Langston Hughes was part of the Harlem Renaissance and was known as "the poet laureate of Harlem." His poems tell of the joys and miseries of the ordinary black man in America. In Hughes poem "Dream Deferred", he uses figures of speech, tone, and a unifying theme to show how black people's dreams were delayed.
             What happens to a dream deferred? Postponing one's deepest desires can lead to destruction. The questions intend to answer themselves throughout the poem with more questions. The speaker wants us to analyze each question so we can get an ideal of what he believes about dreams being postponed. The dream is not just experienced during sleep, but a goal in life. The poem does not choose a certain dream, but leaves it up to the reader. Any important dream or goal in life can be delayed and have negative effects. "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun": A raisin is already dry, begin left out in the sun it will dry up and be hard to eat. The raisin then serves no purpose as for the dream or goal should you let you talent sit and dry up like the raisin.
             If the dream may not dry up, it may "fester like a sore- And then run." If you have a sore, you want it to heal, but if it festers and runs, then it may become infected and it will take longer to heal. As for the dream, it may infect you and hold you back from you goals or even cause illegal activity from the infection. Letting the sore heal can help you to prolong what you want to do with your life. Putting a dream off too long is like meat that had rotted. It can start to have horrible odors if not used by a certain time. The dream if not realized by a certain time could start to decompose and it may just die.
             The dream might start to "crust and sugar over-Like a syrupy sweet?" If you leave sweet syrupy in a bottle over a period of time you may not be able to use it, for it has a build up of crust.
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