The poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes reveals the poet’s sadness over the lost dreams of African Americans living in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. The central theme is a “dream deferred”, and the author empathizes with his people (Hughes 1). This poem is a metaphor for African Americans’ feelings in the times before the civil rights movement. The poet uses comparison with rot and decay images, for instance, “like a raisin in the sun”, “fester like a sore,” and “it stinks like rotten meat” (Hughes 3-6). The stylistic device that the poet uses is the simile to associate a deferred dream with the traditional image of rotting meat. Examining the process of losing hope and increasing frustration that black Americans have experienced during that period, Hughes claims that the dream cannot be restored.
This comparison of dreams and food intersects with the motive of disappointment, a desperate search for the meaning of life. Similes use “like” to make comparisons, for instance, “does it dry up like a raisin”, “fester like”, “like rotten meat”, “like a heavy load” (Hughes, 2-9). The first part is the dream’s relation to a raisin and a rot (Hughes 3-4). The second passage associates hope with meals (Hughes 6). The third one is the comparison to a heavy load (Hughes 9). Overall, the broken dreams are related to decaying food items. Readers perceive wound inflammation as enduring racism on a physical level. To sum up, in the poem “Harlem”, it is possible to detect the poet’s sorrow for all the hearts and souls of African Americans who have become victims of cruelty, including depression, crisis, racial oppression.
Work Cited
Hughes, Langston. “Harlem”, Poetry Foundation, Web.