Lagnston Hughes' Poem Dreams

ANALYSIS Langston Hughes is a poet who writes two poems “Dream `Deferred” and “Dreams” are similar and different in a way. “A Dream Deferred” it talks about what happen to dreams when they are put on hold. “Dreams” gives the idea that without dreams, life is nothing. This two poems are giving some deep meaning in similarity but the lesson teach in different.

Langston Hughes clearly connects with a wide range of audiences through the simplicity that surrounds his poetry. The beauty of this manner in which he wrote his poetry, is that it grasp people by illustrating his narratives of the common lifestyles experienced by the current American generation. His art form expresses certain questionable ideologies of life and exposes to the audience what it takes to fully comprehend what being an American truly means. Each individual poem describes and illustrates the strength and hardships the African American community was experiencing. Through his literature art form of poetry, Hughes was able to convey the common assertions of

"I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go." Some people think that you should just go through life not taking chances, or taking risks. This is another example of Langston and his feeling to be free. "I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. I cannot live on tomorrow's bread." When he says he doesn’t need his freedom when he’s dead, this is saying that you should make the best of the freedom you have now, while you are still alive."What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? ... Or does it explode?" (Montage of a Dream Deferred, 1951) When you have a dream and you don’t go after it then what happens to it? “Hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.” (Montage of a Dream Deferred, 1951) Persevere, keep trying to accomplish your goals in life. His metaphor to life and a broken winged bird is saying that when you don’t grasp onto your dreams, and make them come true, then you can’t achieve your full capability."The only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally you'll finish it." (The Big Sea,1940) If you do want to effectuate your goals then don’t hold off on them, do them so you can finish them and maybe

Langston Hughes once said, “Negroes - Sweet and docile, Meek, humble, and kind: Beware the day - They change their mind.” Poetry has had a profound impact on the society and culture of the American people, changing styles throughout the decades, but remaining steady in

Second, the writer’s usage of symbols provides clear insight into Hughes’ message that dreams give value and purpose to our lives. The “bird” in stanza one is a symbol of liberty, courage, and delight. To explain, Hughes is simply saying, if one stops dreaming or pursuing dreams, then he or she will live a life that lacks value or purpose. In the second stanza, the speaker gives the reader an image of a barren field with frozen snow upon it, representing a life with no production. In general, Hughes is making it known to his readers, that anyone who does not hold on to his or her dreams, will live a barren, futile life.

Langston Hughes was a successful African-American poet of the Harlem renaissance in the 20th century. Hughes' had a simple and cultured writing style. "Harlem" is filled with rhythm, jazz, blues, imagery, and evokes vivid images within the mind. The poem focuses on what could happen to deferred dreams. Hughes' aim is to make it clear that if you postpone your dreams you might not get another chance to attain it--so take those dreams and run. Each question associates with negative effects of deferred dreams. The imagery from the poem causes the reader to be pulled in by the writer's words.

The poetry of Langston Hughes, the poet laureate of Harlem, is an effective commentary on the condition of blacks in America during the 20th Century. Hughes places particular emphasis on Harlem, a black area in New York that became a destination of many hopeful blacks in the first half of the 1900ís. In much of Hughes' poetry, a theme that runs throughout is that of a "dream deferred." The recurrence of a"dream deferred" in several Hughes poems paints a clear picture of the disappointment and dismay that blacks in America faced in Harlem. Furthermore, as each poem develops, so does the feeling behind a"dream deferred," growing more serious and even angry with each new stanza.<br><br>To understand Hughes' idea of the"dream deferred," one

He asks whether the dream would “dry up/ like a raisin in the sun” (ll. 2-3). In other words, he ponders if it would go away forever and never be achieved. Right after, he asks whether it would “fester like a sore” (l. 4). Many people who do not or cannot pursue their dreams think about their ideal life and resent their current status. Hughes continues thinking about what happens to dreams deferred by making the effects of living an unsatisfied life more tangible through comparisons. For instance, he asks whether the dream would rot like meat, spoil like sweets, or sag like it is holding something heavy. Finally, Hughes sets apart a final thought italicized in a new stanza when he writes, “[o]r does [the dream] explode?” (l. 11). Though not exactly a simile, it does conjure up images of something going off like a bomb. When something is ignored so long, or if an entire group of people is continuously discriminated against, it is only a matter of time before something has to

In Langston Hughes’ poem, the author gives us vivid examples of how dreams get lost in the weariness of everyday life. The author uses words like dry, fester, rot, and stink, to give us a picture of how something that was originally intended for good, could end up in defeat. Throughout the play, I was able to feel how each character seemed to have their dreams that fell apart as the story went on. I believe the central theme of the play has everything to do with the pain each character goes thru after losing control of the plans they had in mind. I will attempt to break down each character’s dream and how they each fell apart as the play went on.

During the Harlem Renaissance, many African Americans were giving up on their dreams of equality due to rejection. However, Langston Hughes poem A Dream Deferred questions what happens to a dream that is deferred. In the poem, Hughes expresses his anxiety over his deferred dreams. The poet mentions how his dreams perished in six theoretical ways, all which are harmful to the dreamer. Langston Hughes used figurative language to explain how a neglected dream affects the

The epigraphy by Langston Hughes describes how dreams change after they had been put off. When dreams fail, it affects each person differently. The person may just give up on the dream completely, find a new way to reach the dream, change the situation so it may not be the dream but something similar, or it can destroy other dreams too. The Youngers were an African American family who lived on the south side of Chicago and barely scraped by with Walter’s job as a limousine driver. They all eagerly waited for the insurance money, produced after Walter’s dad passed away, to make their dreams come true. But when the check arrived, Walter gave most of the money to Willy Harris, a business partner, who ran off with the money when it was supposed to be invested in a liquor store.

Langston Hughes, like all poets, wrote poems. His poems, like all poems, had words that described a situation in life. What made him different? His poems sent one clear message that most Americans needed to hear. That message was to see past the skin of a man, see past what society believed and to see a future where Jim Crow was destroyed. Hughes didn’t want others to forget Jim Crow towns, he wanted people to learn from them. People died; they were dragged off the streets after sunset and were hung for all to see. These people were not meant to be forgotten. Hughes understood that, and he needed others to understand it, in order to end it. Langston Hughes focused on dreams in his poetry in hopes of bringing harmonious relations between different races to reality. The three poems that best show this are “I, Too”,

One major tone in this poem is justice expressed by the repetition in stanza 13 of the phrase, “the millions” (Hughes.13) in each line. To convey the importance in the amount of people the inequalities of America truly influenced; Langston used literary terms to get through to the readers. He wanted justice for the people that were treated as unequals in America. Hughes expresses the tone of disappointment in stanza 2 in the phrase, “America was never America to me” (Hughes 2) as an antithesis. This phrase shows the dreams and goals of America being crushed by inequalities and the lack of freedom in “the land of the free”. The contradiction of the phrase in itself intrigues readers and conveys a negative connotation. Disappointment is expressed through this phrase because of the negative connotation and the literary device of antithesis. In stanza 3, “dream the dreamers dreamed” (Hughes.3) demonstrates alliteration. This literary device pushes the importance of dreams in the poem and how America was the opposite of the goals Langston Hughes had. The idea of crushed dreams in this phrase conveys the tones of anger and disappointment. Langston connects his purpose in writing to this poem through the expression of tones by literary terms; alliteration, antithesis, and repetition.

Dreams are hopes that people hope to accomplish in their lifetime. When trying to achieve these goals, people are willing to do anything. But, what happens when a dream is deferred? A dream pushed aside can disappoint a person in the deepest way. It is likely to spread throughout their thoughts and becomes a burden. In the poem “Harlem,” Langston Hughes, through literary devices, introduce a strong theme through a short amount of language Hughes is asking what happens to a dream that is being put off.

A dream is a goal in life, not just dreams experienced during sleep. Most people use their dreams as a way of setting future goals for themselves. Dreams can help to assist people in getting further in life because it becomes a personal accomplishment. Langston Hughes's poem "Dream Deferred" is speaks about what happens to dreams when they are put on hold. The poem leaves it up to the reader to decide what dream is being questioned.