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Similes In Harlem By Langston Hughes

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Langston Hughes was an American poet and activist that is most known for his involvement during the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes used his writing to shine a light on the lives of African Americans in the 1920’s. Through his poetry, Hughes was a leading voice during the Renaissance. ‘Harlem’ is one of Langston Hughes’ most well-known poems. It tells of the Black dream in America and how it has been deterred and limited. The use of literary devices, such as similes and metaphors allow the reader to understand the length the dreamers are being affected. Hughes believed that just like the objects listed in the poem have been left to dry up in the sun so has Harlem and the American Dream for African Americans.

Hughes was born in the year 1902, in …show more content…

Although America as a whole is recovering from the difficulties it had been facing, the Blacks were still fighting a war of their own. The opening line of the poem sets the stage by having the reader trying to depict what happens to a “dream deferred”(Hughes 1) In this poem a “dream” refers to the Black person’s dream for equality and prosperity in America. The Writing is a series of similes accompanied by metaphors and figurative language used to describe what happens when a dream is put on hold, what time can do to it and an underlying reference to the condition that Harlem had been left in. Although the poem begins with a question, Hughes does not give clear and concise answers but instead presents sub-question that allow the reader to extend and find their own understanding. The first simile presented, “ Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?”(2-3) compares the original dream of Blacks to what was once a grape, a fruit that possessed moisture and moisture, that had been left in the sun to lose its positive attributes. Hughes then follows with another simile that exudes the way an unfulfilled dream begins to grow and weigh down the body, “Or fester like a sore/And then run?”(4-5) the speaker suggests that a postponed dream is like an injury that soon becomes infected. The next question presented is, “Does it stink like

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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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The poem calls for the return of the great America that he and others have been promised. The poem is told in first person point of view indicating that Hughe’s is the speaker of the poem. Hughes uses the first person point of view to include his personal point of view of what it is like to be an African American. The people Hughes describes in his poem are mainly the poor, the immigrants, the African Americans, and the Native Americans. They are the people who have worked to find the American Dream, but have only found that it was not meant for them.

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The Harlem Renaissance was a period in American history, which occurred in the 1920s in Harlem, New York. The cultural movement was an opportunity for African Americans to celebrate their heritage through intellectual and artistic works. Langston Hughes, a famous poet, was a product of the Harlem Renaissance. One notable piece of literature by Hughes is “Dream Deferred”. However, the discussion of African American culture isn’t limited to the 1920s.

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There were many influential musicians, artists, and writers in the Harlem Renaissance, but none of them are as influential as Langston Hughes. Hughes was the voice of the Harlem Renaissance with all his poems, plays, essays, and books, which led to many more African Americans embracing their culture. Langston Hughes was one of, if not the most influential writer in the Harlem Renaissance. Like many writers in the Harlem Renaissance, he wrote about African American life and the culture of African Americans, so why is he the most influential?

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Is your dream vibrant and alive like that grape, or does it wither and dry out in the sun? Instead of thinking of a raisin in the sun, the poet is imagining a man who waits and waits, dreams and hopes, until he finally bursts from the weight on his shoulders. Hughes also uses irony when he talks about stinking like rotten meat or crusting and sugaring over like syrup. “Does it

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(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

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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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The poem by Langston Hughes shows that the author was unable to achieve his dream because of his race. He starts the poem off saying “It was a long time ago” This shows that he started dreaming his dream when he was young and forgot by the time he got older. It states, “But it was there then, In front of me, Bright like a sun—My dream. And then the wall rose, Rose slowly, Slowly, Between me and my dream. Rose until it touched the sky—” The dream was going to come alive but then Americans or the whites did not let his dream come true, so the barrier started to rise slowly and went up high because of the discrimination of his color.

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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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