An Analysis of Langston Hughes Poem Harlem - 1520 Words

Poems Harlem by Langston Hughes Thesis statement: Hughes wrote this when Jim Crow laws were still imposing an bitter segregated society in the South. There were still lynchings of innocent African Americans, there was no Civil Rights Movement, there was no Civil Rights legislation yet, and Blacks couldnt eat at lunch counters in the South. Harlem, however, was not at all like the South in terms of blatant, legal segregation. However, racism was very much in place in many places in America. Blacks were second class citizens, their children attended schools that were ill-equipped, and the dreams of Black citizens were not being realized in this period. The use of figurative language definitely adds to the poets message, in a big way. Hughes asks What happens to a dream deferred and in that line he uses alliteration. He doesnt say what the dream was, but the reader knows he is alluding to the dreams of Black Americans because the title Harlem represents a community in New York City that is heavily populated with Black folks. His use of similes is very effective when he compares the dream to a raisin (a simile is prefaced by like) Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Another use of alliteration is found in that line with does and dry (Hughes). The use of simile appears again with Or fester like a sore (a dream linked to a sore); And they run? (this is a metaphor because dreams dont run it also appears to be personification, making a dream intoShow MoreRelated Harlem, An Analysis of a Langston Hughes Poem Essay1405 Words   |  6 PagesHarlem, An Analysis of a Langston Hughes Poem The short but inspirational poem Harlem by Langston Hughes addresses what happens to aspirations that are postponed or lost. 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