Analyzing Famous “Harlem” by Langston Hughes
Famous “Harlem” by Langston Hughes analysis paper. Langston Hughes was a famous African American Poet, Novelist, born in February 1st, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Hughes grandmothers were enslaved African Americans, whereas his grandfathers were white slave owners. One of his main goals in writing was to showcase the misfortune that African Americans faced on a daily basis. As a young man he decided to move to New York City where he then became a well known figure in the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a period of rebirth that helped African Americans writers and artists find their voices within the community which allowed them to share their life experiences and culture. Hughes was influenced by his vivid sense of imagery which he included in his work as a writer, including his most famous poem “Harlem'.
In the 1951 poem “Harlem”, the author, Langston Hughes used sensory languages such as metaphors and similes to show how African American longed for their freedom and equality that they have been discriminated against due to the color of their skins. He also used symbols to show us how “dreams deferred” can often times deflate our spirits as human. Hughes wrote the poem in a style where he questioned different aspect of life which then allows his audience to have a more profound understanding of what it means to be an American and to be deprive of live the American dream.
The use of imagery in this poem causes the readers to be pulled into what the author is trying portray. To open the poem, Hughes based his entire writing on a question, “What happens to a dream deferred”. The first line immediately gives the readers something to be curious about. Hughes proposed another question in a sense of a simile, “Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?” to suggest that the dreams we delayed, or put on pause will eventually one day evaporate. The use of a “raisin” allowed us as readers to come in touch with our sense of taste. At first, the dream is a fresh grape, all new and flavorful but with time if you never decide to savor the grape, it won’t look or taste the same.
A sore is often describe as a painful place on the body or something that’s throbbing. Further down the line of the poem, Hughes use simile to compare sore with dreams that have been delayed. “Or fester like a sore and then run?”, assuming that the delayed dreams worsen over time to the point where they just disappear from the body. Another simile that Hughes use was the rotten meat, when you think of something rotten, a bad smell always comes to mind. In a way, the author is trying to say after a certain amount of time, the dream that you’ve been postponing will start to reek and you’ll want nothing to do with it. As the poem comes to an end, Hughes raises another question “Or does it explode?” as a good example of a metaphor. The author suggest that a dream delayed doesn’t usually have the best outcomes or reactions.
After attempting to analyze this poem, it’s clear to see that the author’s purpose was deeper than to simply say that bad outcomes are followed by delayed dreams. Although Hughes never mention what dreams he was specially referring to, we as reader can draw a conclusion and say it had to do with the African American dream to gain freedom. The overall analyzation of the poem suggests that African Americans at that time couldn’t dream or wish to be more than what was made of them. Even if they do dream, because of their surrounded environment, their dreams will decay to the point where it’ll explode and disappear as if never thought of.
To sum up, throughout the poem, Hughes focused more on the terrible aspect of life, mostly how things were for African American. However, within the poem itself every so often you’d catch a glimpse of hope. Although its small, it highlights that regardless of the unfair current situation for African American, they still hope that things can turn around because to them, that’s the dream.
