Langston Hughes writes, “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore/And then run? / Or does it explode?” (Hughes) The first-line of the poem is monumental even though it seems to be a simple question, it isn’t because no one likes to put off a dream with in first question. Hughes is referring to a dream in the sense that it is now a raisin dried-up and wasted away. He’s stating to the masses that if nothing is done to advance the rights of African-American men and women, dreams will be pushed aside and will continue to itch until it’s too late and the dream has all but faded away. In his last line he asked or does it explode? The answer is yes it has exploded all over Ferguson with …show more content…
The theory ultimately determines whether they will eventually be led to commit crimes to relieve the strain or to resist by obeying the rules of society. (Strain Theories) An example of this would be police departments not having good communication and place to be able to communicate with the public this in turn creates strain on the policeman himself. Policeman’s perceptions of the world are influenced by two things which are danger and authority. These perceptions allow him to view society from a different viewpoint than a regular citizen. This also puts him into an isolated sub culture, which can work against him. The element of danger seems to make the policeman feel the pressure of appearing efficient. The character of an officer effects whom he is friends with, most of a policeman’s friends are others that are policemen. The element of danger can isolate him from certain citizens in the society. The element of authority reinforces the element of danger and in turn isolates the policeman. The policeman is required to enforce the laws to everyone in the society. Not only do they have to enforce all laws they have to regulate all public activity such as traffic laws. Whether a policeman can step away from his working persona is crucial when he’s off duty and in street clothes because he has to be able to function normally in society just like everyone else. No one knows the thoughts of a police officer. Only that officer at the moment of a situation can speak for him or herself. (Sketch of the Policeman’s “Working Personality)The basic foundation of the criminal justice system is police enforcement of laws poor community relations can be a barrier between the citizens and police departments. It can has created an and impediment within the community of Ferguson; the way in which they have handled the recent events in the Michael Brown case
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...?"
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.
In Langston Hughes’ poem, A Dream Deferred, Hughes wonders what happens to a dream that does not come true. He writes, “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?” In A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter shows that his deferred dream does both. Early in the play, he shares his hopes and dreams for his family and their future with his young son, Travis. He imagines that earning his fortune will cure all the shortcomings and injustices in their lives. The limitations of Walter’s aspirations for himself and his family undermine his ability to save his family. Walter’s acceptance of unjust systems, which makes one man “master” and another one “servant,” compromises the power of Walter’s dream. By showing that Walter has internalized this corrupt system, Hansberry illustrates that his dream will not bring Walter or his family happiness.
This is typical of Hughes, who was a pioneer of so-called "spoken-word poetry," as opposed to more structured forms. Hughes was inspired by black American traditions, and wanted to make his poems accessible to everyone, and accurately reflect American life. He wrote this poem in words that ordinary people of his time could understand, even if they did not have a great education. Since much of Hughes' intended audience was black and not well educated, Hughes wrote a poem that does not require much formal poetic training to understand. However, it is also a very deep poem, one that still lends itself to these methods of study.
With great dreams comes great sacrifices and the ultimate sacrifice is putting that dream on hold. There are many situations that get in the way that force individuals to step away from their dreams and take care of their personal issues. Everyone has the aspiration to fulfill their dreams, but sometimes dreams are set aside for various reason, and some people never return to continue fulfillment. In the poem Harlem, Hughes writes, “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” (Hughes). One of the many sacrifices when in search of the American Dream or any dream in general is the potential of it being put off. Like Langston Hughes says, the dream may dry up like a raisin in the sun, but in actuality the dream is never lost, the remnants are still there. It is simply set aside so when the time is right to continue on with the dream the individual can pick up where they left off. As the dream sits on hold it loses its importance, or it dries up. Putting off a dream is one of the biggest sacrifices someone could make no matter the circumstance. People are sacrificing what their lives could have potentially been. Hughes talks about all of the feelings that come with putting off a dream and describes what could potentially happen to a differed dream. Ultimately, the poem is about the sacrifice of giving up this American Dream and choosing a different
The poem begins by introducing the limitations of the African Americans’ hopes and dreams in the form of a question. Hughes asks, “What happens to a dream deferred” (1). Here, the dream refers to the African Americans’ yearning for equality and freedom, and Hughes wants to examine what happens when that dream is persistently pushed aside. The spacing directly after this line conjures a sense of silence as if allowing a moment to contemplate the question. The lines following this question explore several possible outcomes, and each answer represents the ruin of a forgotten dream.
In the last line of the poem, the speaker uses a word of destruction -- "explode.” The choice of diction does not portray the dream in the usual sense as paradises. The speaker claims the dream that the community experiences will eventually destroy the community of Harlem. The dream only leaves a sense of bitterness and desperation just as the impression the speaker has on Harlem. The form of this destructive line also symbolizes the status of the questions that were previously stated: when Harlem cannot heal its sores and wounds, it will explode all at once through means of riots and protests. Furthermore, the usage of italics in the last line can emphasis the severity of a postponed dream, in this case of the African American community. This final line increases the intensity of the situation.
Langston Hughes' poem begins with a deceptively innocent question: "What happens to a dream deferred?" (Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun 1). From the opening line, the reader is left to contemplate an infinite number of possible outcomes, among them if it partially dies, if it continues to live into the next generation, if it matters what kind of dream it is, and many others. And then, suddenly, he adds to it to further focus the question and thusly to compound and raise its complexity. He asks, "Does it dry up / Like a raisin in the sun?" (Hansberry 2-3). Now, whereas the reader could initially answer the first question in whichever way he wished, he now finds him...
Strain theory is the theory that society encourages people to be successful through approved methods. Those who are not able to achieve their goals are separated by the societal strain. One of the key elements of strain theory are the categorizations of criminal intent based on a person’s acceptance of both society’s goals and the means to achieve them. The strength of strain theory lies in its vagueness, by not defining what society’s goals are or the means of achieving them strain theory can be applied to almost any situation. The situations in which strain theory cannot be applied can be considered its weakness for instance crime among those in the upper class where they are already deemed successful by society and have legal methods of achieving success. Strain theory applies best to those in the lower classes as they lack the resources needed to achieve success. The criminal justice system uses strain theory to categorize crime in low income areas.
Law enforcement is an important element of the United States’ system of criminal justice apart from the corrections and the courts. It is one of the major functions of the various governmental agencies of police. It is therefore concerned with police service or functions of police departments. In this paper, the author analyzes at law enforcement and related issues. Specifically, the author discusses law enforcement, theoretical understanding of the different models of policing as well as policing styles. The author also looks at the question of stress associated with the life of a police officer and how such stress affects them. This is a purely theoretical discussion based on secondary sources of information. Time and resources constraints could not allow for a more empirical, experimental fieldwork research. The materials relied upon are mainly journal articles from respectable academic journals and databases.
There are many criminological theories that attempt to explain criminal behavior or crime patterns. For instance, Agnew’s General Strain Theory can be applied to explain why the criminal John Dillinger committed various crimes. Agnew’s General Strain Theory assumes that all individuals experience strain, which, in turn, causes negative emotions that can result in legitimate or illegitimate coping, depending on an individual’s constraints or dispositions. Thus, the continuous criminal behavior throughout John Dillinger’s life can be explained using Agnew’s General Strain Theory in relation to strain, negative emotions, and dispositions.
Strain theory is the inability to achieve one’s goals because of the loss of positive stimuli, or the presentation of negative stimuli. Strain theory may play a pivotal role in some of my peer 's lives due to their inability to achieve their goals. In class we talk about how strain theory cause great deal of crimes through means of certain strains or stressors, which increasing the likelihood of crime. Examples of Stressors and strains is not having positive role model this may influence crimes to happen. Other issue of strains that may play a role in crime is the inability of gaining monetary success. Monetary success usually cause problems that arise due to the lack of income or lack of quality education that would drives individuals to commit crime. My perspective to general strain theory is that a lot pressure was put on me to succeed in life, and that played a factor in my of my own strain to succeed, we didn’t have a lot income in the house, but my parents did provide everything in order for me to succeed. People such as Robert Merton believed that when societal norms only accepted goals, such as the 'American Dream, ' which then place pressure on the individual to conform, they force the individual to either work within the society has produced, or instead becomes a members of a deviant subculture in an attempt to achieve those
Otherwise, they might die miserably. In contrast, there are no assertive sentences in Hughes’ poem. “Harlem” is built on six questions, and these questions make the readers feel inconclusive. Hughes seems to believe that when people face uncertainties in their lives, they will concurrently feel frustration. Therefore, the questions make the readers gain a sense of the poet’s indefinite attitude of racial oppression; Hughes also uses many negative words, such as “fester”, “sore” and “stink” to convey his frustrated tone. Further, in the third stanzas, “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load”, unlike the other lines in the poem, is not a question; it reflects the poet’s hopelessness because he no longer questions, he is expressing a possibility. However, there is also a turning point in the last line, “Or does it explode?” Here, the tone changes from frustrated to threatened. This shows a dangerous and destructive action that hopeless people might take to defend themselves while living in constant fear of. During the civil right movement, blacks did not have rights as the whites
Towards the middle of the poem the realist in Hughes comes out. He goes into the doubts that most African Americans had at the time. He says, "Down South in Dixie only train I sees got a Jim Crow car set aside for me." Another interesting technique he adds is when he capitalizes the "WHITE FOLKS ONLY" and "FOR COLORED" signs. He either does this to draw attention to the cause, or to try and know what it feels like to have these signs sticking in your face. He specifically mentions Birmingham, Mississippi, and Georgia during the poem. These were key cities that were into segregation of the South. "When it stops in Mississippi will it be made plain everybody's got a right to board the freedom train." Hughes almost is becoming a little agitated in the poem when he refers to these cities, especially when he is talking about Birmingham. "The Birmingham station's marked COLORED and WHITE, the white folks go left, the colored go right." In this part of the poem, he is questioning whether or not this Freedom Train is too good to be true. He sounds like he doubts a little of what this Freedom Train is all about. He knows there is a train, but there have been a lot of promises before that were not fulfilled, he does not want to get his hopes up before he finds out more about this train.
Strain theories of criminal behaviour have been amongst the most important and influential in the field of criminology. Taking a societal approach, strain theories have sought to explain deficiencies in social structure that lead individuals to commit crime (Williams and McShane 2010). Strain theories operate under the premise that there is a societal consensus of values, beliefs, and goals with legitimate methods for achieving success. When individuals are denied access to legitimate methods for achieving success, the result is anomie or social strain. This often leads an individual to resort to deviant or criminal means to obtain the level of success that they are socialized to pursue. This is the basic premise of strain theory. This paper will explore the evolution of strain theories by first examining their intellectual foundations which laid the foundation for Robert Merton’s theories of anomie and strain. Merton’s strain theory will be discussed in detail including the modes of adaptation that people use when faced with societal strain. Finally, the paper will conclude with the strengths and weaknesses of Merton’s strain theory and an examination of the criminological theories and social policies it has influenced.