How Does Langston Hughes Use Vivid Similes In Harlem

One may ask how a poet can use such vivid similes and descriptive imagery to describe a dream postponed. In “Harlem” Langston Hughes employs similes versus everyday life occurrences to make sense of what can happen to a dream that is in delay. His implementation of realistic symbolism captivates the reader which draws you in, inviting the reader to explore a darker theme of an unrealized dream. “Harlem” connects with people who may have to set aside their dreams while battling an uncertain future. What happens when things don’t go the way you dreamed it? Is the questions Hughes place before you as the reader, and I will try to answer through my essay, I will explore the similes bought forth in this poem, as well as how they would be manifested in the real world.

Using this simile, the poet is questioning the virtue of dreams, suggesting that they are merely forgotten. An example can be the raisin, which begins as a grape dehydrated by the sun, and overtime is set aside to dry just like our dreams. As we push towards accomplishing our dreams do we postpone those we believe are impossible to complete due to our current environment or push forward only stopping when ready. Revealing, that instead of the dreams draining the life out of the dreamer, we are draining the life out of our dreams. So, “Does it dry it up like a raisin in the sun?” (line 3), yes, only if we allow them