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Langston hughes' symbolism
Langston hughes harlem renaissance importance
Langston Hughes influence on today
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The Harlem Renaissance gave birth to many African American artists who were eager to share their works with the rest of the world, but it also gave rise to already existing artists such as the poet Langston Hughes whose poetry was, and still is, incredibly influential. One of Hughes’ best works, “Dream Deferred”, is still in the canon because it is inspiring and highly relatable. Hughes uses negative imagery and simple diction to deliver a powerful message that appeals to a large 21st century audience. Many people today, especially the youth, tend to withhold their dreams due to fear. They struggle to find the courage to pursue and fulfill those dreams. Therefore, it is not surprising that a poem such as “Dream Deferred” still prevails. By Those changes could galvanize a revolution and ignite a spark of ambition inside the dreamer. Hughes uses these examples to show people that deferring a dream may not always have pleasant consequences and this should motivate people to pursue their dreams in life because dreams are meant to be followed, not suppressed or put on The deferred dream mentioned in the poem symbolizes the American Dream that was unreasonably denied to all black people. This is still relevant today; the American Dream is unfortunately not available for everyone to follow. Recent examples to support this are the Ferguson and Baltimore riots, which are ongoing protests that were brought to the light due to the killings of innocent African-Americans by white police officers. These protestors demand justice and retribution. Most people would agree that black people are still fighting for equality and freedom. Hughes asks if deferred dreams “fester like a sore/ and then run?” The comparison of the American Dream to a sore makes the poem much more relevant to today’s events; people are still getting hurt and murdered over a basic need and the more that dream is being withheld from people, the closer our world descends into chaos. Throughout the poem, Hughes uses simple words to convey a deep, meaningful message. By making the poem easy to read and comprehend, Hughes appeals to a wide range of
Hughes wants to know what happens when a dream is put off to be achieved later. Hughes says, “What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?” (1-3).
Even if these poems had the same theme of the delayment of a dream, each poet’s vision towards this dream is explored differently, where readers are able to grasp both the effects and potentials of a dream deferred, through the use of imagery. Nonetheless, both poems had fulfilled the role of many distinguished poems during the period; to communicate African-Americans’ desires to live a life of equality and free from prejudice.
All humans have dreams and goals for their future that they wish to someday turn into reality. Dreams are different for every person, and some dreams are greater and grander than others, but they are all similar in that humans live for dreams because humans innately crave a better tomorrow. While many people do achieve their ultimate goals within their lifetimes, some people have unattainable dreams that are destined for failure. Two quintessential American novels, The Great Gatsby and the Catcher in the Rye, recount the stories of two hopeful young men with lofty plans, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield. Both of these utopian young men possess impossible, unreachable dreams; Gatsby desires to rewind his life so that he may enjoy it with his beloved Daisy instead of losing her while at war, and Holden wishes for time to halt altogether so that he must not face the challenge of growing up and becoming an adult in a cruel society. Through the example of both of their tragic stories, it is evident that humans often rely too heavily on dreams, and when these vital dreams fail because of corrupt societies, they lose touch with reality and fall into despair and defeat.
This statement is an excellent attention-getter. It tells about a dream that everyone would like without singling out any group of people to blame for the dream not coming true. Then as the poem goes on, he gets more and more specific. Hughes then goes on to dream that everyone “ll know sweet freedoms,/Where greed no longer saps the soul. Here Hughes is wishing to abolish greed.
The reason I say African American’s dreams is because the author published this poem in 1951, the time period where there was much racism and civil rights violations against African Americans. Another reason is that the author is an African American himself. Finally, the biggest reason is that the author named the poem “Harlem.” Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American cultural and business center. It was associated for much of the twentieth century with black culture, crime and poverty. It is the capital of African-American life in the United States. The author named this poem “Harlem” because he was addressing mainly the black community. Still, the poem’s message is very clear: if one postpones his/her dream(s) it can have a damaging affects.
In Langston Hughes’ poem, the author gives us vivid examples of how dreams get lost in the weariness of everyday life. The author uses words like dry, fester, rot, and stink, to give us a picture of how something that was originally intended for good, could end up in defeat. Throughout the play, I was able to feel how each character seemed to have their dreams that fell apart as the story went on. I believe the central theme of the play has everything to do with the pain each character goes thru after losing control of the plans they had in mind. I will attempt to break down each character’s dream and how they each fell apart as the play went on.
“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” –Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry is one of the world’s greatest wonders. It is a way to tell a story, raise awareness of a social or political issue, an expression of emotions, an outlet, and last but not least it is an art. Famous poet Langston Hughes uses his poetry as a musical art form to raise awareness of social injustices towards African-Americans during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Although many poets share similarities with one another, Hughes creatively crafted his poetry in a way that was only unique to him during the 1920’s. He implemented different techniques and styles in his poetry that not only helped him excel during the 1920’s, but has also kept him relative in modern times. Famous poems of his such as a “Dream Deferred,” and “I, Too, Sing America” are still being studied and discussed today. Due to the cultural and historical events occurring during the 1920’s Langston Hughes was able to implement unique writing characteristics such as such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues that is demonstrative of his writing style. Langston Hughes use of distinct characteristics such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues helped highlight the plights of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance Era.
Langston Hughes was probably the most well-known literary force during the Harlem Renaissance. He was one of the first known black artists to stress a need for his contemporaries to embrace the black jazz culture of the 1920s, as well as the cultural roots in Africa and not-so-distant memory of enslavement in the United States. In formal aspects, Hughes was innovative in that other writers of the Harlem Renaissance stuck with existing literary conventions, while Hughes wrote several poems and stories inspired by the improvised, oral traditions of black culture (Baym, 2221). Proud of his cultural identity, but saddened and angry about racial injustice, the content of much of Hughes’ work is filled with conflict between simply doing as one is told as a black member of society and standing up for injustice and being proud of one’s identity. This relates to a common theme in many of Hughes’ poems: that dignity is something that has to be fought for by those who are held back by segregation, poverty, and racial bigotry.
Hughes, Langston. "Harlem (A Dream Deferred)." Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River. Prentice, 2002. 534.
A common theme shared by "Dreams" and "A Dream Deferred" is that you should keep on working to fulfill your dreams because if you don't, you will never achieve them and your life will be miserable. Hughes uses imagery and figures of speech to showcase and develop this theme throughout the two poems. In "Dreams," Hughes writes,"Hold..." This decisive use if a metaphor illustrates how life would be much more difficult and sad if we gave up on our dreams. In "A Dream Deferred," Hughes writes,"Does...?"
“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” This quote from Walt Disney addressing the concept of achieving dreams is very accurate, and can be seen throughout literature today and in the past. Dreams can give people power or take away hope, and influence how people live their lives based upon whether they have the determination to attack their dreams or not; as seen through characters like the speaker in Harlem by Langston Hughes and Lena and Walter Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in The Sun.
stanza to explain that a dream deferred can end with the entire population in a war.
It tends to permeate their thoughts and becomes an unshakable burden. In the poem “Harlem,” Langston Hughes, through literary technique, raises strong themes through a short amount of language. The poem begins with a question: "What happens to a dream deferred?” The speaker of the poem at this point is unnamed. By not knowing the speaker, the question is strengthened, as the deferred dream is the dreams and desires of all the people within the African American community.
Another poetic verse that illustrates Hughes' desire to establish a community of African- Americans who are accepting of their racial identities is As I Grew Older. The poem begins with: "It was a long time ago, I have almost forgotten my dream" (1-2). By starting with a "once upon a time" theme, it seems as though the speaker is reflecting upon a poignant time in his life which has most likely been his childhood years. Consequently, the speaker states: "I have almost forgotten my dream...in front of me bright like a sun..."(2-6). From the few statements, "dream" is centering idea. A dream is an intangible idea that powers ambition, and hope, rendering the individual confident and hopeful for the future. However, the speaker has "almost forgotten" his dream, meaning that his dream was no longer attainable or more simply, he could not reach it. Additionally, when the speaker states: "it was there then, in front of me, bright like a sun," the speaker acknowledges his blindness and the inevitable fact that like the sun which naturally rises and sets everyday without much reasoning, his dream was no longer his priority. By comparing the sun to his dream, the speaker is also alluding to the universal actions that all human beings all partake in. Every day, we are caught up by school, work, and life. However, we never once think about the surrounding natural events that occur around us. The sun gives us light and does not allow us to live in obscurity; the trees, the air that we breathe, and gravity helps us survive in this planet, but we take them for granted. In the same way, the speaker has forgotten what he has been living for and only acknowledges it once he has grown older and the racial struggles that he endures are now too hard ...
Dreams are apart of human nature. They drive humanity, lead it on, and give the world hope, but the concept of dreams have often become a dream itself to many of African descent. The struggles of African Americans through the years have made goals something of a fantasy and put the focus on human necessities. But what happens when those dream are put away? Many texts throughout the ages such as, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes, and the song Village Ghetto Land by Stevie Wonder show through family relationships, racism, and sacrifice that when people 's dreams are cut off it can cause them to suffer and sometimes become bitter.