What does it mean to have a dream? Is it a foolish notion fueled by impulsive desires? Or is it a goal that makes life worth living? In the works of Langston Hughes,—“Mother to Son”, “Dream Deferred”, and “As I Grew Older”—he explores the very essence of what it means to have a dream. The presence of literary devices such as: imagery, motif, and an extended metaphor, clearly alludes to his personal struggles, which made him to question the merit of his dreams. The speaker emphasizes how the obstacles in-between ourselves and our dreams are a natural component of life as well as highlighting the importance of persevering otherwise, our dreams can and will wither away. The obstacles and challenges we face while trying to reach our dreams are …show more content…
Our self-inflicted woes are what makes dreams such fragile things; if we aren’t persistent, our dreams would wither away and cease to exist. In “Dream Deferred”, a poem that vividly illustrates what would happen to a dream if it were constantly delayed—as the title of the poem would suggest, the author indicates exactly that. Hughes utilizes graphic imagery that evokes intense emotions. Various examples are depicted in the poem of what “happens to a dream deferred” such as: “a raisin in the sun” or a crusted-over “syrupy sweet” (Line 3, 8). This vulgar symbolism is used to emphasize the consequences of postponing ambitions and aspirations for an extended period of time. Correspondingly, “As I Grew Older”—as mentioned before—explores a similar concept. In the earlier stanzas of this piece of poetry, the speaker details that his dream was “bright like a sun” but—because he has “almost forgotten [his] dream”—“then the wall rose,.../between [him] and [his] dream”(Line 2, 5, 7, 10). He then proceeds to “lie down in the shadow/no longer the light of [his] dream before [him]”(Line 15, 16). The act of lying down in the cesspool of darkness is the literal personification of quitting. The shadowy barrier represents the challenges that arise as a result of putting off and, eventually, giving up a dream. On the whole, these two literary works
Various people have different beliefs on the importance of having dreams The speaker in “Kitchenette Building,” by Gwendolyn Brooks and Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry both have contrasting views on the significance of dreams. In the poem “Kitchenette Building,” the speaker discusses how arduous it is for a dream to survive the hardships and harsh realities of life in a cramped kitchenette
In the book “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, there were characters whose dreams were stated, some of which were shattered by greed and misfortune and others which would eventually come to be true. The first dream that came about was Walter’s dream of one day owning and maintaining a liquor store. He would do anything to attempt to get his dream to come true, but his mama wanted anything but that to happen. His mama had a dream of her own though, she dreamed of one day owning her own house, where her whole family could stay comfortably. She dreamed this because in the apartment that she resided in was too small, and dumpy, as Ruth called it. Her grandson Travis had to sleep on the couch, and all that she wanted was for him to have a bed of his o...
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement during the 1920s and 1930s, in which African-American art, music and literature flourished. It was significant in many ways, one, because of its success in destroying racist stereotypes and two, to help African-Americans convey their hard lives and the prejudice they experienced. In this era, two distinguished poets are Langston Hughes, who wrote the poem “A Dream Deferred” and Georgia Douglas Johnson who wrote “My Little Dreams”. These two poems address the delayment of justice, but explore it differently, through their dissimilar uses of imagery, tone and diction.
“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.
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.
James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin , Missouri . His parents divorced when he was a small child, and his father moved to Mexico . He was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen, when he moved to Lincoln , Illinois , to live with his mother and her husband, before the family eventually settled in Cleveland , Ohio . It was in Lincoln , Illinois , that Hughes began writing poetry. Following graduation, he spent a year in Mexico and a year at Columbia University . During these years, he held odd jobs as an assistant cook, launderer, and a busboy, and travelled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman. In November 1924, he moved to Washington , D.C. Hughes's first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926. He finished his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. In 1930 his first novel, Not Without Laughter, won the Harmon gold medal for literature.
During the 1900’s many African Americans moved from the south to the north in an event called the Great Migration. Many of the southern African Americans migrated to a place called Harlem. This is where it all began. Harlem became the breeding ground for blues, jazz, and gave birth to a new generation of Negro Artist. They referred to themselves as the New Negro. The New Negro was the foundation for an era called the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance allowed for the manifestation of the double consciousness of the Negro race as demonstrated by artists such as Langston Hughes. During the height of the Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes created poetry that was not only artistically and musically sound but also captured a blues essence giving life to a new style of poetry as it depicted the African American struggles with self and society. One thing is for sure, Hughes consistent use of common themes allows them to be the very basis of the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes is one of the most influential icons of the Harlem renaissance because of his poetry and musical talent.
Langston Hughes is considered by many readers to be the most significant black poet of the twentieth century. Except for a few examples, all his poems are about social injustice in America. The somber tone of his writing often reflected his mood. Race relations were present in almost his whole career, following him from his first poem to his last.
According to Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, dreams are a gateway to the unconscious mind and an individual’s deepest desires (scientificamerican.com 1). The American Dream is about gaining a large success through hard work. Deep down every individual wants to strive to achieve the best at what they acquire. However, not everyone will attain their life long goals. This is evident in The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and There Will Be Blood written by Paul Thomas Anderson. Between these two texts the destruction of hopes and dreams can derive from smaller issues such as the lack of money, the anger and jealousy of others and the disappointment of impossibly high goals.
During his lifetime, he was known as "the poet laureate of Harlem." What this meant, is that he was worthy of honor and he excelled in poetry. In addition, he worked as a journalist, dramatist, essayist, novelist, playwright, lyricist, and children's author during his life. This man’s name is Langston Hughes, however his full name is James Langston Hughes.
Evidently, Walter Lee?s judgment becomes significantly impaired and all because of his dreams. In the world today, people still struggle with the same problems and desire the same things Walter does. Success is a seemingly huge necessity. In the course of ones life, each person is destined to face personal conflicts and contradictions. These problems, with the ability to overcome them is truly how to achieve greatness. As Mr. Langston Hughes questions so powerfully in his poem, ?What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?? With the help of Walter Lee Younger, the answer becomes evident. Dreams never dry up? they just change.
Langston Hughes aptly expresses his frustrations in his poem, "Dream Deferred. " As people read this poem, at any time, they can relate to the simple universal message that the poet expressed. Hughes is very expressive in how he feels about dreams he has had and the fact and his frustration at not being able to pursue and/or fulfill those dreams that he is unable to pursue or fulfill those dreams. In his poem, Hughes asks the reader to think by posing the question,?What happens to a dream deferred?(1). This first line opens up a whole world of thought.
If you want anything in life, it is important to go out and get it rather than waiting around for it to come to you or settling for less than what you what. Settling for something less than your dreams will cause unhappiness and mediocracy. In Langston Hughes’, A Dream Deferred, the speaker contemplates what happens to a dream when it goes unachieved. Langston Hughes uses diction, simile and stanza form to represent the idea that a delayed dream discourages and breaks down the human spirit.
These three texts contain the search for dreams, whether they be absurd, simple, or take you on a journey. Throughout the texts, the protagonists realise their dreams, each represented in a different way. In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys, Charlie’s dream is to be intelligent, not so that he can be normal, but so people will like him. Charlie knows that his retardation has cut him off from most of society, and has limited his ability to connect with people, but he does not mind. Charlie does not long to join society to increase his social standing; rather, he longs to join primarily because he is lonely. In Charlie’s mind, intelligence is the quality that will gain him entry into a world of friends. The resulting irony is that when Charlie does become incredibly intelligent, he finds himself even lonelier than before.
In this story that Langston Hughes was written when he seems very frustradted with a dream where one is trying to accomplish but hard because being a African American. I can relate to as well only because I feel at times my dreams as been deferred . As a young parent I had to give up a lot to take care of son at the age of ninetten years old. I had put my dreams on hold to take care of son. Although having him was a huge blessing in my life, as Afircan America its hard to get certain postion at a job because of your