"Oh, mother," Arachne would answer. Then she would go on weaving. She thought that her work was far more
important than sleep. In the morning, she always puffed
up with pride when she saw what she had made in the
dark.
The cloths she wove were very beautiful. In fact, they
were the best in all the land, and news of them traveled
fast. So, it was not long before folks showed up at
Arachne's door just to watch her work.

The harlem renaissance dawned in an era of pervasive racism and segregation. although legally "free," many african americans were still bound by ideas that had their roots in the slavery of earlier centuries. identity and freedom are important ideas presented in many of the poems from the harlem renaissance. furthermore, the values of identity and freedom are not unique to particular times and places. as hughes expresses in "dream variations," all humans want to be able to develop their identities in freedom. what role does freedom play in the poems you read in this unit? what is required of a society to enable each individual to be true to his or her identity and be free to live by that identity? write about at least three of the poems, describing how the poet uses imagery to depict freedom and identity, the lack of it, or the desire for it.