In ’Harlem‚’ Langston Hughes is saying that dreams are an essential part of survival. He begins his poem by asking a question‚ “What happens to a dream deferred?” When you delay a dream‚ what becomes of it? Rather than fading away‚ Hughes compares dreams to food‚ a basic component of life. When dreams are put off‚ they become dried and shrunken like raisins‚ and they are not as ripe as the grapes they came from. Hughes is saying that dreams are an important part of life‚ and when they are ignored
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Langston Hughes’s poem” Harlem”‚ ask a great question‚ what happens to a dream deferred? We start out early in our lives with an endless amount of dreams for the future. Dreams for ourselves and dreams on a global scale. As children we dream of being a fireman‚ a police officer‚ teacher‚ or an astronaut. On a global scale we dream of peace and equality. What becomes of those dreams when they are postponed and overdue? Interpreting the first verse of the poem “does it dry up like a raisin
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Langston Hughes’s poem‚ “Cross”‚ focuses on the conflict of segregation of races that occurred in the United States. The poem is in the first person point of view‚ in which‚ the narrator reflects on himself as a young child‚ as he reaches the adult life. In the short three stanza poem‚ the speaker summarizes his obstacles in life that were caused by his family. The poem begins as the narrator describes the ethnicity of his parents “My old man’s a white old man and my old mother’s black” (line 1-2)
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In 1919‚ when Langston Hughes was seventeen years old‚ he spent the summer with his father‚ Jim Hughes‚ in Toluca‚ Mexico. Langston had not seen his father since he was a small child‚ and he was excited about making the trip. However‚ during this visit‚ no affectionate bond would develop between Langston and Jim. Jim Hughes was a cold‚ difficult man‚ who was driven by ambition to make money and achieve respect. He had moved to Mexico to avoid segregation and racial injustice in the United States
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Name English 1302.FE1 April 19‚ 2013 Research project: Langston Hughes Anybody can be philosopher‚ and come up with wonderful ideas and thoughts in their head. How many of those people can actually get those ideas and thoughts on to paper. For others to cherish or criticize‚ to love or hate. Only a select few can achieve such a task and it doesn ’t come easy; to be able to relate to a great amount of people and know that they have the same ideas. It is almost as if you are talking for a group
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Harlem (or “A Dream Deferred”) by Langston Hughes has many similes and instances of personification. The poem’s first simile is a question about what happens to a dream that is put on hold: “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun”. This comparison suggest that just as a raisin loses its physical substance‚ so too does a dream deferred lose its meaning. The “dream” that Hughes probably has in mind here is for African Americans gaining equal rights. The poem’s third simile occurs in lines 5 and 6:“Does
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At the beginning of the poem‚ Hughes lists all the people that were struggling and being oppressed at the time the poem was written. He points out the poor‚ the blacks that still bare the scares of slavery‚ the red man driven from his home‚ and the immigrant clutching to hope. He reconciles them with the opening plea by saying‚ “America will be!” This is saying that they still had hope. Hughes probably had different responses to his poem back in 1938. Poor blacks would have agreed and sympathized
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The work of Langston Hughes impacted many‚ so much so that people felt it was important to continue on his legacy years after his death. The Langston Hughes Society is an example of a group who works to preserve his legacy through presentations‚ events‚ and speakers who have felt a connection to Hughes’ work. This group of scholars teachers‚ creative writers‚ and performing artists strive to raise awareness about the work he has done (“Society”). The conception of this society traces back to as early
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ways. In the poems "Harlem" and "Weary Blues" Langston Hughes uses language that effectively communicates the overall themes of both poems and relates to the African American experience at the time. The literary elements used in “Harlem” help Langston Hughes effectively communicate the overall theme of dreams and its relation to the African American experience. The poem “Harlem” is about a deferred dream and what happens to
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Search for Identity in the Poetry of Langston Hughes In exploring the problem of identity in Black literature we find no simple or definite explanation. Nevertheless‚ it is generally accepted that it is rooted in the reality of the discriminatory social system in America with its historic origins in the institution of slavery. One can discern that this slavery system imposes a double burden on the Negro through severe social and economic inequalities and through the heavy psychological consequences
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