What would happen if the dreams you most desired were at risk of never coming true? In the poem, "A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes, he uses figurative language to convey the importance of what happens when a dream is deferred for too long due to oppression. Not only does Hughes uses similes to help the reader understand the author 's point of view, but also metaphors and imagery. "A Dream Deferred" was written in a time where oppression was not only harmful but also a painful way of life for Hughes and hundreds of other Americans. In this poem, he uses imagery to convey just how desperate those Americans felt at that time with what was happening in the world, and what would continue to happen if nothing was fixed. You can hear his unhappiness …show more content…
For example, look at this line: "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or does it fester like a sore-- and then run?" Doesn 't that put a sour feeling in your stomach? Similes like this are how Hughes helps the reader understand the intensity of what can happen if a dream never comes to life. Using words like "fester," "sore," or, "drying up" evoke an image of the life being like an infection and festering. In his poem, A Dream Deferred, also known as Harlem, Hughes uses a single metaphor to clinch the end of the poem together. "Or does it explode?" This simple metaphor really evokes emotion and thoughts in every reader. His metaphor puts a final image to the struggle of oppression during the Civil Rights Movement and what happens to a black man or woman when a dream is deferred. Hughes wants his readers to not only imagine but feel how African Americans felt during the Civil Rights Movement when he wrote this poem. He wanted to convey the pain, anguish, disrespect, and ultimately, the conclusion of what may happen to a dream that continues to be deferred. What would happen to a dream deferred? Would it sag like a heavy load, or would it