poem the assignment turned into,
Hughes contemplates the possibility and meaning of a true expression of
self.

The pieces of literature share some themes in common. One of
these is the theme of the individual against society. In Erdrich's work, this is demonstrated by
the characters desire and effort to keep their Chippewa Indian traditions alive while living in
contemporary America. In Hughes' poem, this is shown by his contemplation of being "the only
colored student in my class" and of the fact that he is the only one in his class that takes the
steps from the hill upon which his college sits down into Harlem instead of down into New York
City--in the other direction.

Another common theme is that of
culture clash. This clash is shown in the novel in one instance when Gerry hits a white man in a
bar one night and is sent to prison. This clash is shown in the poem when Hughes contemplates
that just as his white instructor doesn't want to be "part of" Hughes, Hughes does not want to be
"part of" his instructor, "But we are, that's true!" This also ties in with the shared theme of
race and racism. Erdrich writes that Gerry's prison sentence was "not bad for an Indian,"
pointing out the consciousness of and conflict between races, which results from and equally
leads to racism. Hughes expresses the theme of race and racism when he writes about his
instructor that "you're older--and white-- / and somewhat more free." He also wonders if his page
will be "colored" ("So will my page be colored that I write?") while concluding that "it will not
be white."

A related theme is that of identity. In the novel, Lipsha
represents this theme as he grows up not knowing who his parents are and only feels a sense if
identity when he meets his father Gerry and helps him escape. In the poem, the theme is
represented by Hughes' contemplative musings about his own
identity:

It's not
easy to know what is true for you or me
at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm
what
I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you:
hear you, hear me--we
two--you, me, talk on this page.
(I hear New York, too.) Me--who?
Well, I
like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand
life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or records--Bessie, bop, or
Bach.
I guess being colored doesn't make me not like
the same things other
folks like who are other races.