A Differed Dream Become A Reality
Langston Hughes also known as James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. He was named after his father, James Hughes, but was known as Langston. He was the only child from his parents James and Carrie Hughes. His parents divorced when he was a young child, and his father moved to Mexico. He was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen and later moved to Lincoln with his mother. When he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her husband, and soon after the family eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio. It was then in Lincoln that Hughes began writing poetry. After graduating from high school, he spent a year in Mexico followed by a year at Columbia University in New York City. During this time, he held odd jobs such as assistant cook, launderer, and busboy. He also travelled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman. (poets.org)
Hughes began to move on with his life and get into writing more. In November 1924, he moved to Washington. He finished his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. In 1930 his first novel, Not Without Laughter, won the Harmon gold medal for literature. (poets.org) While Hughes’ mother moved around during his youth, Hughes was raised primarily by his maternal grandmother, Mary, until she died in his early teens. From that point, he went to live with his mother, and they moved to several cities before eventually settling, It was during this time that Hughes first began to write poetry, and that one of his teachers first introduced him to the poetry of Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman. Hughes was also a regular contributor to his school's literary magazine, and frequently submitted to other poetry magazines, although they would ultimately reject him. (biography.com) His childhood played a huge part in him being his work of poetry.
Langston Hughes was a great poet. He inspired and allowed people to fell emotions towards a stanza of words that also contain an underlying meaning. He has written many so many poems in his lifetime. One poem in particular called “Harlem” A short poem that seeks to answer its own question with the use of images and the use of similes, metaphors, and figurative language which puts the emphasis on the imagination. The first line asks a reader a question about dreams and the last line is another question which suggests that there is no definitive answer to the original question. Harlem relates to the lives of African American people in the United States. Hughes wanted his poems to reflect the African American race and allow them to have a voice through his work. His poem became a voice for the people who needed it most. This short poem is one of Hughes most famous works and is likely the most common poem of his taught in American schools. Hughes wrote "Harlem" in 1951, and it addresses one of his most common themes and the limitations of the American Dream for African Americans. The poem has eleven short lines out of four stanzas, and all but one line are questions. It also reflects the post-World War II mood of many African Americans. The Great Depression was over, but for African Americans the dream “was still being deferred”. Langston Hughes takes his dreams seriously. He takes the deferral of each dream to heart. His poem touched the lives of so many people and created something so questionable with the use of figurative language and his writing style.
Langston Hughes had a lot of wonderful poems. His most talked about poem “Harlem” was a groundbreaking piece for the African American race. “Harlem” soon later called “Dream Differed” takes on the topic of asking the reader question about dreams and what could happen if they were ignored. Hughes was an artist who wrote essays, short stories, operettas, children's books, and mountains of poems. He celebrated the spirit of the African-American community and wanted to capture the condition and the everyday life of African American people through his work in a time when many black artists were afraid to do so. They were scared because they could be feeding racial stereotypes. Many of Hughes's poems carry a rhythm that excites the reader. His poem “Harlem” made an impact on the African American community and unfortunately was not a favorite with most. In his poem Hughes starts off asking the reader a question. In an article Tom Hansen wrote “Five of the six answers to the opening question are interrogative rather than declarative sentences. However, due to its tentative "Maybe," the sole declarative sentence is far less potent-less truly declarative, one might say-than the final line, that final, forceful, emphatically italicized interrogative, which, in spite of the fact that it is merely one more in a series of questions, is the conclusive, though not the sole and exclusive, answer to the question posed in line 1. The result of all this is a poem so out of joint that its five questions strongly assert and its single assertion tentatively suggests.” (2) He discusses that Hughes use of asking question thorough the poem were not for the best but worked out for the better. While the questions asked throughout the poem do not have definite answer, Hughes writing style allows for the reader to answer the questions for themselves. As he makes a point to ask multiple question throughout, he also rhymes throughout the poem as well. Hughes may use these rhymes to emphasize the irregular rhythm of the poem or to draw attention to the connections between different ideas, such as “load” and “explode.” (Napierkowski and Ruby 66) Hughes builds tension in the poem with his writing style and makes “Harlem” a poem that digs deeper.
“Harlem” is structured using different figurative language. The poem suggests that a differed dream put on hold is “dry up like a raisin in the sun” (Hughes 2-3) This use of figurative language is a simile and he use it to compare unlike things. Everyone can relate to a stiff raisin because it is the opposite of life beings. It's an image that helps readers appreciate how hard and difficult it is to swallow the reality of dreams permanently postponed. Langston also uses “Or fester like a sore—And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over.” (4-7) This strong image captures the sense that putting off a dream of education or a good job risks creating psychological issues that can create or fester like physical sores. The longer the dreamer waits for gratification, the greater the danger of infection. As the reader asks if differed dreams “stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over” (Hughes 6-7) As the opposite smell and taste is thought of, the imagery create a common scent of rotting meat versus smelling something that smells sweet. This can be compared to people who often come across sour then sweet. Throughout the poem Hughes use figurative language to give the reader images of what he is writing. His use of imagery makes the poem stand out and challenge the reader to think about their dreams.
Langston Hughes wrote a poem that toughed the African American community while using figurative language to convey a message. His childhood was the Firestarter for his work. “Harlem” is a poem for the ages and is well known throughout most schools. The eleven lines capture the attention of the reader and allow them to understand what Hughes was trying to convey. As the question of differed dreams come across, he created a poem that uses imagery, simile and a unique writing style to create a poem that would be as diverse as the world was becoming.