Harlem a poem reflection
Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem" reflects themes that were relevant to the Harlem Renaissance Period, such as hopelessness, disappointment, and a constant struggle that blacks continued to faced, in their communities, and in society. Furthermore, the poem transcends time and is applicable to present day.Hughes' opens the poem asking a very powerful question: "What happens to a dream deferred?" Everyone has dreams, and everyone thrives off of their dreams, but it can be very disappointing and upsetting when your dreams are delayed or put on hold. No one wants their dreams to be put on hold or pushed to the side by society, because it does not classify them as important or significant. Hughes asks this question during a very frustrating time for blacks. People full of ambition, full of drive, and full of self esteem were essentially told to step to the side for people of other races. What they had to say or wanted to do was insignificant. When blacks rode the bus, train or any form of transportation, they had to make way for the other races that were considered "separate but equal," or in my words, those who the societal rules considered superior. Hughes uses "deferred" in the poem to refer to the condition of blacks during
" What he is asking here is two-fold. the time, which was in a position of deferment or simply put pushed to the back seat. This explosion is a very loud and thunderous uproar of understanding and knowledge that lights up the neighborhoods, communities, and nation, causing a very tired group of people to wake up and take charge of the current situations and circumstances they are facing. They are the aches and pains of unfulfilled dreams. It will continue to "stink" in the soul of the person. He suggests that dreams become a "heavy load," and they start to "sag" or weigh a person down after carrying them for such a long time. They become infected with doubt, frustrations, and poverty. Dreams, in fact, do become infected. Hughes' poem has definitely made many aware of the unethical situations that Blacks were facing during a very harsh time. The second point of view is that the dream will "crust over like a syrupy sweet" or something that is affectionately longed for. Black Americans faced this kind of constant ongoing abuse, which is why many black people decided to stop fighting and just accept things the way they were. The thought will linger, causing pain and lurking in the back of one's mind. Hughes concludes the poem in lines 11, by combining all the anger, frustrations, disappointments, bitterness, and unfair treatment that faced Blacks during such a hostile time. Blacks were mistreated, causing bitterness and frustration to infect their community.
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