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Childhood Dreams In As I Grew Older By Langston Hughes

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Dreams, whether completely bizarre ones that leave you awakened in the early morning hours and utterly confused, or wistful daydreams that drift into your head during a particularly uneventful math class, or simply a scene you envision yourself starring in ten years down the line, are all affected more or less by goals you have for yourself or your path in life. However, humans are seasons, shedding their dreams with the appearance of any “wall,” just as trees cast off their leaves. As one ages, and obstacles begin to clutter the eagerness and determination of a young mind, one is likely to give up on or alter their aspirations rather than face the walls that close them off from achieving their dreams. Langston Hughes’s poem, “As I Grew Older,” illustrates just that-- the struggle that the he has had while attempting to achieve his childhood dreams due to obstacles that clutter his path to success. As a child, everything seems possible, and, as one ages, they often look back to that period as a “golden age,” wistfully recalling the endless capabilities available to them. Hughes is just one of many who look back to their childhood days, reminiscing about the times when their dreams were just another item on their checklist and anything was possible. Langston Hughes illustrates the prospects of his young self’s dream as being “bright like a sun” (Line 5). He uses figurative language in the form of a simile to highlight the attainability that his childhood wish used to

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