Analysis Of Dreams Deferred By Langston Hughes

1339 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Reflection on this poem "dreams deferred"written by langston hughes

The Harlem Renaissance era was the name given to the period of time between the ending of the first World War in 1918 and the middle of the 1930s. During this time African American artists; writers, photographers, musicians, scholars etc., were all venturing into Harlem, NY the center place of art to explore these topics. Among one of these authors was Langston Hughes, who was one of the most notable figures of the Harlem Renaissance era. With his vast array of poetry, he shaped the way that African American people were portrayed in the public eye. With his poem “Dreams Deferred” in particular showed this concept in depth. This topic of African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance being seen as less than equal to white was a topic that was
Throughout the poem the speaker gives possibilities of what could happen to these dreams, do they dry up, fester, rot or even crust over but alas all these possibilities the speaker does not know the answer. This questioning continues until the last line of the poem where the speaker asks “Or does it explode?”. By asking this question it makes the reader think about what could happen if you do not make your dreams a reality. This poem could be interpreted in many different ways, but one of these interpretations is the reference to African American people during this time period. At this time, even though slavery ended in 1863 by the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by late president Abraham Lincoln, African Americans were still being seen as an inferior race. Even though there was much strive from African Americans in art, literature, science, etc., they were still not being seen as equal beings. This ideology is seen in Hughes’ poem “Dreams Deferred”. Being an African American man at this time showed him that the dreams of himself and of his race were difficult to achieve. Their dreams were seen as unrealistic because of the color of their skin. This frustrated many people, especially Langston Hughes. Throughout his poem Hughes mentions the idea of what happens when dreams are postponed as many African
Countee Cullen like Hughes was a notable African American poet who was also fed up with the injustice that his people were receiving at the time. In this poem Cullen questions the workings of the almighty God. He asks why God does so many poor things to good objects, whether that is the smallest of creatures to the biggest man . Cullen then concludes by asking why did He make a poet during this time black? With this question Cullen is questioning why in a world where African American people are treated so poorly would God make him a poet. Though he questions God’s workings he is not upset or frustrated he simply wonders why. By not refuting God’s work, he is accepting the challenge of making himself as a poet known to the public whether they accept him or

Show More
Related

  • An Analysis of Countee Cullen's Any Human to Another

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    Countee Cullen was man who struggled to be called a “poet” instead of a “Negro poet.”  His life during the Harlem Renaissance was filled with inequality and prejudice.  These facts have lead many analysts to perceive his poem “Any Human to Another” as a cry for racial equality.  However, Cullen’s manipulation of structure, imagery, and symbols in the poem reveals that his true theme is that all humans are individually unique but must live together in harmony and equality, caring for and helping each other.

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes Biography Essay

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    1920’s Harlem was a time of contrast and contradiction, on one hand it was a hotbed of crime and vice and on the other it was a time of creativity and rebirth of literature and at this movement’s head was Langston Hughes. Hughes was a torchbearer for the Harlem Renaissance, a literary and musical movement that began in Harlem during the Roaring 20’s that promoted not only African-American culture in the mainstream, but gave African-Americans a sense of identity and pride.

    Read More

  • A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes and My Little Dreams by Georgia Douglas Johnson

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Countee Cullen: The Poetic’s Struggle within Race and Sexuality

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    Countee Cullen's poetry illustrates a man who is torn between being born in the African American world, his career as a raceless poetic and dealing with his sexuality during the Harlem Renaissance period. Five of the seven volumes of poetry that bears Cullen's name have, in their titles, a basis for racial themes that comes out in the poetry itself.

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes and Poetry

    2394 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hughes, a.k.a. Langston, a.k.a. “Harlem [Dream Deferred]” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer.

    Read More

  • Messages from Point of View in Langston Hughes’ I too

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because of that, his writing seems to manifest a greater meaning. He is part of the African-American race that is expressed in his writing. He writes about how he is currently oppressed, but this does not diminish his hope and will to become the equal man. Because he speaks from the point of view of an oppressed African-American, the poem’s struggles and future changes seem to be of greater importance than they ordinarily would. The point of view of being the oppressed African American is clearly evident in Langston Hughes’s writing.

    Read More

  • America, by Claude McKay

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...for equal rights. In some poems McKay even called for violent acts to change the laws, however, as an educated man, reason prevailed. As result he adopted religion, and his poetry, like himself became conflicted. Out of this confliction came some of the most powerful African American poetry in history. Claude McKay poured his soul onto to paper, and as a result, it seeps in to all who read it.

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes And The Harlem Renaissance

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the 1920's and 30’s, America went through a period of astonishing artistic creativity, the majority of which was concentrated in one neighborhood of New York City, Harlem. The creators of this period of growth in the arts were African-American writers and other artists. Langston Hughes is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the period know as the Harlem Renaissance. With the use of blues and jazz Hughes managed to express a range of different themes all revolving around the Negro. He played a major role in the Harlem Renaissance, helping to create and express black culture. He also wrote of political views and ideas, racial inequality and his opinion on religion. I believe that Langston Hughes’ poetry helps to capture the era know as the Harlem Renaissance.

    Read More

  • Biography of Langston Hughes

    1369 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Oppression in Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Racial Inequality in 'Harlem' by Langston Hughes

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Harlem” by Langston Hughes opened the doors to African American art. Throughout history, there has been a lot of issues with racial inequality. During the Harlem Renaissance, many African Americans wanted to prove they were just as intelligent, creative, and talented as white Americans. Langston Hughes was one of the people who played an influential part in the Harlem Renaissance. His poem “Harlem” painted a very vivid picture of his life and his outlook on the society he lived in.

    Read More

  • The Harlem Renaissance

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Harlem Renaissance refers to a prolific period of unique works of African-American expression from about the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression. Although it is most commonly associated with the literary works produced during those years, the Harlem Renaissance was much more than a literary movement; similarly, it was not simply a reaction against and criticism of racism. The Harlem Renaissance inspired, cultivated, and, most importantly, legitimated the very idea of an African-American cultural consciousness. Concerned with a wide range of issues and possessing different interpretations and solutions of these issues affecting the Black population, the writers, artists, performers and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance had one important commonality: "they dealt with Black life from a Black perspective." This included the use of Black folklore in fiction, the use of African-inspired iconography in visual arts, and the introduction of jazz to the North.[i] In order to fully understand the lasting legacies of the Harlem Renaissance, it is important to examine the key events that led to its beginnings as well as the diversity of influences that flourished during its time.

    Read More

  • An African American's Dreams and “Harlem” by Langston Hughes

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Harlem” by Langston Hughes is a poem that talks about what happens when we postpones our dreams. The poem is made up of a series of similes and it ends with a metaphor. The objective of the poem is to get us to think about what happens to a dream that is put off, postponed; what happens when we create our very own shelve of dreams? The “dream” refers to a goal in life, not the dreams we have while sleeping, but our deepest desires. There are many ways to understand this poem; it varies from person to person. Some may see this poem as talking about just dreams in general. Others may see it as African-American’s dreams.

    Read More

  • Racial Tension In The Harlem Renaissance, By Langston Hughes

    1420 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement where African American poets were writing about the racial tension they experience. Most poems came from Harlem and were about the injustices and pride the black community felt. One famous poet was Langston Hughes. Hughes works were about the African American life starting in the twenties. Langston Hughes was the best writer of the Harlem Renaissance. He wanted his poems to the point and simple, rather than complex and wordy. His works were not written in sonnet like many other black poets. He believes that poem from African American poet should be different from their experiences. He wanted to tell real stories that including good and bad times that happen. His poems spoke to people everywhere, especially in the African American community. One of his poems goes over a hard time an African American would have to face when living under a landlord. Through the words in “Ballad of the LandLord” by Langston Hughes, themes of social injustices in the African American communities show the audience how African Americans were treated.

    Read More

  • Personal Essay: My Dream By Langston Hughes

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everybody has a dream whether they are willing to admit it or not. Some have achieved their dreams, some are still working towards their dream while many have given up. When Hughes asked what happens to a dream deferred, he explored a human consciousness that forces people to abandon their dreams. It is a powerful question which commands a sense of silence after it. With each stanza he evokes powerful and negative images of abandoned dreams. The message is that abandoned dreams do not simply vanish because you are not chasing them. Instead, they go through an evolution which gets worse before exploding. Hughes became frustrated with the number of blacks in Harlem succumb to an oppressive environment. Before he became a renowned poet, novelist,

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Dreams Deferred By Langston Hughes

Open Document