Do you ever ask yourself, what if I had done something different in my life? What if I just had the guts to pursue what I wanted? The dreams and goals we think of are often forgotten because we do not pursue them or never actually try to fulfill them all the way. Many times we forget about our dreams not because they seem impossible but because we place obstacle in the road that prevents us from achieving them. A dream is like a life goal you must work hard to achieve it. But a goal or dream cannot be achieved if we do not pursue them or if we do not take initiative and do the right things to get to them.
Dreams or goals put on hold can be better explained in the poem “Harlem,” written by Langston Hughes, where he explains that our dreams are delayed which can cause a negative effect in a person emotionally and physically. The tone of this poem is gloomy as stanza after stanza is a worst consequence for a dream put on hold. Hughes poem is very effective in displaying gruesome events which makes the poem more realistic. The poem is effective in getting its message through. The reader is able to relate to the poem by questioning the effort they have put to make their dreams come true. Making your dreams come true is not a bad thing as long it makes one happy. “Harlem” is a poem that describes what can happen if we let our dreams be compressed within the subconscious. Many times compression can have the opposite effect than what we hoped for.
The poem is composed of similes in every other stanza which creates a cause and effect situation except for the last stanza which is a metaphor. The first simile, “does it dry up like raisins in the sun,” describes a dream ruined. Consequently, if one leaves a raisin out in the sun we cannot eat it anymore. The simile that proceeds, “Or festers like a sore- and then run?” is a much more cruel end than that of the raisin reference. When a sore runs it means the area is infected. This refers back to withholding ones dreams, dreams can fester and run which would lead to an unstable life. Hughes uses a connection of similes that lead up to worst problems until one reaches the last stanza. “Or does it explode” this metaphor symbolizes death or termination of the persons goals in life. If one does not try to pursue their dreams or their life goals then they have no purpose in life. This is the overall consequence of the poem and simile helps lead to this conclusion. The imagery that each simile creates makes Hughes’s poem, “Harlem,” create a better understanding about the poets feeling regarding life dreams.
I thought you did a good job explaining how the dream deferred is characterized by the similes. For example, I like how you said, "dreams can fester and run which would lead to an unstable life." You also mentioned that the order is important because the similes lead up to the worst problem, which is ultimately explosion or death. I also like how you made the connection that having stanza after stanza of increasingly worse effects creates a negative tone. The only thing I would say to work on is the grammar. For example, "A dream is like a life goal you must work hard to achieve it" is really two different sentences. There are also places where the subject doesn't agree with the verb tense, and other run on sentences. Just make sure you read over it and look for places where you need commas or where the sentence needs to be broken into two. Other than that though, good job!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I think it was very witty that you started your blog with questions, given the poem being analyzed. Second, I like how you picked a few lines and thoroughly described their meanings. Referring to the sore, you say that deferring a dream can lead to an “infected” life. And, I like that you followed this statement by addressing the final question dealing with explosion. This represents, as you said, “death or termination of…goals.” I think combining these two statements gives the entire meaning of “Harlem:” If you don’t express your dreams, you will create problems in your life, making it unstable and possible lead yourself to death. I think your analysis is powerful, and describes the poem well.
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