Daniella Farzam
Professor Y. Cooper-Grigg
English 102
8 December 2015 Dreams Deferred In "Dreams Deferred", by Langston Hughes we learn the only thing that comes from putting off your dreams is despair. Using imagery, personification and the art of questioning Hughes truly helps the reader understand the meaning of putting off dreams. These elements of literature help get his point across because they are visual aids. When Hughes uses imagery, he is helping the reader create a mental image. The mental image is very powerful because when objects and scenarios are explained to us in a visual way, they are easier to picture and understand. Literary Critic, Harry Phillips writes, "Published in 1951, "Harlem" manages to evoke... …show more content…
Harry is saying that Hughes used imagery to show the despair of putting off your dreams, and that Hughes uses questions to engage the reader. I agree with Harry because when I first read the poem I was instantly engaged with the question and I noticed all of the imagery. Hughes is telling the reader that by putting off your dreams, both you and your dreams suffer.
The first line of this poem begins with Hughes questioning the reader: "What happens to a dream deferred?" (1). Starting off with a question gives the reader a chance to form their own opinions about their dreams deferred without reading the whole poem yet. When they get asked this question they begin to think about their own goals and aspirations. Whether they have put off their dreams or not, Hughes has successfully got them thinking. Phillips, a literary critic writes, "Hughes begins with a central question that we might use to frame the remainder of the poem; and if we feel compelled to make an informed answer to this …show more content…
He used vivid images to get the readers attention. Hughes also used the art of questioning. This is important because it engages the reader to think for themselves and form their own opinion. Hughes left the poem with a question which played a significant part in the meaning of the poem. Asking the reader if the dream just explodes, gets the reader to realize that there is something worse than "rotten meat" or festering sores, exploding. Deferring a dream is worse than all the other things because those other things only hurt you, but if it explodes it can destroy everyone around you as well. These techniques come to get across Hughes message that you shouldn’t neglect your dreams because when you do, you will not like the
Professor Y. Cooper-Grigg
English 102
8 December 2015 Dreams Deferred In "Dreams Deferred", by Langston Hughes we learn the only thing that comes from putting off your dreams is despair. Using imagery, personification and the art of questioning Hughes truly helps the reader understand the meaning of putting off dreams. These elements of literature help get his point across because they are visual aids. When Hughes uses imagery, he is helping the reader create a mental image. The mental image is very powerful because when objects and scenarios are explained to us in a visual way, they are easier to picture and understand. Literary Critic, Harry Phillips writes, "Published in 1951, "Harlem" manages to evoke... …show more content…
Harry is saying that Hughes used imagery to show the despair of putting off your dreams, and that Hughes uses questions to engage the reader. I agree with Harry because when I first read the poem I was instantly engaged with the question and I noticed all of the imagery. Hughes is telling the reader that by putting off your dreams, both you and your dreams suffer.
The first line of this poem begins with Hughes questioning the reader: "What happens to a dream deferred?" (1). Starting off with a question gives the reader a chance to form their own opinions about their dreams deferred without reading the whole poem yet. When they get asked this question they begin to think about their own goals and aspirations. Whether they have put off their dreams or not, Hughes has successfully got them thinking. Phillips, a literary critic writes, "Hughes begins with a central question that we might use to frame the remainder of the poem; and if we feel compelled to make an informed answer to this …show more content…
He used vivid images to get the readers attention. Hughes also used the art of questioning. This is important because it engages the reader to think for themselves and form their own opinion. Hughes left the poem with a question which played a significant part in the meaning of the poem. Asking the reader if the dream just explodes, gets the reader to realize that there is something worse than "rotten meat" or festering sores, exploding. Deferring a dream is worse than all the other things because those other things only hurt you, but if it explodes it can destroy everyone around you as well. These techniques come to get across Hughes message that you shouldn’t neglect your dreams because when you do, you will not like the