Super Short Summary

The Big Sea by Langston Hughes is an autobiographical account that traces Hughes' early childhood in poverty, adolescence, and initial years striving to succeed as a writer and artist in New York and Paris, navigating systemic racial injustice, his father's emotional abuse, and the psychological burden that came with it. The memoir captures his challenges, including laboring in nightclubs, his deepening connection to jazz, and his experiences within the Harlem Renaissance, culminating in his receipt of the Harmon Award in 1931. Topics within the book include parental abandonment, systemic racial injustice, and childhood abuse.