Analysis of A Dream Deferred
...elayed, “deferred”, can have severe negative effects such as “drying up like a raisin in the sun” or “fester like a sore”. Quite clearly you are able to see that Hughes believes that if the person’s dream is delayed or given up is never a good thing, and perhaps end in an “explosion”- great destruction in which all hope is lost and despair is an all too common notion. The way in which Hughes asked and ordered the rhetorical questions is in such a way where he’s able to use them to answer themselves. The ultimate question, in the form of a metaphor, being at the end actually answers all of the questions prior to it. He’s describing what happens to a dream when he uses similes like “like rotten meat”, “like a sore”, and “like a raisin in the sun”. He draws on imagery to help show the negative effect a dream deferred can have- “stink like rotten meat” or “crust and sugar over”. By using these literary devices before the metaphor, “does it explode?”, he’s able to tie in meaning with various literature techniques, ultimately prompting the reader to imply the end result of a dream deferred- a negative outcome, an “explosion”. The overall meaning and simple examples of literary devices are the two elements in which made this poem a very genuine, thought-provoking experience for me. Dreams are, in a way, not to be put on a pedestal or admired from afar but to be attainable with determination and effort. A goal or dream is an essential element to a human being; it gives you something to strive for, something to make you wake up in the ...