Summary Of Harlem By Langston Hughes

In the poem “Harlem”, Hughes expresses the overall position of African Americans during the 1900's. America, which is known as the “land of opportunity”, where dreams are suppose to come true; was not the case for African Americans during that time. Even though they we’re obviously "free," poverty, racism and other social injustices still existed; making it difficult and also impossible to actually reach those dreams—therefore, their dreams had been "deferred". In this poem Hughes really expresses the frustration of African Americans at that time, and allows me to relate buy giving me reactions of having my opportunities in life possibly robbed from me. The poem raises various questions to me like what happens to our dreams if we put them on hold? Do we give up? Do we become angry? Do we become complacent? To me, the last line is very powerful, because it indicates the fact that people can only be held down so long before they revolt, rebel or even

One of Hughes most famous poems, “Harlem(Dream Deferred)” had a great impact by posing lots of questioning. According to critic Tom Hanson, this poem is just that simple because it gives a bunch of undesirable answers to the same question, “What happens to a dream deferred?” Hanson also says how this poem refers almost completely to an unsolved problem (Hanson, Harlem). The poem gives four rather unpleasant interrogatives and one declarative answer followed by the sixth possibility, “Or does it explode?” which is supposed to be a question to make a reader really think. There are several ways to interpret the meaning of the final line, and the most sensible explanation is, the African American community is “deferring dreams” and in doing so their dreams explode in terms of the chance to act is gone. Some may say Hughes presented an unattractive view

Can you imagine having a talent that you have been waiting so long to show an audience? The speaker in this poem tells the audience how it feels. In Langston Hughes short poem Harlem the speaker quizzes the reader on what happens when a dream is postponed. The tone of the poem is informative, curious and exciting. The speaker asks the reader short, simple metaphorical questions pertaining to the possible end results of a dream postponed. The poem title says a lot about the tone and the dream the speaker is referring to, which is the American Dream blacks pursued in the Harlem Renaissance.

Throughout this poem Hughes has placed many symbols in the readers mind to bring the image of the African American people to thought. He reminds African American readers of their origin and what they have been through by using the

In the poem “As I Grew Older”, on lines 2-6 he writes, “I have almost forgotten my dream. / But it was there then, / In front of me, / Bright like a sun - / My dream.”. This exemplifies the theme of the American Dream because it proves to readers that Langston, too was an African American fighting through the wall that society had built against people of his kind. For Hughes, this so called “wall” almost forced him to give up, or “forget” - but he knew that his dream was bright, and so he continued to battle through. The culture during this time attempted to keep the minorities from discovering their own dreams. Another event that shows this theme is when Hughes is describing his dark hands (representing his race) breaking through the thick

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.

In his life, his elders and people around him were “...descendants of slaves..” (Napierkowski 5). His ancestors had a slave and slave owner relationship so Hughes was handed the short-end of the “stick” of life. Because Hughes was neither completely African American nor was he completely white, Hughes was seen as an outcast or in better words, different. Hughes first hit the spotlight during the Harlem Renaissance when African-American culture was very prominent in society, music, and poems. During this time, people had an “urgent need to express a cultural identity” (Napierkowski 182). In most of his poems, Hughes shares the hardships of living in a society where African Americans were not thought of. “The southern legislatures,

Langston Hughes, a gentleman of color who was a leader to the African American community is a poet, who according to an editor of “Harlem Renaissance” portrayed the truth rather than a sugar-coated version of how life was in Harlem, the hub of the black community. Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” describes how colored people live in poverty, in the poem “Dream Variations” Hughes’ dream was symbolized by nature, and in the short story “Slave on the Block,” racism and life of a domestic slave are shown from his point of view. The time when these pieces of work were created was an era when black artistry was opening the eyes of white America to how poorly Afro Americans were treated; this movement was called the Harlem Renaissance, as said in “Harlem Renaissance”. In this movement, Hughes was a force of nature that pursued equality among all races, yet still maintaining integrity and pride. White America was not a welcoming place for people of melanin, white people were not sentimental or generous with them so people say it was more described as, “The cold, uncaring atmosphere of the United States were for blacks discrimination, racism, and often brutal treatment were a feature of everyday life” (“Dream”). Not only did Hughes have to endure the pain of this treatment but so did all colored people.

The main idea of this poem is that America promised its people that they would be free, however many American residents were still enslaved. The author expressed how he has physically lived in America, but he has not lived in an America that holds up to the values and dreams it was founded on. He expresses this in lines 1-4 when he says, "Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain, seeking a home where he himself is free. (America never was America to me)". America was supposed to be a dream come true where all men were free and able to have equal opportunity. Hughes uses alliteration and repetition to emphasize this point. However, the black, the poor, and the oppressed never experienced this promised America.

This poem by Langston Hughes is a very complicated. In it the speaker paints a picture of what might happen to someone’s dream if it is postponed too long. This idea is the overall theme of the poem and it is what unifies and connects each line to the poem as a whole. There are also indirect references that this is not only the dream of an individual, but an entire race’s struggle to achieve peace and liberation. This poem consists of a series of answers to the question, “What happens to a dream deferred?” All of the lines following this first question are presented as different similes.

When people’s dreams are further postponed there can be terrible consequences. Hughes utilizes simple words to create a much more profound meaning. These words are easy to comprehend, but each word and each question symbolize the difficulty that comes with dreams that cannot be obtained due to unfortunate circumstances. The tone of this poem is serious, and almost nostalgic. The speaker asks what happens if dreams are postponed and presents some likely answers to this question. The speaker asks if these delayed dreams dry up like raisins or if they fester like sores, if they perish like meat or if they become crusty, like syrup left out too long. They even suggest that these postponed dreams burden like a heavy load. At the end of the poem, the speaker asks if dreams explode if they are delayed far too long. All of these questions incite feelings of uncertainty.

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.

An Explication of Langton Hughes “Harlem (Dream Deferred)” Dreams are amazing things, and we can talk about them as long as we could remember them, but are dreams nothing but dreams if there never pursued? In "Harlem," the speaker discusses the darker side of an idea. Some people work hard to accomplish their dreams while others put their dreams on hold due to various circumstances in their lives. He wonders what happens when that dream or idea are ignored or "deferred." The result is not too pretty.

In “Harlem”, by Langston Hughes, he demonstrates that obstacles and disillusionment can prevent someone from achieving his or her dreams. Hughes tells about a dream that has been put off by obstacles, and how it stays with someone, almost haunting them. He shows this in the second stanza, where he says,”It festers like a sore-- and then runs”(Hughes). The dream is like a festering and infected sore, that runs and oozes. This relates to the theme of the poem because the obstacles defer the dream, turning it into a festering sore, and showing that a deferred dream becomes rotten and nasty. This explains the statement by showing if the dream is prevented by an obstacle,

During the time period of this poem being published, America was still segregated and African Americans were still fighting to be seen as equal. Hughes starts off the poem with a question, “What happens to a dream deferred?” which questions what happens when you put off your dreams (172). Although the speaker does not refer to what they dream of in the poem, is clear that they are talking about what a dream feels like when you are limited in life. This poem helps show how limited African Americans were when trying to achieve their dreams and that the oppressed environment that they lived in. The dreams that they hoped to one day achieve were never going to be able to be reached because of how they were perceived in society. However, African Americans tried to achieve their dreams and find their place in the society that they lived in, but some still managed to find their dreams to “fester like a sore,” (172). Hughes writes this poem to help depict the visions, ambitions, and frustrations that African Americans felt when trying to make their place in the world. In this poem, a play is taken from one of the lines in the poem that refers to an African American family’s dreams drying up, “like a raisin in the sun,” (172). During these times of struggle, African Americans began to continue to be