The American Dream By Langston Hughes

A variety of Langston Hughes’s poems, accentuate the possession of hopefulness of African Americans in correlation to the Great Migration, from the south to the flourishing north, between the 1920s and 1960s. African Americans, seeking for occupational and life opportunities, drift to the north, where economy exists to be blooming and thriving. Hughes’s idiosyncratic style of fabrication of metaphors highlights African Americans’ possession of high hopes while entering the land of opportunities and a better and equal life. In addition Hughes’s domestic imagery conjures a dejected mood as the dreams and hope seem to be too far to reach. The African Americans consist to be chasing the idealized American Dream and yearning for acceptance from
the white establishments. First, “Dreams” expresses the meaning of life and what exists to be a fundamental element of every life.
In the beginning the poem mentions: “For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly.” This metaphor serves to compare the flightless bird to an African American who contains to be bound by social principles. Then the poem mentions: “For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.” This metaphor serves to acknowledge that once someone loses hope and dream, life consists to possess no meaning. Basically meaning that a life with a unobtainable dream exists to be better when comparing it to a life without dreams or goals. In addition there consists to be anaphora of “Hold fast to dreams”, as if to say that dreams die easily. Once you give up and lose hope, your dreams disappear and fade away just like life. African Americans, brimming with high hopes arrive in the flourishing northern part of America. They work to achieve acceptance from the white establishment and a possible chance of accomplishing the American Dream. They acknowledge the fact that their acceptance into the white society exists to be nearly impossible, however they strive for this dream. This dream and hope consists to be their motivation not to give up in life and break though, because once there consists to be no more dream there will be no purpose to
life. Second, “I Too” talks about the African American’s hope of acceptance into white establishments. The poem first mentions “I, too, sing America… I am the darker brother” which means that he sees no difference between himself, an African American man, and a white man. He hopes that the white people can understand and acknowledge that he, a black man, exists to be no different than an American. Then the poem continues on to say: ‘Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table… Nobody’ll dare Say to me, “Eat in the kitchen,’” this exists to be an example of domestic imagery which accentuates the means that the speaker still possess some hope that tomorrow or in the future there will be a change. A change that will turn white men and black men into friends and hopefully dine at the same table. The domestic imagery seems to play the role of expressing the simplicity of an African American’s dreams. In the end the poem closes with “They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed--” and these two lines display the true emotion of the speaker. The speaker desires for the white American people to wake up and see the truth, and to stop judging people based on the color of their surface. Lastly, “Harlem” describes the possible results of what happens to a fallen dream. The speaker exists to be questioning about the effects of being hopeless and dreamless. The overall mood of this poem consists to be dejected. The atmosphere exists to be very heavy and depressed. In addition the tone of the speaker also seems to be very gloomy and hopeless since he or she consists to be thinking in a negative manner. For example like mentioned in: “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” and “Does it stink like rotten meat?”. Both of these lines heighten the depressed mood of the poem and during the 1920s and 1960s. The poem ends with: “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?” which further expresses the crestfallen mood of the poem. During the 1920s and 1960s African Americans began to question the motive of their dream and whether it exists or not. Their facade or dream of acceptance into the white society soon made them realize that maybe this dream consists to be empty since the beginning. The speaker mirroring the African Americans during this time period commence their questioning about their dreams and desires, wondering what will happen to them if their dreams continuously delay itself. Through a wide span of Hughes’s poems, they express similar motifs and ideologies.
He questions the world and its standards. A common motif shared by these three poems above consist to be dream, the dream that every African American embrace. African Americans’ migration from the south to the north in high hopes, believing that life will be better in the north, result in the downfall of many of them. They all believe that once they reach the north, everything would change for them and they will reach the requirements of the white society. In addition to that, African Americans also endeavor the chase for the American Dream. Some also believe that once they become rich and wealthy, the white society will acknowledge them as one of them and welcome them into their world. However no matter how hard they try, this dream exists to be impossible. The African Americans, after a period of time of failure of their accomplishment, began to slowly accept the fact that this American Dreams of theirs doesn’t exist. Langston’s poems also correlates to our time period as well. Although we say that racism doesn’t exist today, deep down we still judge people and place them into categories and stereotypes. One example being the payment for workers per hour. We say that there contains to be no racism or discrimination yet the payment per hour work varies among different races and genders. We, similar to the African Americans during the 1920s and 1960s try to encourage ourselves that this will
change and once it changes, everything will be fine.