The way the poem is going to go about answering the question is a little ambiguous. It seems that Hughes will not actually try to answer the question directly, but will present some different possible answers and inspiring some true thought on the subject. The dream he refers to could be one of many, but most likely is the collective dream of the African-American community, such as that in Harlem, to “make it,” and to level the playing field with people of all different races and creeds. However, though the dream definitely exists, he feels that it is being put off by those most vital to its success, and he i

This poem could apply to nearly any dream, from that of a low level worker to become a high level executive, to that of Martin Luther King, Jr. to see the US fulfill the premise that we were created assuming that all men are created equal. This poem is comprised of a series of questions, but there is another question implied by them— if all these negative things are what could happen to a dream deferred, what would happen if the dream was taken on and achieved? The poem may serve a number of purposes, but I think that one of the stronger purposes could be as a wake-up call to its target community to stop wishing for change and start doing something about it, which eventually happened and dramatically improved the standard of living for its members and anyone associated with them.

s pondering what will happen to it if the procrastination continues.

These for comparisons are followed by a break in the poems structure, which precedes another two-line comparison, “Maybe it just sags / like a heavy load”. This is a little more figurative than all the other comparisons, though none are to be taken literally, in that it is saying that the load of the dream weighs on the minds of the community and causes them to sag. I would say this is the worst comparison in terms of damaging the dream and any hope of achieving it, as it becomes a b

Some topics in this essay:
Langston Hughes, King Jr, Hughes’ Harlem, answer question, bad comparisons, doesn’t bad, “what happens dream, happens dream deferred”, happens dream, idea dream, “what happens, african-american community, dream deferred”, happen dream,