Sojourner Truth a former slave had a heavy drawl and spoke in slang that some individuals had trouble understanding. While this was true, the language he used in the speech helped people in the audience who came from the same background to connect with what he was saying. Truth also talked about how she “gave birth to thirteen children” to connect with the many mothers in the crowd. Langston Hughes is trying to connect with his professor. Hughes is asking his professor to open his eyes because even as he teaches, the professor can learn from Langston Hughes' struggle, such as how Hughes is treated in class or how the professor can see beyond the color of the person writing the paper. He was trying to connect with his professor to say that just because my skin color is different doesn't mean he isn't different from you and that they are closer than they could be