Poem Analysis: Harlem By Langston Hughes

Akachukwu Nwosu
Pam Murphy
English 2130
02/12/2017
Analysis of Langston Hughes’ “Harlem”
To me, race is way more than the ethnic group to which an individual belongs to. It goes beyond the physical varieties we see in the human species, such as skin color, hair texture and body size. From the beginning of time till this day, race has been a strong determining factor that influences how members of today’s society are treated, remembered and acknowledged. In America, to be precise, there is a blatant history of racial tensions and divides, specifically between white and black folks across the country.
Award-winning poem, “Harlem”, uncovers the sad truth behind the deferred dreams and aspirations of America’s black community. In this essay, I

Throughout the eleven-line poem, one pattern remains evident: the hopelessness and negativity of all his answers. A lot of things can happen to a dream that has been deferred; many of them which could be positive. Perhaps, they could eventually materialize on a later date, or could become bigger than the dreamer had even anticipated in the beginning. However, with Hughes, all the responses and guesses he had regarding what happens to a dream deferred were rather negative. A logical explanation for Hughes pessimism throughout the poem is his need to fully emphasize on the power of racial oppression on African Americans. By revealing that the outcomes of a dream deferred are often negative, Hughes sheds light on the fact that black people in such positions are mostly rendered

“Maybe it just sags, like a heavy load.” he assumes. Perhaps, Hughes is implying that a deferred dream just follows the dreamer around, like a bothersome load on someone’s back. It serves no purpose other than being a haul of unfulfilled desires that weigh the average black American man or woman down. From a more cultural perspective, the use of the word “sag” could also have a deeper meaning to it. In urban terms, to sag is to wear trousers or jeans in a manner whereby they fall significantly below the waist. Sagging is also a trend commonly practiced by Hip Hop artists and their listeners, most of whom are people of color. In today’s society, black men are often perceived as gangsters when they are seen sagging their pants, making them subject to racial profiling and unfair judgement.
Finally, Hughes ends his thought-provoking poem on a more ambiguous note. His final guess to the question at hand is, “does it explode?”. Unlike any other line in the poem, this one is a little obscure in meaning, as the word "explode" could be interpreted in both a good and a bad way. Could it mean that the dream suddenly materializes? Or does it collapse and cause a mess? Hughes gives his readers the freedom to decipher the line however they see