Ballad of the Landlord

 "Ballad of the landlord" is a short poem or  written by Langston Hughes(1902-1967).This poem is basically a song explaining a story. This poem represents the domination, suppression and exploitation of black people by white. The poem advocates that the racial discriminations and other inequalities between black and white must be removed.

In this poem the landlord belongs to the white community whereas the tenant is black. There is a leak on the roof of the negro tenant and the steps have broken down. The landlord has already been told about it but the landlord doesn't even bother to repair it. To repair the house the landlord asks for plus ten bucks that he owes. Even after getting more than that he will not repair it instead he will get eviction orders and throw him out. The tenant claims that there is no justice and the landlord can't throw his belongings. If the tenant beats him, the tenant will be arrested and imprisoned. In the papers there will be big news with black headings," Man threatens landlord, Tenant held no Bail, The Judge gives Negro 90 days in country jail.'

To sum up, this poem tells the foolishness and the insensitivity of the landlord. The landlord of the poem is the representative of white race and the tenant represent the black community. After reading this poem I figured that people are very conservative. The caste system has degraded our society and caused a lot of inequalities.