In Langston Hughes’ poem, Harlem (A Dream Deferred), the author ponders about the effects of an insurmountable dream. The poem is mainly about the limitations of what was known as the “American Dream” for African Americans post World War II. Hughes’ poem is stated in the beginning of Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun. This play focuses on an African American family, the Youngers, suffering with financial issues, trying to live a better life by moving into an all-white neighborhood. Each character in the play has his/her own dream and with economic misfortunes, comes a lingering dream. The significance of having a dream and the feeling of failure when unable to accomplish that dream is presented in both A Raisin in the Sun and Harlem …show more content…
This poem displayed the hardships of the African American community by using a series of questions that all have negative connotations. These questions are ultimately ways to answer an even bigger question, “What happens to a dream deferred?”. To answer this question, Hughes starts off by writing, “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” He continues with, “Does it stink like rotten meat?” His final response is “Or does it explode?” This array of thoughts are pessimistic similes and metaphors to construe the fact that everyone can dream and will dream, even if the outcome is not what was hoped. These dreams were especially difficult to accomplish for African Americans during an American time period with racism being an extensive part of this …show more content…
Walter declares, “Nobody in this house is ever going to understand me.” Walter dreams of investing in the liquor store with his friends to earn money. He believes this is the way to support his family from living with such atrocious conditions. Ruth expresses her desire to relocate, while conversing with Mama and says, “Well, Lord knows, we’ve put enough rent into this here rat trap to pay for four houses by now.” Basically, Mama and Ruth disagree with Walter and prioritize moving to a new house in the all-white neighborhood, so they are at least living comfortably. On the other hand, Beneatha wants money to pursue in her education. In an assured manner, Beneatha announces, “Oh, I probably will… but first I’m going to be a doctor, and George, for one, still thinks that’s pretty funny. I couldn’t be bothered with that. I am going to be a doctor and everybody around here better understand that!” Beneatha’s dream is to become a doctor and she needs money to pay for the tuition. Hansberry clearly identifies each characters’ dream and their in just the first Act of the
“What happens to a dream deferred?” Langston Hughes asks in his 1959 poem “Dream Deferred.” He suggests that it might “dry up like a raisin in the sun” or “stink like rotten meat” but, at the end of the poem, Hughes offers another alternative by asking, “Or does it explode?” This is the poem that the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is based on. The play is about an African-American’s family struggling to break out of poverty. The poverty stands in the way of them accomplishing their dreams and goals. Poverty has a strong effect on Walter Lee Younger a character in the play. Walter Lee believes that success is measured in wealth. In the play he constantly struggles to move up the social ladder and earn more money.
Everyone wants their dreams to become a reality; however, the unfortunate reality is that more often than not, dreams are not achieved and become deferred. Langston Hughes let this theme ring throughout his poetic masterpiece “Harlem,” in which he posed many questions about what happens to these dreams. In “A Raisin In the Sun,” Lorraine Hansberry draws so many indisputable parallels from “Harlem.” Hansberry consistently uses the dreams of Mama Younger, Big Walter, and Walter Lee to allude to Hughes poem. The intensity of the dreams coupled with the selfishness of some characters eventually adds an abundant amount of emotional strain to the family, once again demonstrating Hansberry’s dedication to Hughes poem.
Langston Hughes wrote a poem, in 1951, called “Harlem”. It sums up the play A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore- and the run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over- like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?” Lorraine Hansberry uses this poem to open A Raisin in the Sun. This dialogue suggests what happens to the African American’s dream during the Brown v. Board of Education trials. While critiquing this play I was a little disappointed that Brown v. Board of Education was not discussed directly. However, I did find the plot of the play, and the people who were attending it to be very interesting.
“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.
Like the Youngers do in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, living in Chicago during the 1950s was tough for an African-American family. In this play, Hansberry presents a story which demonstrates the effects of putting off one's dreams. Throughout this drama, the Younger family tackles trial after tribulation while they struggle to realize their aspirations. In the concluding segment of the story, while many of the characters’ dreams do not come true, some simply do. The poem “Harlem,” by Langston Hughes, embodies this concept of dreams and aspirations. It is apparent that Hansberry used Hughes’ poem as a direct source of inspiration, seeing as she named her story after the line "What happens to a dream deferred, does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" (Meyer 1730). A Raisin in the Sun is an appropriate title because it figuratively relates to the characters’ dreams.
In the lyric poems, “Dreams” and “Harlem,” written by Langston Hughes, the speaker discusses the Harlem Renaissance, that Hughes thought would be successful, but backfired. A common theme for Hughes’s poems are the impediments of the American dream for African Americans. However, African Americans cannot dream or aspire to great things because of the environment of oppression that surrounds them. Although, these two poems are often grouped together, the inconspicuous contrasts in the tones, messages, and figurative languages conceal the relevance between both poems.
Throughout Langston Hughes poems, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and “I, Too,” he discuss issues of equality and racism. When Hughes wrote these poems, African Americans were not accepted by White Americans. Blacks were discriminated against and killed violently; they had to sit in the back of the buses, and were denied the right to vote, just to name a few issues. With this kind of separation so prevalent, both blacks and whites feared for their lives. The symbolism in this poem represents the relationships between rivers and the history of the African American life. The poem is also structured to provide the unity of the African American history. Hughes also uses imagery for the readers to understand the history and background of African Americans’.
Walter is Mama’s oldest son. His dreams are to be wealth but at the same time wanting to provide for his family. His own personal dream is to open liquor store with his money he receives from Mama.
As people go through life they are hopeful for their dreams to come true, but a person can change based on a dream that is deferred. When a person’s dream is deferred they start to act differently. They make choices that not only affect themselves, but people they care about. Throughout a Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry illuminates the truth of Hughes’s poem. Langston Hughes poem reveals the determinacy of a dream deferred. Dreams that people have can be related back to the Maslow hierarchy, and they also reveal how possible dreams are for everyone in society. In the play a Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry demonstrates that people can respond differently to a dream deferred through her symbolism and characterization.
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, “Harlem,” Langston Hughes used increasingly destructive imagery to present his warning of what will happen if you delay working towards your goal.
In Lorraine Hansberry’s play “Raisin in the Sun”, the central theme shown is that is worth it to have dream, no matter the struggle to make it a reality. Throughout the play, the Younger family are struggling to make their dreams come true due to many factors such as lack of money and being an African American family during the 1950s. However, the family never loses their hope of making their dreams a reality. The pieces of evidence that supports the theme is the insurance money, Mama’s plant, and the relations with the American Dream.
In Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun, the author reveals a hard-working, honest African-American family struggling to make their dreams come true. Langston Hughes' poem, "Harlem," illustrates what could happen if those dreams never came to fruition. Together, both Hansberry and Hughes show the effects on human beings when a long-awaited dream is thwarted by economic and social hardships.
Walter’s dream is to become wealthy and to provide for his family. All of these dreams are deferred by the lack of money. When Mama’s husband died
He had a family who counted on him to be the provider and family man. Ruth and Mama wanted Walter to be the man of the house just like his father was. Walter wanted a business that would make him rich, so that he could be the man his family wanted. Ruth was tired of giving up on her husband as she mentions to mama, “I don’t know what it is-but he needs something-something I can’t give him anymore. He needs this chance, Lena”
Walter wants the insurance money so that he can prove that he is capable of making a future for his family. By doing well in business, Walter thinks that he can buy his family happiness. Mama cares for Walter deeply and hates seeing him suffer so she gave into his idea. Mama gives Walter the rest of the money and tells him to put half in a bank for his sister's schooling and he could do whatever he wanted with the other half.