The Theme Of Dreams In The Crossover

Langston Hughes uses a unique style, language, and diction to portray his point about dreams. “Does it dry up, like a raisin in the sun?”(2-3) This symbolizes a hardening, from a grape to a raisin. If a dream is destroyed it hardens the heart. It becomes useless just the like the dried up raisin. Hughes also suggests that maybe unrealized dreams are a "heavy load" which symbolizes a burden, something to heavy to bear, something that weighs a person down always. This poem is like the American Dream, if you do not pursue your dream right away it may slip away from you and eventually it will be gone. The American Dream can be fulfilled through hard word work and passion, it will not come easy. Everyone has the opportunity to grasp the chance to become successful through dreams and goals. Langston Hughes realized the importance of dreams and having those dreams torn apart. His poem, "Dream Deferred", uses strong images to create a picture of a negative and destructive outcome for a dreamer left unable to dream. “Nothing can stop a man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude”, Thomas Jefferson.

We all go through the “dream stage”, but is it so that they are even meant to come across our minds during our slumber? Dreams are simply desires that certain people have a big hope to one day to actually experience their destinies and thoughts. Although reveries are recurrent, Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston vividly contrasts the type of dreams people have and how they accomplish them. The determination in the 1920s set off success in the African American culture leading people to look past the limit and keep going. In “Freedom’s Plow” , Hughes believes dreams are set and fulfilled through unity, but on the other side of the grass Zora Neale Hurston in her piece, “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, she perceives that dreams are asymmetrical and are not

“I have a dream” by MLK Jr., a Civil Rights Leader, is about a man having dreams for everyone to come together, black and whites. In Of Mice and Men by, two characters named George Milton and Lennie Small, these two guys have dreams to live by themselves on their own land just the two of them, but run into some problems along the way of this dream. They are migrant ranch workers moving from place to place to get the money they need to stop moving and stay in one place. John Steinbeck was born Salinas, California, in 1902, and went through the Great Depression / Dust Bowl, as a kid but then moved to New York, in spring of 1925, and died in 1968 in New York City, Nj. One of John Steinbeck's quote, “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it,” relates to the book, Lennie and George try to control their dreams a lot, but at the same time can't take it seriously. Of Mice and Men, it develops a theme of social commentary, with many heroes. George and Lennie take on many adventures throughout the story Of Mice and Men.

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.

Langston Hughes’ poetry frequently cites the “American Dream” from the perspective of those who were disenfranchised in American, such as the Native Americans, African Americans, poor farmers, and oppressed immigrants. The American Dream was defined by James Truslow Adams as, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Langston Hughes). Hughes’ poetry portrays the glories of equality, liberty, and the “American Dream” as the disenfranchised were trapped beneath oppression, poverty, and prejudice. Whose dreams are smothered and buried in a life characterized by the anguish of survival.

“I was not looking for my dreams to interpret my life, but rather for my life to interpret my dreams.” Susan Sontag was an American writer, filmmaker, teacher, and political activist. She expresses how life and all of its conflicts can affect one’s dreams. What are dreams? In life, dreams can be experiences to look forward to, hard work at a job, or other things of the imagination. Dreams can also be something to hope for or to accomplish. Sadly, there are conflicts that can get in the way of someone reaching their dream. A person’s sex can give power or powerlessness, determine the expected behaviors of male and females, and judge a person’s appearance. In the works of To Kill A Mockingbird,

Dreams lead people to strive and attempt to fulfill them, even if it take them along time, or they have to do something they usually don't do. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, dreams are what make George and Lennie stay together and even if their share different reasons for having the same dream, they still share the same

Building a Dream In life, many things drive an individual in order to help them reach their goals. Some are driven by their own ambition and others may be driven out of greed or the search for acceptance. While there are variations of what people strive for, there are always the main focuses of health, wealth, and love.

Dreams are a figment of one’s unconscious mind. They are commonly known for helping one achieve a particular wish fulfillment. In the short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Joyce Carol Oates prominently displays this concept. Oates utilizes plot, characterization, and setting to clearly highlight the theme of dreams representing fulfillments of personal wants.

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.

Lorraine Hansberry used Langston Hughes's poem as inspiration for her play’s title because of the ideas they both inspire. The truths that unachieved dreams eventually die, or are forgotten and return to just being a thought.

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.

It is essential to set down a goal and take the road of reaching it. With every path that is ventured, there are always obstacles that block the way of achieving a desire; though no obstacle is necessarily impossible to overcome, therefore giving a purpose to keep going on. Dreams are an important aspect of life because they help offer hope and purpose.

Thesis Statement: Dreams are successions of images, emotions, and sensations that occur subconsciously during sleep.

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.