In the US workplace, there is one fifth the number of African American workers than white workers. However, two hundredths of black people are in leadership or executive positions compared to whites. This discrepancy is caused by racial discrimination in the workplace that is still active, even today. It is harder for African Americans to move up in social class and follow the American Dream. In “A Dream Deferred,” Langston Hughes states that white people do not know what it is like to have their dreams withheld from them and warns that the victims of discrimination will erupt and rebel if discrimination continues.
The title and the rhetorical question at the beginning of the piece show that African American dreams of freedom are suppressed by white people. The first line, “What happens to a dream deferred”, is a rhetorical question that states that white people do not understand what it is like to have freedom taken away and challenges their ideas of what life is like as an African American (1). The dream that is deferred is the American Dream. In the first stanza, the speaker says that black people do not have access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness because of the discrimination at the time. The placement of the words makes deferred into a verb, showing that African …show more content…
They make it seem “like a syrupy sweet” that “crusts” over the remains of the dream (7-8). The crust covers up the fact that African Americans have no freedom by making it seem sweeter and better than it really is. The speaker acknowledges this, which shows that African Americans know about their condition and want to change it. This also mocks white people for trying to cover up their treatment, stating that black society will never accept the syrupy sweet they are given and will fight back. They will see past that crust and break out of it to reclaim their
The title and the rhetorical question at the beginning of the piece show that African American dreams of freedom are suppressed by white people. The first line, “What happens to a dream deferred”, is a rhetorical question that states that white people do not understand what it is like to have freedom taken away and challenges their ideas of what life is like as an African American (1). The dream that is deferred is the American Dream. In the first stanza, the speaker says that black people do not have access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness because of the discrimination at the time. The placement of the words makes deferred into a verb, showing that African …show more content…
They make it seem “like a syrupy sweet” that “crusts” over the remains of the dream (7-8). The crust covers up the fact that African Americans have no freedom by making it seem sweeter and better than it really is. The speaker acknowledges this, which shows that African Americans know about their condition and want to change it. This also mocks white people for trying to cover up their treatment, stating that black society will never accept the syrupy sweet they are given and will fight back. They will see past that crust and break out of it to reclaim their