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A Comparison Of Dreams And Harlem By Langston Hughes

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Derissa Crawford Professor Kobeleva English 1102 6 March 2015 To Dream or Not To Dream Life in the early 20th century was quite the very different for African Americans in America compared to now. It was a time when African Americans did not have all the same opportunities. In the early 20th century Africans Americans could either believe in a dream or just accept life as it was. “Dreams” and “Harlem” by Langston Hughes are two poem’s that focus on dreams; however, the poems both take two different take towards dreams, the poem “Dreams” is conveying that life is hard without dreams, while “Harlem” is questioning what happens when a person’s dreams are postponed. While the poems “Dreams” and “Harlem” have the same main similarities, which …show more content…

In the poem “Harlem,” Hughes uses imagery in a different way, he uses it to question what happens when a person’s dreams are postponed. He asks questions to make readers wonder visually what really does happen when your dreams don’t happen when a person wants them to, in this poem Hughes uses metaphors instead of analogies but still very understandable to various …show more content…

In the poem “Dreams” Hughes uses a hopeful tone, one that is advising readers not to give up, and to have faith. Hughes uses a tone that is trying to get people to see that without dreams life would be sad and empty. He [Hughes] explains, “Life is a barren field Frozen with snow,” emphasizing that life would be lifeless. In the poem “Harlem” Hughes uses a more doubtful tone. Reader again can gather the doubtful tone from the way he uses the questions, in this poem Hughes makes it clear that he is questioning life, if a dream have been adjourned, by making every line in the poem a question except one. All in all poets, like Langston Hughes help to encourage people of all walks of life. The poems “Dreams” and “Harlem” have more than just the one similarity about the poems main message being about dreams, but they both are about inspiration, inspirations to all walks of life, both poem use imagery to allow readers to under. The contrast between the two poems uses different types of imagery, in “Dreams’ Hughes used analogies and in “Harlem” he used metaphors. In the two poems he also used different tones to convey his message. Work

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