Student Question
In Langston Hughes's "Ballad of the Landlord," how much does the tenant propose to pay the landlord?
Ten Bucks you say I owe you?
Ten Bucks you say is due?
Well, that's Ten Bucks more'n I'l pay you
Till you fix this house up new.
Quick answer:
In "Ballad of the Landlord," the tenant refuses to pay the landlord ten dollars until the landlord makes necessary repairs to the dilapidated house. The tenant states, "Well, that's Ten Bucks more'n I'll pay you / Till you fix this house up new," indicating his unwillingness to pay rent for substandard living conditions and his preference to face eviction over paying for inadequate housing.
The speaker isn't going to pay the landlord one cent until repairs are made to his dilapidated house. When he says, "Ten Bucks you say I owe you?/ Ten Bucks you say is due?" he means that his rent is ten dollars. But he's not going to pay it: "Well, that's Ten Buck more'n I'll pay you/ Till you fix this house up new." He'd rather face eviction than pay to live in a rat hole.
See the eNotes study guide (linked below) for a full analysis of the poem. As for your second question, that should be asked on the discussion board because you are asking for an opinion. Personally, I don't see any reason not to teach the poem in an ESL class unless the teacher was using it to make a statement about a certain group of people.
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