Langston Hughes embraced a broad spectrum of African-American experiences in his poetry. (Walker 75) He was able to reveal the African-American experience in a variety of different approaches and methods, while still concentrating on his position concerning the lives of African-Americans. Two of his works that demonstrate this are "Harlem (A Dream Deferred)" and "The Negro River Speaks." While they both contain similarities in purpose, they contain differences in structure, format and poetic devices used.
             In "Harlem (A Dream Deferred), Langston Hughes shows us his use of symbolism. He uses symbolism to express the broken dream of racial equality. (Jemie 79) The question Hughes poses in line one, "What happens to a dream deferred?" sets the environment for the plot and symbolism of the rest of the poem. (Hughes 268) As Hughes answers the question, he asks if a dream deferred dries up like a raisin in the sun. (Hughes268) This symbol means that a dream that is decayed and dying like a raisin left out in the sun. If a raisin is left out in the sun too long, it will eventually die. The same principle can apply to a dream left in the mind too long. The environment will kill the dream if it is left idle for a long period of time. It will wither up and die, just like a raisin in the sun. (Jemie 78)
             Hughes continues to make his point through the symbols of inanimate objects as the poem progresses. In addition, all of the symbolic statements except the final one are similes. In lines four and five, the statement, "Or fester like a sore--And then run?" is
             extremely symbolic. (Hughes 268) The picture of a sore festering and then finally breaking open and running is again equal to the broken dream of racial equality. The dream of racial equality grows in the body like a sore. When the dream fails, it breaks open and could fall prey to outside poisons, which could lead to destruction...