A Comparison of the Dream Deferred in A Raisin in the Sun...

A Dream Deferred in A Raisin in the Sun and Harlem In Lorraine Hansberrys play A Raisin in the Sun, the author reveals a hard-working, honest African-American family struggling to make their dreams come true. Langston Hughes poem, Harlem, illustrates what could happen if those dreams never came to fruition. Together, both Hansberry and Hughes show the effects on human beings when a long-awaited dream is thwarted by economic and social hardships. Each of the characters in A Raisin in the Sun has a dream for which they base their whole happiness and livelihood on attaining. However, the character of Lena Younger, or Mama, differs from the other members of her family. Time after time, Mama postpones her dream of owning a†¦show more content†¦Mama concerns herself only with the fact that she and her family will own the house, and not have to dwell in the tired, old apartment on Chicagos Southside. In a sense, Mamas dream has crust[ed] and sugar[ed] over like a sugary sweet (Hughes Lines 7-8). Her dream has changed to fit the circumstances she must cope with. The character of Mama represents those who do not shrivel up and die just because their dream does. Walter Lee Younger, Lenas son, is second only to Lena in arousing sympathy and pathos from the audience. The entire play shows the development of Walters quest for manhood. Similar to Lena, Walters dream of owning a liquor store becomes hindered by his economic station, or lack of money, and his social position. In the opening scenes of A Raisin in the Sun, Walter does not occupy the position of head of the household. This secondary position to Mama demonstrates his frustration with his limiting environment. Even Walters job show subservience and inequality as a chauffeur to wealthy white people. Elizabeth Phillips comments, Consquently, he[Walter] is forever on the lookout for a means of making more money, not only to enable him to give luxuries as well as necessities, but also to satisfy the deep inner need of every man to prove that he is capable of great achievement (54). Walters great achievement appears as a failure at first before revealing the man that he has become. The destructionShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem Harlem 1303 Words   |  6 Pagesthe 1930s - 1960s. He is often credited as the leader of the Harlem Renaissance, and â€Å"famously wrote about the period that ‘the negro was in vogue.’† (Langston). Throughout his body of work, Hughes spoke eloquently to the full spectrum of dreams - both their inspirational power and their heavy burden, if not fully realized. His famed poem, â€Å"Harlem (Dream Deferred)† uses heavy symbolism, falling into three definitive categories: 1. Dreams; 2. Food and Domestic Life and 3. Violence and Oppression(Shmoop)Read MoreLiterary Analysis of Langston Hughess A Dream Deferred1028 Words   |  4 Pagesand A Dream Deferred, is no exception. In Langston Hughess poem, A Dream Deferred, the theme is that no really knows to dreams if they are not reached, and very realistic figures of speech help convey this idea; the poem can be surprisingly related to Mr. Hughess life through the subtitle and quotes from Langston himself. The meaning of, A Dream Deferred, is that no one really knows what happens to dreams that are not fulfilled. The poem starts with the line, What happens to a dream deferredRead More Power of Langston Hughes Harlem (A Dream Deferred) Essay674 Words   |  3 PagesPower of Langston Hughes Harlem (A Dream Deferred) In our journey through life, we all have certain expectations of how we would like our lives to be. All of us strive to reach a certain level of self-actulization and acceptance. It could thus be said that all of us live a dream. Some of these individual dreams inevitably become the collective dream of many people. In Harlem (A Dream Deferred), Langston Hughes makes use of symbolism as well as powerful sensory imagery to show us the emotionsRead MoreMontage Of A Dream Deferred By Langston Hughes946 Words   |  4 Pages Many of the poems within â€Å"Montage of a Dream Deferred† by Langston Hughes contain great meaning as well as emotion embedded within them. Whether they are 3 lines or 20 lines long, vivid images and explanations follow. The main focus of the series of poems are centralized on African Americans living in Harlem in the 20’s and on and their opposition from the rest. The motif in nearly all poems express discrimination, daily activities, and African American’s struggle for equality. Out of all poemsRead MoreLangston HughesHarlem And The Figurative Lynching Of Dreams1142 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Harlem† and the Figurative Lynching of Dreams During the years preceding the publication of â€Å"Harlem†, Langston Hughes was subject to an increasing censorship of his work and serious accusations of treason by the U.S government (J. Miller 79). Throughout his entire career as an author and activist, he wrote extensively on racial injustices experienced by his fellow African Americans in the early twentieth century. Though support for racial equality was growing at the time, his criticisms of AmericanRead MoreA Dream Deferred - a Literary Comparison1878 Words   |  8 PagesThe Dream Deferred – A Comparison Kristy Andrews Axia College of University of Phoenix In Lorraine Hansberrys play A Raisin in the Sun, the author reveals a hard-working, honest African-American family struggling to make their dreams come true. Langston Hughes poem, Harlem, illustrates what could happen if those dreams never came to fruition. Together, both Hansberry and Hughes show the effects on human beings when a long-awaited dream is thwarted by economic and social hardships. Each ofRead MoreAnalysis Of A Raisin In The Sun1185 Words   |  5 PagesProfessor Quinn Final Essay The epigraph to A Raisin in the Sun is Langston Hughes poem called A Dream Deferred which was written as an example of life in harlem. The lines are a introduction to the white societys actions to take away equal opportunity from black citizens. Hughes main point is that there could be consequences when peoples frustrations build up or accumulate to the point where they have to either surrender their dreams or allow strenuous circumstances to literally devourRead More The Effects of Oppression in Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun1188 Words   |  5 PagesThe Effects of Oppression in Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun is a modern tragedy in which the protagonist, Walter Lee Younger, is unable to find the fulfilling life he wants so badly. A contrasting view of the quest for that fulfilling life is offered in the character of Beneatha (whose name seems a play on her socioeconomic status, i.e. she-who-is-beneath), who serves as a foil against which the character of Walter is defined. Both Walter and BeneathaRead MoreLorraine Hansberry s A Raisin975 Words   |  4 Pagesleading up to it. African Americans see it all the time in televisions, magazines and newspaper ads. As poor blacks invest their life’s work in trying and subsequently failing to achieve this imaginary dream, they end up devouring any sense propriety remaining in their life; the play A Raisin in The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry exemplifies this tragedy. In the play Lena Younger and her family was rewarded ten thousand dollars of life insurance money, which is a lot of money for a family of their socioeconomicRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Dream By Langston Hughes1909 Words   |  8 Pagesunique way as well. The two pomes are about dreams, the first poem, Dream is about what could possibly happen if we let go of our dreams and don t purse them. The second poem, Harlem is about the possibilities of what could happen when we postpone our dreams. Both poems do not exactly end with a happy ending, for they show the regret that we will be left with, possibly even death. The poem Dream by Langston Hughes is about following your dreams, because we never know what our near future