Critical Essay - “Harlem: A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes
...fects may come about when important dreams or goals are put off or suspended from happening. By analyzing each of the questions asked in the first stanza we can understand how the speaker feels about dreams being deferred. The first question is “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun”. A raisin is the product of a dried up grape, a raisin is a positive thing, it is nutritious and can be eaten. If we were to put a raisin in the sun it would dry up beyond use, a raisin in the sun would become hard and serve as something useless. The speaker in the poem is suggesting that if a dream is left for to long it will dry up and no longer be a dream but something that will never be. The second question is “Or fester like a sore - and then run?”. If you have a sore that festers it means that it will take longer to heal. The speaker could be saying this to represent the dream being infected, like the sore, the infection could be a representation of the dreamer striking back at whatever was causing the deferring in the first place. The third question is “Does it stink like rotten meat?”. Meat expels a nasty odor if left out to long and begins to rot. The speaker is saying that if a dream is left out lingering for to long it to may die. The fourth and final question is “Or crust and sugar over- like a syrupy sweet”. If you forget about that tub of honey left on the top self in the cupboard for to long it will form a hard crust making the honey no longer good to use and would need to be thrown out. The speaker here is saying that during the process of deferring the dream may grow a crust for lack of use or negative thoughts from the dreamer, making the dream no longer good. The dream then would have to be thrown out. The second stanza reads “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load”. Everyone had felt the sagging feeling of their body when they try and carry a heavy load. The speaker is saying that a dream can sit on your shoulders and weigh you down, making ...