Harlem By Langston Hughes Essay

What occurs when a dream gets neglected? Regardless of how substantial or minor a dream may be, it should always be cared for and worth striving towards. Written in 1951 by African-American poet, Langston Hughes, “Harlem” conveys the consequences of what transpires when a dream gets deferred. Correspondingly, written by playwright and writer, Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun debuted in 1959 and became the first play to perform on Broadway produced by an African-American woman. Throughout writing the play, Hansberry was heavily inspired by Hughes’s poem “Harlem”, correlating the characters, title, and focus on dreams while showcasing the struggles of socio-economic and segregation issues. As a result, each character possesses their own

The part that’s already living” (77). Based on the poem, Ruth and her dream correspond to lines 2-3, “Does it dry up like a rain in the sun?" as it was once a worthy and beautiful desire that became incapable of achieving as reality hit. Throughout, we learn that Ruth deeply cared for and dreamed of having a large family but faced the reality that she was not financially stable enough to do so, setting others' needs first rather than her own. Even though Mama is the elder of the family, she still works because of her dreams to provide a better life for her family but due to the financial problems she faces she is unable to achieve her dream and makes many decisions she

Mama was full of regret; she regretted giving Walter all of the insurance money, not having the money to send Beneatha to medical school, and not being able to give her family the life they deserve by buying the house. After Mama defers her dream, she regrets all the decisions she made and it starts to sag like a heavy load that is weighing her down. Though still worrying about money Mama tells Ruth to call the moving people and tell them not to come, but even though she made many decisions she regrets she still does not give up on a better life for her family and stays optimistic by thinking about remodeling the apartment for her family. Within the play Beneatha portrays the struggles of living in poverty whilst still trying to achieve her dreams, but still doubting them along the way. After Walter invests all their father’s life insurance money in the liquor store, Beneatha feels distraught and reevaluates her dream of becoming a doctor, Beneatha explains, “No—I wanted to