A Dream In 'Harlem' By Langston Hughes

In 2011 a study was done and what they found was that approximately one out of every three Americans felt unfulfilled in life. With further research showing that most of the participants retained the feeling due to not living to their fullest potential, the conclusion can be made that not following your dreams can create some emotional distress. The poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes in 1951 projected a similar theory asking the question “What happens to a dream deferred?” After reading the poem I began to question a lot of the dreams I have had to push aside or forget about. As a fan of Langston Hughes I believe the poem is meant to create a positive image about creating a dream and pursuing that dream until it becomes reality. The poem
The image of a moment when the juice and life of the dream vanishes, sucked away and crumpled proposes a negative aspect to the forgotten dream. I feel as though Hughes is placing a metaphorical timeline on a dream that has just been developed. Even though some readers might not agree, the idea of having a select period of time in which the individual can fulfill each dream does make sense. In a specific instance of a child dreaming of becoming a doctor most will agree that the child needs to commit to a focus on education in order to get into medical
The picture of a person carrying a heavy object shows the struggle of leaving a dream on your back that causes you to move through life with a sluggish pace. The fact that Hughes used the word “maybe” forces that this line is not a question but more of a personal suggestion. This suggestion indicates that the dream could become hard to tolerate due to the mental uncertainty that could lead people to ask “what if” questions. The one and only question of “what if” can drive a person insane if asked long enough due to the fact that no matter what the individual does they cannot go back in time and redo the moment. The idea behind “what if” has gotten to the best of me when I think about losing my mother. My mother had not been a major part of my life because of her ways of living but in 2009 we reconnected and began talking. I was only given a few years to know my mother the way a son is supposed to but I know that If I keep asking myself the same question I will not be able to succeed in life, which is all my mother would have