Analytical Paragraph - "harlem: A Dream Deferred"

The emotion of anguish and regret ensued from a dream deferred is clearly portrayed through simile and rhetorical device in Langston Hughes’s “Harlem: A Dream Deferred”. Throughout the poem, the narrator profoundly divulges into the unpleasant emotions of having a dream impeded, and further expresses a rhetorical question, “or does it explode?” (10) to suggest a worse feeling of utter despair. The poet intends to imply the author’s obvious awareness and experience in witnessing the souls of crushed dreams and their actions triggered from the overwhelming despair. Since this poem was written roughly during the Great Depression, the author’s use of the rhetorical question provides readers with a personal perspective of the commonplace ‘explosions’ during the difficult times. The rhetorical device also suggests that suppressing disappointment will not last long and can stimulate violent physical response when it eventually ‘explodes’. Along with portraying an unpleasant emotion, the narrator also illustrates the fact that these emotions start negligibly but grow to big proportions, by providing an analogy with a simile, “like a raisin in the sun” (2). The poet illustrates a visual representation to what an emotion of despair and disappointment might ‘look’ like. A typical raisin is enriched with healthfulness, but if it dries up and loses its nutritional value after a long day in the sun, it would no longer be desired. This analogy can be compared with a person’s talent and dreams: a person forced to purse his endeavors at a later time would be left out ‘under the hot sun’ of the harsh society, and gradually his positive emotions, talent, and motivation to achieve would all ‘dry up’. Moreover, the petite size but high nutritional value of a raisin suggests that all disappointment start small, but must never be underestimated as the emotion could grow to enormous proportions. The poem offers a profound insight into the reality