The poem's speaker, an African American connected to the Harlem Renaissance, expresses uncertainty about the consequences of postponing their dreams and goals. They question what happens when a dream is deferred and desire a better life free from discrimination by White people.
The short duration of the Harlem Renaissance has delayed the dream of a better life. The speaker or persona illustrates this delay through various examples, such as comparing it to a dried raisin, a festering wound, rotten meat, and an explosion.
2. Hughes employs symbolism in his poem to convey the persona's doubt and hopelessness. He achieves this by using a negative image of a raisin that has dried up in the sun, symbolizing uselessness. Additionally, the raisin becoming even more dried up indicates that it is no longer edible.
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The author utilizes various images to convey the theme of resentment over an unfulfilled dream. These include a festering sore and rotting meat, which symbolize the lingering pain associated with this unrealized aspiration. Conversely, the author also employs the image of something sweet and syrupy to represent false hope or empty promises. This imagery portrays how the persona's unfulfilled dream may have been superficially covered up or sugar-coated, yet the underlying hurt still remains.
3. Why is the final line important? It is the culmination of the poem and represents the final expression of hopelessness.
The explosion signifies the final stage of an unfulfilled dream, where the longing and impulse to pursue it burst forth and crumble. After the explosion, any remaining hope and uncertainty will quickly disappear, leaving emptiness in its wake. The persona will
then have no more dreams or hopes left. This explosion will also affect those around the persona. Specifically, it represents the shared African American dream that resides in every African American's heart and was only partially achieved during the Harlem Renaissance. With the conclusion of the Harlem Renaissance, every African American's aspiration for a better and acknowledged life comes to an end.
4. Hughes' poem expresses his message about the liberation of the Blacks in the United States. The theme focuses on the unrealized dream of the Blacks and portrays the persona's journey from feelings of uncertainty and hopelessness to a lack of motivation in pursuing their dream.
The Harlem Renaissance had an impact on the lives of Black Americans, although it was brief and temporary. Consequently, the aspiration for a better life was postponed and never achieved. This statement encourages all African Americans to let go of their aspirations and dreams for a better life in America. They should allow this dream to burst and break completely, leaving nothing behind. They should not depend on this dream, only to realize it is not intended for them. Instead, they should embrace their position in the United States as perennially inferior to Whites.
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