Analysis of Harlem by Langston Hughes - 602 Words

Analysis of Harlem by Langston Hughes Through the turbulent decades of the 1920s through the 1960s many of the black Americans went through difficult hardships and found comfort only in dreaming. Those especially who lived in the ghettos of Harlem would dream about a better place for them, their families, and their futures. Langston Hughes discusses dreams and what they could do in one of his poems, Harlem. Hughes poem begins: What happens to a dream deferred... Hughes is asking what happens to a dream that is being put off. What do these dreams do, do they do good, do they do bad, or do they do neither good nor bad? He continues by stating this simile:Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Using this simile he is†¦show more content†¦Hughes continues his poem by stating more on dreams that have been put off in lines four and five, he states: Or fester like a sore and then run? Here , Hughes uses a sore as a simile for dreams that have been put off. He wonders if these delayed dreams get worser and worser over time that they just disapear from the person. Hughes continues his questioning by using another simile for postponed dreams, Does it stink like rotten meat? Hughes is trying to convey that over a period of time a person may become so tired of the dream that they have postponed that it would actually start to stink, they would start to hate it, and want to get rid of it just as if someone would want to get rid of a piece of rotten meat. He continues by using another simile for postponed dreams: Or crust and sugar like a syrupy sweet? Here, Langston Hughes states of a dream that could be so good and so sweet, but over time the dream has gotten old and bad just like a syrupy sweet could crust and sugar over time. Hughes advances with another simile for defered dreams: Maybe it just sags like a heavy load Here, Hughes states of a dream that is so huge and farfetched that it could never happen. He ends his poem by saying, Or does it expolode? Langston Hughes relays that deferred dreams can do many things, though they mostly do worse than help you. He is tryng to convey that you really should not postpone your dreams dont setShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Harlem By Langston Hughes1235 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Harlem† by Langston Hughes explains the importance of following your dreams. In the poem, Hughes explains that if you ignore a dream it will slowly get less and less appealing to you until it goes away completely. Hughes writes, â€Å"What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?† (Lines 1-3). Langston Hughes uses this simile to explain to the reader that your ambitions can’t be forgotten about because they will deteriorate and turn into nothing. Hughes also says, â€Å"Or festerRead More Harlem, An Analysis of a Langston Hughes Poem Essay1405 Words   |  6 PagesHarlem, An Analysis of a Langston Hughes Poem 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. Harlem is an open form poem. The poem consists of three stanzas that do not have a regularRead MoreAn Analysis of Langston Hughes Poem Harlem1520 Words   |  6 PagesPoems Harlem by Langston Hughes Thesis statement: Hughes wrote this when Jim Crow laws were still imposing an bitter segregated society in the South. There were still lynchings of innocent African Americans, there was no Civil Rights Movement, there was no Civil Rights legislation yet, and Blacks couldnt eat at lunch counters in the South. Harlem, however, was not at all like the South in terms of blatant, legal segregation. However, racism was very much in place in many places in America. BlacksRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Harlem By Langston Hughes2117 Words   |  9 Pages In the poem â€Å"Harlem† by Langston Hughes, Hughes discusses the fate of the American dream and more specifically, he questions us about the destiny of the dream that never gets realized. He wonders whether it explodes violently or if it just dries up. 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Many lived a life full of hardships; segregation, prejudice and economic hardships, viewed as second-class citizensRead MoreLangston Hughes : A Modernist1222 Words   |  5 PagesSappington 13 Apr. 2017 Langston Hughes: A Modernist Credited as being the most recognizable figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes played a vital role in the Modernist literary movement and the movement to revitalize African American culture in the early 20th century. Hughes’s poems reflect his personal struggle and the collective struggle of African Americans during this cultural revival. Langston Hughes’s life contained key influences on his work. As a child, Hughes witnessed a divorceRead MoreLiterary Analysis of Langston Hughess A Dream Deferred1028 Words   |  4 Pagespublished, and circulated, analysis of the poem must take place. It unveils and discusses the themes, figures of speech, word placement, and flow of the piece, and A Dream Deferred, is no exception. In Langston Hughess poem, A Dream Deferred, the theme is that no really knows to dreams if they are not reached, and very realistic figures of speech help convey this idea; the poem can be surprisingly related to Mr. Hughess life through the subtitle and quotes from Langston himself. The meaning of