Langston Hughes Dream Deferred Essay - 538 Words

langston huges - dream defered After the Civil War won the black people their freedom, it seemed as though their dreams of great opportunities were finally going to come true. However, they were met by even more obstacles, which left the blacks to wonder if their dreams had any chance of occurring, or if they should just give up. In his poem, â€Å"Harlem,† Langston Hughes used increasingly destructive imagery to present his warning of what will happen if you delay working towards your goal. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Hughes’ first two images depict withering and drying, a sense of death. His first example, a â€Å"dried raisin,† conveys that the dream deferred has shriveled into nothing and has no hope of ever happening. The dried raisin,†¦show more content†¦Also, since a sore can be irritating and bothering, we can deduce that the dream deferred keeps nagging at the person. This prevents the person from ignoring or forgetting about their dream. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The following image, which compares the dream to a sagging, â€Å"heavy load,† shows how burdensome it can be. It’s as though the memory of the dream is in the bag, and the disappointment of the dream’s impossibility weighs the dreamer down. The dream deferred (bag) is very heavy and onerous. However, if the dreamer carries the bag long enough, they get to enjoy the reward (their dream) waiting inside. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The final image used to describe a dream deferred is an explosion. The worsening conditions in Hughes’ comparisons build up to the final dà ©nouement of a violent explosion. This â€Å"explosion† is all of the pent up emotions, thoughts, and feelings of the dream deferred, which build up inside you until, finally, they are expressed all at once in one big eruption. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Throughout the poem â€Å"Harlem,† Langston Hughes wrote with increasingly destructive images to warn of the dangers of postponing your dreams. These images help present the poem’s very strong message that a dream deferred can be very painful. The thought of how great the dream is nags at the dreamer’s mind until they can no longer bear it. The â€Å"explosion† result of this pestering dream deferred can actually be good for the dreamer. The dreamer mayShow MoreRelatedThe Dream Deferred By Langston Hughes1020 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"Dream Deferred,† is a poem written by Langston Hughes discussing what may become of a dream that is put off, delayed, or postponed by external influences. 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Some of these individual dreams inevitably become the collective dream of many people. In Harlem (A Dream Deferred), Langston Hughes makes use of symbolism as well as powerful sensory imagery to show us the emotions