Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 439 views

    Critical Analysis of Harlem

    Uploaded by

    shilajit biswas
    The poem Harlem by Langston Hughes explores the limitations of the American Dream for African Americans living in Harlem during the early 20th century. It uses vivid metaphors to describe what happens to dreams that are deferred or postponed, ranging from passive responses like drying up to more active and threatening responses like exploding. The poem reflects the post-World War II mood among African Americans and serves as a symbol of their ongoing hopes, aspirations, frustrations, and discontent with discrimination.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Critical Analysis of Harlem

    Uploaded by

    shilajit biswas
    439 views2 pages
    The poem Harlem by Langston Hughes explores the limitations of the American Dream for African Americans living in Harlem during the early 20th century. It uses vivid metaphors to describe what happens to dreams that are deferred or postponed, ranging from passive responses like drying up to more active and threatening responses like exploding. The poem reflects the post-World War II mood among African Americans and serves as a symbol of their ongoing hopes, aspirations, frustrations, and discontent with discrimination.

    Original Title

    Critical analysis of Harlem

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The poem Harlem by Langston Hughes explores the limitations of the American Dream for African Americans living in Harlem during the early 20th century. It uses vivid metaphors to describe what happens to dreams that are deferred or postponed, ranging from passive responses like drying up to more active and threatening responses like exploding. The poem reflects the post-World War II mood among African Americans and serves as a symbol of their ongoing hopes, aspirations, frustrations, and discontent with discrimination.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    439 views2 pages

    Critical Analysis of Harlem

    Uploaded by

    shilajit biswas
    The poem Harlem by Langston Hughes explores the limitations of the American Dream for African Americans living in Harlem during the early 20th century. It uses vivid metaphors to describe what happens to dreams that are deferred or postponed, ranging from passive responses like drying up to more active and threatening responses like exploding. The poem reflects the post-World War II mood among African Americans and serves as a symbol of their ongoing hopes, aspirations, frustrations, and discontent with discrimination.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Critical analysis of Harlem.

    In 1951, Langston Hughes wrote "Harlem" to address the limitations of the


    American Dream for African Americans. The poem was named after the Harlem
    Renaissance, a creative explosion in music, literature, and art during the 1910s
    and 1920s. Harlem was seen as a sanctuary from discrimination, but its
    glamour faded during the Great Depression, leaving many African American
    families destitute. The poem highlights the importance of addressing the
    limitations of the American Dream for African Americans.
    The speaker contemplates the fate of a "dream deferred," a question that
    evokes a sense of silence. Langston Hughes uses vivid analogies to describe the
    decay of a postponed dream, including drying up, festering, stinking, crusting
    over, or exploding. These images, while not violent, have a slightly dark tone,
    making the reader smell, feel, and taste these discarded dreams. Hughes
    argues that a discarded dream does not simply vanish but undergoes an
    evolution, approaching a physical decay state.
    The speaker suggests that African Americans cannot dream or aspire to great
    things due to their oppressive environment. Even if they dare to dream, their
    grand plans will eventually rot or explode. Critic Arthur P. Davis argues that the
    speaker's depiction of the hopes, aspirations, frustrations, and deep-seated
    discontent of the New York ghetto reflects the feelings of Negroes in black
    ghettos throughout America.
    The term "dream deferred" explores the frustrated dream of African Americans
    of freedom, equality, dignity, opportunity, and success. It does not define the
    dream but instead focuses on possible reactions to its deferral, ranging from
    mild to threatening. The first five responses are passive, while the last one is
    active. The poem highlights the long-postponed and frustrated dreams of
    African Americans.
    "Harlem" depicts the diverse responses to the deferral of a dream among the
    citizens of Harlem, reflecting the post-World War II mood of African Americans.
    Despite the end of the Great Depression and the war, African Americans still
    held onto their dreams, regardless of their form. The poem serves as both a
    place and symbol, expressing the hopes, aspirations, frustrations, and deep-
    seated discontent of Negroes in black ghettos throughout America, as
    described by Arthur P. Davis in 1952.
    "Harlem" by Hughes uses vivid metaphors to explore the consequences of a
    dream deferred. The metaphors suggest a pattern of behaviour, such as a
    dream drying up like a raisin in the sun, a person festering like a sore, and then
    running. These metaphors suggest that a dream or person may be shrivelled,
    wrinkled, and desiccated. The metaphor also suggests that a life may be lost,
    and it will "stink like rotten meat," as life is gone from the organism and
    putrefaction has set in. The use of "stink" is intentionally offensive and vulgar,
    fitting the occasion.
    "Harlem" is a poem that explores the ongoing struggle against societal
    discrimination and assassinations. The final line of the poem is linked to
    reactions to these issues, showcasing the poet's skill in blending history, art,
    and politics of resistance, as noted by W.C. Handy.

    You might also like

    pFad - Phonifier reborn

    Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

    Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


    Alternative Proxies:

    Alternative Proxy

    pFad Proxy

    pFad v3 Proxy

    pFad v4 Proxy