Term Papers on Langston Hughes

Term Paper Title	Langston Hughes
# of Words	1357
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.43

Langston Hughes

            The poetry of Langston Hughes is an effective commentary on the situation of African-Americans in America during the 20th-Century.  Langston Hughes places specific emphasis on Harlem, a black area in New York that “became a destination of many hopeful blacks in the first half of the 1900’s” (McKay, 23).  In most/much of Hughes’ poetry, a theme that is constantly shown is the theme of a “dream deferred.”  The recurrence of a “dream deferred” in several of Hughes’ poems shows a clear picture of the disappointment and frustration that blacks in America faced in Harlem.  Furthermore, as Hughes’ poems grow, the feeling of a “dream deferred” is also enhanced, increasing in seriousness and anger with each new stanza.

            To understand Langston Hughes’ thought of a “dream deferred,” one must have an awareness of Harlem and its history.  Harlem was intended to be an “upper class white community, which was the home of many fancy brownstones, that attracted wealthy whites” (Bailey, 49).  Blacks first began moving into Harlem between 1906 and 1910 when “whites forced blacks out of their neighborhoods in uptown Manhattan” (Bailey, 50).  Eventually, Harlem became an entirely black area.  However, Harlem soon became consumed with “overpopulation, exploitation, and poverty” (Bailey, 50).  Thus, what awaited new arrivals was not a dream; rather, it was a “dream deferred.”

            Hughes’ poem, “Harlem,” shapes the “dream deferred” theme, setting the place for the poems that follow.  The first line of the poem is “What happens to a dream deferred?” (Hughes, 268 l.1).  With this poem, the dream is of the promise of Harlem, and what blacks hope to find there: opportunity, nice living conditions, and freedom from racial intolerance.  When blacks came to Harlem, though, their dream was deferred; instead of the opportunities that they had imagined, they were faced with “overcrowding, exploitation, and poverty” (Osofsky, 19).

            At the beginning of “Harlem,” the mood that accompanies a “dream deferred” is a questioning one that begins a search for an answer.  This mood forces the reader to think about the meaning of a “dream deferred”, and prepares them for its development.  The poem continues, listing the possible fates of a dream that never becomes a reality.  The poem suggests that maybe the dream will “dry up / like a raisin in the sun” (268, l. 2-3), withering up and disappearing.  It may possibly “stink like rotten meat” (268, l. 6), becoming a horrible reminder of what will never be.  The most powerful line in “Harlem” is the last line: “Or does it explode?” (268, l. 11).  This line shows the obvious severity of a delayed dream, especially the dream of the blacks in Harlem.  With this final line, Hughes seems to be alluding at a rebellion and revolution, saying that the blacks in Harlem are like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.  Here, the mood of a “dream deferred” has increased in intensity.

            The theme of a “dream deferred” continues in the poem “Good Morning,” with emphasis on the rude awakening that awaited the blacks upon their arrival in Harlem.  “Good Morning,” unlike “Harlem,” contains direct references to the city.  The references in “Good Morning” show the harsh reality of the city.  The speaker has “watched Harlem grow / until colored folks spread” (269, l. 3-4).  Hughes refers to Harlem as a “dusky sash across Manhattan” (269, l 16): Hughes describes the African-Americans flooding into Harlem from places such as “Puerto Rico,” “Cuba,” and “Georgia” (269, l. 9, 11, 14).  The poem changes it mood with the lines, “I’ve seen them come dark / out of Penn Station / but the trains are late. / The gates are open / Yet there’re bars / at each gate” (269, l. 17, 21-25).  The people have not found what they expected and hoped for in Harlem.

            Hughes’ poem, “Same in Blues,” attempts to furth...

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