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Prejudice And Symbolism In Harlem By Langston Hughes

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B. In Hughes’ “Harlem,” the author uses symbols to describe the feeling of some possible answers to the question “What happens to a dream deferred?” (line 1). This question leaves the reader wondering what is the answer, and what has the author experienced to cause this statement. Answers to these questions can start to be identified in the immediately following lines. The question “Does it dry up/ like a raisin in the sun?” (2-3) immediately starts describing what the author is feeling in that by not being able to fulfill his dream he starts feeling useless, and no longer valuable like a raisin that has been left in the sun and is all burnt up. Hughes does not stop there with just feeling useless. We see in the line “Or fester like a sore …show more content…

stink like rotten meat?” (6) where they are forever denied and the situation that is causing it just gets worst and worst or it “[could] . . . crust and sugar over -” where dreams are pushed to the back of one’s mind and they become callused and crusted like an old sugary treat to the fact that they could have ever deviated from the life they are in now. In the concluding lines of the poem, it has reached its lowest point “Maybe it just sags/ like a heavy load.” (9-10) depression has set in and the knowledge that because your dream was deferred at some time in the past that it will never be accomplished and you are stuck in this monotonous way of life. But then at the last line of the poem, a spark is struck. It states, “Or does it explode” (11) a line that states the anger of an unrighteous situation, it is italicized to bring attention and say we will not stand for this, we will not let our dreams and aspirations be dashed, no we will fight and we will fulfill our dreams. Langston Hughes uses these symbols to help convey the emotions of himself and the people in these situations where their dreams have been deferred, the feeling of uselessness, disgust, apathy, and depression but in the end after all that has been done to him and the people he still sees a small glimmer of hope and asks the question will you stand for this, or will you

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In the poem “Harlem,” Langston Hughes asks, “What happens to a dream deferred?” (Hughes 1). Mr. Hughes question is answered by the play Raisin in the Sun. The play follows the Younger family as they attempt to achieve their dreams. Hansberry uses Mama, Walter, and Beneatha the show the negative consequences that occur when your dreams are deferred.

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The poem vividly presents the delayed dreams of African Americans, who are left to endure poverty and despair. The lines “What happens to a dream deferred?/ does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?” (Hughes) evoke feelings of Hopelessness and frustration. The dreams of marginalized individuals are crushed by a society that shows indifference to their struggles, resulting in moral corruption as the oppressed turn to desperate measures. The poem suggests that a society that neglects And fails to fulfill the dreams of its citizens will ultimately succumb to moral decay and social

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Similarly, Hughes uses grotesque imagery to emphasize the decay of a forgotten idea. However, said forgotten idea can be interpreted as more than a concept when the time period is taken into account. Through analysis, it’s possible to construe Hughes’s dream as a person or society. In the line “Or fester like a sore-- And then run?” (Hughes 4), imagery is used to conjure the picture of a blister on human skin.

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Comparing “A Raisin in the Sun” to “Harlem” The poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes is about what proceeds to happen to dreams if they are not fulfilled. This poem, which appears in the beginning of the play shows the main idea of the play, “A Raisin in the Sun” which is written by Lorraine Hansberry. Since the poem displays the main idea of the story (which is dreams), I believe that it is fitting for it to be before the play since it has the obvious connections to the book. The connections to the story are the heavy weight of the money which is represented by being compared to a sore or stink, the hope for the money which is represented by the positive words, and the sudden disappearance of the money represented

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In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry starts off with Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” to show what can happen to dreams that get caught in the middle of life. In Hansberry’s play a family of five African Americans live in a small crouched apartment on the south side of Chicago. Hughes’ poem relates to Hansberry’s characters because each one of them has a separate dream, however, not everyone’s comes true and “stink like rotten meat” (Harlem 6). The dream deferred can refer to anyone in the play. Ruth Younger, the wife of an abominable Walter Lee Younger, has dreams of moving out of the ratty old apartment and joining her family together for good.

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Langston Hughes once wrote, “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?” In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, it opens with a family of five living in an apartment in Chicago’s Southside during the 19050s and struggles socially and economically as they dream of a better life (486). The recurring theme that family is more important than materialism is shown as Walter proves his masculinity by helping his family to move out of the apartment. Throughout the play, Walter grows from a greedy and selfish person to a responsible family member like his father.

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In Langston Hughes “Harlem” is a poem about what happens to a lost dream, which fits the theme of A Raisin in the Sun. In the poem he says, “Does it dry up/ Like a raisin in the sun?” This quote relates to Beneatha and her dream of becoming a doctor. Beneatha has overcome an incredible challenge.

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In both of the poems there are a lot of metaphors. In the poem “Harlem”, For example, one of the lines said “Does it stink like rotten meat…” which like is referring to the ambition that isn’t recognized anymore. In “Dreams” there is personification in two of the lines in the poem. An example of personification is “For if dreams die…” it’s referring to when ambitions are not wanting to be accomplished any more they “die” or go away.

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In the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, several similes are used to portray the reality of dreams. Hughes employs effective metaphors, inviting us to visualize a dream and what may happen to it after it passes from conscious thought. Could a dream dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or even fester like a sore? (Hughes, 1951, p. 631).

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The poem “Harlem” seems like a simple poem that talks about a dream that fades away. The poem is more symbolic than it seems though. The three sentences that have a huge impact on this poem’s symbolism are spread out through the poem. A reader needs to keep in mind that the speaker is talking about a dream in these sentences. “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”

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," illustrates the irony of the cumulation of the American dream as it begins to crumble. The Youngers desperately pursue this American dream, hoping for opportunities of prosperity, upward social mobility, and the hope that their next generation should thrive unlike theirs. Working together, Hughes’ lines of his poem reflect the dreams of Hansberry’s characters and through this parallel, shows the effects on the Younger family when their long-awaited dreams are deferred by endless economic and family hardships as well as arduous racial boundaries. “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” (Hughes 2-3).

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Everyone has dreams, but the thing is most people never accomplish them. Some people put off their dreams to the side because something more important than their dreams comes forth. They believe that is better to put their dreams to the side or give up on them and allow their dreams to fade in their minds. In “What happens to a dream deferred?” by Langston Hughes, the poet uses the title, tone, diction, and selection of detail, to express how people are affected by deferred dreams.

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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?

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