Langston Hughes Early Autumn

492 Words2 Pages
The concept of time and the passing of it is a major topic in Langston Hughes’ short story “Early Autumn”. The setting of the story contributes to the topic of the inevitable passing of time in terms of the geographic location, the duration of the events, and the time of year in which it takes place. First, the geographic location of the story contributes to the topic of the inevitable passing of time. In this story, the two characters Bill and Mary meet “walking across Washington Square” (Hughes 1), a park in New York City that is confirmed by references to “Columbia [University]” (1), “Central Park West” (1), and “Fifth Avenue” (2). New York’s reputation for being a busy metropolis where hardly anyone stops to converse and where most people are in a…show more content…
Time is inevitably going to pass by, and for these two characters, it proves that time ultimately brings upon change and distance. Second, the duration of the events in the story contributes to the topic of the inevitable passing of time. This story starts in the “late afternoon. Nearly sunset” (1), but nearing the end it is inferred that the sun has set as “the lights came on up the whole length of Fifth Avenue” (2). This proves that the conversation between Bill and Mary was sparse and merely lasted a few minutes as it is known that the time frame between sunset and darkness is short. This proves that Bill and Mary’s reunion is not immune to the passage of time, and neither is life itself; much like the sun setting, their encounter was cherished and then nowhere to be seen. Third, the time of year in which this story takes place contributes to the topic of the inevitable passing of time. It is made clear that the story takes place in autumn, most notably when “The leaves fell slowly from the trees in the Square. Fell without wind. Autumn dusk”
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