“Harlem (Dream Deferred),” by Langston Hughes, poses a question that Hughes clearly feels is of significance. There is no guesswork involved in figuring out the question addressed by the poem; in fact, it is clearly stated right at the beginning. Hughes writes, “What happens to a dream deferred?” (1). To defer something is to push it back or put it on hold. So, the question Hughes asks here is quite simple: what happens to dreams when they are pushed aside, never to be realized? Though this question may easily be posed during any time frame, it is granted special significance when considered within the social climate in which it was written. Blatant racism plagued the country, causing the dreams of many African-Americans to seem so far out
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/ Or does it explode?” (Hughes 9-11). These lines are set apart from the rest of Hughes’ pondering, each in its own way. For example, “Maybe it just sags / like a heavy load” (Hughes 9-10) is the one and only declarative statement to be found in the poem. Consequently, even though it includes the qualifier “maybe,” it conveys a bit more weight than the questioning of possibilities found above it. In these lines, “Harlem (Dream Deferred)” suggests that, rather than die, perhaps an unrealized dream simply sags heavy at the side of the dreamer, adding weight to life’s baggage and difficulty to its journey. As for line eleven of Hughes’ work, which reads simply, “Or does it explode?” it is positioned alone and almost as a pairing bookend with the opening inquiry. As a result, the reader may conclude that this is the most likely outcome of pushing back a dream. Perhaps, if never attained, a dream will simply grow too large to fit inside the heart of the dreamer and eventually combust. Would this be a good or bad type of explosion? In other words, is it the brilliant and beautiful explosion of fireworks, or the terrifying and destructive explosion of dynamite? Hughes leaves that up for interpretation. In any case, “Harlem (Dream Deferred)” communicates clearly that, once born, a dream must go somewhere. All in all, what happens to the dream is ultimately the responsibility of the
/ Or does it explode?” (Hughes 9-11). These lines are set apart from the rest of Hughes’ pondering, each in its own way. For example, “Maybe it just sags / like a heavy load” (Hughes 9-10) is the one and only declarative statement to be found in the poem. Consequently, even though it includes the qualifier “maybe,” it conveys a bit more weight than the questioning of possibilities found above it. In these lines, “Harlem (Dream Deferred)” suggests that, rather than die, perhaps an unrealized dream simply sags heavy at the side of the dreamer, adding weight to life’s baggage and difficulty to its journey. As for line eleven of Hughes’ work, which reads simply, “Or does it explode?” it is positioned alone and almost as a pairing bookend with the opening inquiry. As a result, the reader may conclude that this is the most likely outcome of pushing back a dream. Perhaps, if never attained, a dream will simply grow too large to fit inside the heart of the dreamer and eventually combust. Would this be a good or bad type of explosion? In other words, is it the brilliant and beautiful explosion of fireworks, or the terrifying and destructive explosion of dynamite? Hughes leaves that up for interpretation. In any case, “Harlem (Dream Deferred)” communicates clearly that, once born, a dream must go somewhere. All in all, what happens to the dream is ultimately the responsibility of the