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Dreams Deferred

            
             But what happens to the dreams when they are not fulfilled? In "Dreams Deferred- by Langston Hughes, the poet is pondering the outcome of dreams one has but are not lived.
             At first the poet proposes his question, "What happens to dreams deferred?- The poet uses the verb "happens- to support the deep concern and the significance of his question. "Does it dry up like a raisin?- The poet is inquiring if his dreams have just sat out in the sun. The poet's repetition of similes results in causing the imagination to roam. Does a dream left untouched dry up like a raisin the in sun? A dream lying in the sun just dries up and becomes harder and harder until eventually it is so hard it is unusable. "Or does it fester like a sore "And then run?- This simile ponders if in life when situations causes you to hold back your dreams, your life, does it react like a sore? The poet's use of the verb "fester- serves as a description of just how disgusting not living out your dream would be. It would react by coming up through the skin to make a scabby sore that would cause pain in the long run. Eventually this sore would become an infection and being to "run."" It would be so full of bacteria and lack of nurture that it would begin to run and ooze onto everything else causing one's whole life to be topsy-turvydom. Or does a "dream deferred stink like rotten meat?- When meat begins to rotten it smells up the whole house and everyone around smells the horrible aroma that would have otherwise been good if it would have been cooked. But since it was left on the counter to it would turn a piece of good meat into something detestable. Just as it will a good desirable dream into something despicable if it is left to rot and spoil. It will be smelled be everyone around and become a reject to everyone around. Or does it "crust and sugar over "like a syrupy sweet?- Just as in everything in life, every good thing has a bad side.


Essays Related to Dreams Deferred

1. A Dream Deferred

A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes  What happens to a dream deferred? ... In the play there are many dreams, some are fulfilled, and some deferred. ... In the first line it asks the question does a dream deferred dry up like a raisin in the sun, is really suggesting, do you forget about it so it dries up. ... The most major illustration of this is Ruth's dream to move out of the ghetto. ... This line completely describes Walters dream to be in the liquor buisiness. ...

  • Word Count: 446
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

2. A "Dream Deferred" in "Harlem"

In 1951 Langston Hughes asks us "What happens to a dream deferred"? or to put a whole new spin on things what happens to a "Dream Deferred" when your in "Harlem"? ... Reading this poem with the title "Dream Deferred" makes it universal, anyone can relate to it. ... With the title "Harlem" the first line, "What happens to a dream deferred?" ... Just as dreams carry a whole new meaning, that is unless they are "deferred"....

  • Word Count: 525
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Dream Deferred

The poem "A Dream Deferred", or as some call it "Harlem", reflects back on the time in history of the Harlem Renaissance. ... Everyone, black or white, strives to achieve what becomes known as the American dream. ... To emphasize the inquisitive contemplation of the poem, the first line utilizes syntax with the rhetorical question "What happens to a dream deferred?" ... The last line of the poem is in italics and set apart to catch the reader's attention, and give an ultimate ending to a dream deferred. ... The author implies that no matter what happens in the "middle" of a dream ...

  • Word Count: 679
  • Approx Pages: 3

4. Deferred Dreams in A Raisin in the Sun

The title of the play "A Raisin in the Sun" comes from a line in a Langston Hughes poem: "What happens to a dream deferred? ... Hansberry demonstrates how the Younger family endures their deferred dreams mainly through the characters of Walter, Mama (Lena), and Beneatha. When a family faces deferred dreams, it can cause rising tempers amongst the family, defiant attitudes, and great sadness. ... Her dreams began long before her children had their dreams to quarrel over. ... The Younger family gives a clear example of how a family can triumph over deferred dreams and follow ne...

  • Word Count: 757
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography

5. Was His Dream Deferred?

Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of equal rights for all people. ... The question is, was his dream deferred? I believe that his dream was not deferred due to the many advancements towards equality for all people. ... I believe that his dream was not deferred due to many factors. ... s dream was not deferred, because everyone is treated equal and that is what he wanted and worked for. ...

  • Word Count: 507
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Dreams Deferred in Raisin in t

Dreams Deferred in Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberry, the author of A Raisin in the Sun, supports the theme of her play from a montage of, A Dream Deferred, by Langston Hughes. Hughes asks, "What happens to a dream deferred?... Their frustration is obtained from their dreams being deferred and the emotions burst like an exploding time bomb. ... All the talk about dreams and sunlight that goes on in this house. ... They believe that they can succeed if they stick together as a family and resolve to no longer defer their dreams. ...

  • Word Count: 926
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

7. To Dream or Not to Dream

Likewise, a dream that has been deferred can be just as or even more damaging, which Langston depicts with "Dream Deferred.... In Langston Hughes's poem "Dream Deferred" Hughes warns the reader through the use of sensory similes that postponing a dream may have negative consequences. ... (506) Up until the last sentence of the poem he signifies how a dream deferred is essentially a dead dream. ... Dreams are supposed to be a positive thing, but "Dream Deferred" has a nightmarish attitude toward a dream when it has been postponed. ... In Langston Hughes's poe...

  • Word Count: 641
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. A Raisin in the Sun-What Happens to a Dream Deferred?

"What happens to a dream deferred?" ... That is her dream. ... Beneatha has dreams to become a doctor. ... Bobo's dream is to own a liquor store with Walter. ... (Referring to a dream deferred), this line relates to the play because, Walter's dream of owning a liquor store is kind of like a raisin in the sun, dried up. ...

  • Word Count: 454
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Themes in A Raisin in the Sun

What happens to a dream deferred, a question given to us through "Harlem," a poem written by the great Poet Langston Hughes. ... What happens to that deferred dream is also revealed in the play. Walters "deferred" dream "dried up like a raisin in the sun.... So therefore "It is still possible to live the American Dream by overcoming barriers that stand in the trajectory of our Dream(s) Even though we all have Dreams some of them are achieved and some of them are deferred, as described in the play. ... Those deferred dreams make way for more appropriate bounded dr...

  • Word Count: 1328
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

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