Dream Deferred By Langston Hughes

The only major shift that occurs in Dreams Deferred, happens on the last line of the poem. Hughes compares dreams to other things using similes. These similes are not instantaneous, they happen and worsen over time. i.e(Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?/Or fester like a sore). But on the last line, he compares dreams deferring to something that doesn’t need time. An

In Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” he discusses the idea of unfulfilled dreams and their plausible outcomes using symbolism and imagery. He initially describes a “deferred” dream as a sun-dried raisin, depicting the dream originally as a fresh grape that now has dried up and “turned black” (Jemie 63). This idea provides Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun with its basic foundation, for it is a play about a house full of unfulfilled dreams. As the poem goes on, Hughes depicts the idea of a deferred dream as something rotten or gone bad. According to Onwuchekwa Jemie, this may be an allusion to the American Dream and its empty promises (Jemie 64).

The short but inspirational poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes addresses what happens to aspirations that are postponed or lost. The brief, mind provoking questions posed throughout the poem allow the readers to reflect--on the effects of delaying our dreams. In addition, the questions give indications about Hughes' views on deferred dreams.

Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck and Harlem, written by Langston Hughes, are stories that will forever be remembered in society and in the history of the United States, since both represent the American dream. Rather to Harlem, he simply asks for a series of disturbing questions, but what hurts most is "what happens to a deferred dream?" This shows a basis of unresolved conflict that is declarative, since it knows what will always happen at the end and will never change. The "deferred dream" is a long postponement because African Americans lose their dreams of expression, equal rights, dignity, opportunity and success. This poem focuses on the non-definition of what a dream is or should be, but when it hurts when it is removed.

“Harlem [Dream Deferred]” by Langston Hughes may seem like an insignificant poem at first glance. It contains only 11 lines and the diction is simple enough, but it is much more profound upon further exploration and understanding. Hughes applies the theme of frustration and use of metaphor, simile, and imagery to express the important issues of this time. The community of Harlem was primarily black, and this poem articulates the struggle of these people during the Civil Rights Movement. People of this time were left with injustice and their dreams were very much deferred.

In our journey through life, we all have certain expectations of how we would like our lives to be. All of us strive to reach a certain level of self-actulization and acceptance. It could thus be said that all of us live a dream. Some of these individual dreams inevitably become the collective dream of many people. In "Harlem (A Dream Deferred)", Langston Hughes makes use of symbolism as well as powerful sensory imagery to show us the emotions that he and his people go through in their quest for freedom and equality. By using questions he builds the poem towards an exciting climax.

Langston Hughes, the author of the “Dream Deferred,” had a difficult childhood because of family issues they had. His parents divorced when he was born; his father move to Mexico, Langston and his mom had to move in this Langston’s grandma (The Life and Work of Langston Hughes). Growing up with only one parent is very hard and makes for several changes. One of those challenges was having hope for the future because the times were not favorable to black.

In the poem “Harlem” Langston Hues asks the question: “What happens to a dream deferred?” Hughes wonders if a dream deferred shrivels up like a raisin or if it festers like a sore. In other words Hughes speculates about what happens to dreams that haven’t come true after years and years of one searching unsuccessfully for their dreams. At first Hughes wonders about whether the feeling of failure of one’s dreams are similar to a constant nagging feeling of disappointment and inferiority. However I find the last line to be the most important part of the poem.

Langston Hughes’s “Harlem” questions what would happen if one doesn’t fulfill one’s dreams. Hughes is an African American who wrote this poem in 1951. During this time, the African Americans didn’t have many rights so “Harlem” could have been written to show the experiences and thoughts that the African Americans had at the time. Hughes uses similes to appeal to the senses of taste, smell, and touch which creates a vivid image of what deferred dreams would “look” or be like.

In the poems titled “What Happens to Deferred Dreams,” and “Dreams,” Langston Hughes uses several literary devices to inspire, encourage, and evoke thoughts of hope to black Americans. Hughes sensory and visual imagery, figurative language, and similes to emphasize the importance of dreaming and what would life be if no one had dreams. Dreaming is different for everyone and its up to the dreamer to interpret the meaning. Hughes uses similes’ to make the reader pause and ponder the meaning or significance of dreams. Dreaming is significant to some and others disregard them all together. Dreams are important to Hughes because dreams have no boundaries or limits of possibilities, which is closely related to how freedom and equality means. The theme in poems is similar ideas, however the details separate their meaning.

The poem I’m using is “Dreams Deferred” by Langston Hughes. I chose this poem because both it and the book use the theme of dreams not being a reality. Lennie wants to tend his rabbits, and unlikely dream given he’ll probably kill all the rabbits he gets. George wants to get married, settle down and have a family, but he is in his forties, not likely to get married and have kids, and the time period makes it almost impossible for George, a migrant worker, to buy a ranch. Hughes ponders what happens to a dream that has been put off, and so does Lennie. Lennie always asks George to repeat the dream over and over again so it isn’t left behind and forgotten. Some of the men has also abandoned their dreams, like Curly’s wife, she wanted to become

In the poem “Harlem,” by Langston Hughes, he uses a simile “Does it dry up - like a raisin in the sun?" (Line 2-3) Using this simile, he is expressing that dreaming can be good or bad. A raisin is a grape that has been dried out by the sun. Hughes is making known that dreams can suck the life out of a person, mentally drying them out. However, a raisin is not automatically bad. When the grape is dried out by the sun it turns the grape into a raisin, a sweet and delightful fruit which can furnish life when eaten. A dream can be just like a raisin. A person may feed off the idea of the dream in order to strive and strive to achieve the dream.

For example the speaker says, “Does it dry up/ like a raisin in the sun?/ or fester like a sore--/ and then run?” This quote suggests that much like raisins , dreams shrivel up when left alone. Additionally, this quote shows that an ignored dream is physically painful. Much like sores, they can become contaminated if medicine is not applied. The image of a shriveling raisin left in the sun evokes the image of a flower that has not been watered in days. The image of the raisin reinforces the idea that dreams decay and no preservatives will prevent the natural process of time. Furthermore, the speaker asks, “Does it stink like rotten meat?/ Or crust and sugar over-- like a sugary sweet?” This line is indirectly saying that when dreams are ignored, they will eventually disappear. But the scent (thought) of it never will. On the other hand, the second line supports the conclusion that dreams are only useful when they are brand new; ] once pushed off to the side, they lose their

Langston Hughes’ poem “A Dream Deferred” discusses the reactions to the oppression, or having a “dream deferred,” that African Americans feel. The last line sums up the reaction to the struggles of the Harlem Renaissance and ominously alludes to those struggles through the use of the word “explode.” “Explode” is vague yet encompasses so many reactions as a whole. African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance exploded by pushing back against the societal norms: they wrote to address difficult questions about African American identity to begin to define for themselves who they were as a people, as well as made art and music to demonstrate their identity and to purge their emotions. Also, the line is in italics to draw more attention to the

The poem “Dream Deferred”, which was originally called “Harlem”, approaches black life in America. It mentions that in the 1950’s people in Harlem, New York, had to discard their dreams because of prejudice and restrictions they had. The writer is talking to those people, which is an allusion. His purpose is to suggest, communicate that dreams stay with you every time and it is not something we forget. This is shown throughout the whole poem, where the speaker questions what happens to the dreams when they are left aside or postponed.