In the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, rhetorical questions are used to express the frustrations African Americans encountered while trying to be accepted by society. The first question sets up the poem, asking what happens when you cannot reach your dreams. All of the questions that follow attempt to answer the main question.
The first question asks if an unexpressed dream will dry up like a raisin. A raisin is already dried, and leaving it to dry in the sun will decrease any nutritional value it once had, suggesting the raisin has been forgotten and anyone who may have wanted to eat it has moved on. This represents the first possible answer to the main question of the poem: the dream is just forgotten, and the dreamer moves on in life. The second question asks if the dream is like an infected sore, eating you from the inside, suggesting the dreams inside being devoured by hopelessness, causing pain to the one who cannot express them. The third question asks if it stinks like rotting meat, which is an intense smell that never really goes away, and stays in the air driving the person smelling the meat insane. This is another suggested answer to the question of a “dream deferred.” It will hang there, tempting the dreamer, driving him insane because he will never be able to obtain it. The fourth question talks about a crusted over sweet, which depicts a hardened layer, making the sweet worthless and impossible to eat. This proposes the idea that the dreamer has failed in life and becomes depressed. His dreams are stuck so deep inside him that he has become nothing more than a shell, or a crusted and sugared over outer layer, of what was once a man. Each question gets progressively more intense, starting at the dream being forgotten, continuing all the way down to the dehumanization of the dreamer. With each question, Hughes builds frustration, showing that people are made of dreams and need to be able to express these dreams or else they will never truly be allowed to live.
All of these frustrations lead to the final question: “Or does it explode?” This question is the most intense and direct explanation for the main question. The difference between this question and the ones before it is that the first four questions were all similes, suggesting that something “like” the terrible things would happen, whereas the final question is a metaphor, presenting a stronger analogy because the dream is not “like” an explosion, but actually IS an explosion. This makes the feeling aggravation seem real and uncontainable. Everyone understands how destructive explosions are, and Hughes uses this common knowledge to express how drastic life will be if African Americans are not allowed to express their dreams. If the dream does explode, the dreamer will do something just as drastic as an explosion, perhaps committing suicide (which was probably not seen as an “explosion” to the white community, but surly was to the African American community) or fighting against the law by doing something drastic, such as murdering those who tried to oppress them.
Hughes is able to express the frustrations of the African American community during this time period by cleverly using similes, a metaphor, and rhetorical questions to discuses all the negative consequences associated with postponing a dream. From this poem, it is easy to tell that African Americans needed to express themselves through their dreams to be accepted into society, and to accept themselves.
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I like how you incorporated the community of African Americans throughout your blog. I didn't fully understood the meaning of the "crust and sugar over" but how you explained it, it made sense and it is a creative way to described what Hudges' said.
ReplyDeleteAs previously mentioned, I liked how your analysis was in depth. By addressing the african american community, it went beyond the basic requirements of analyzing the poem in terms of merely organization. Overall your explainations were quite clear most likely due to the fact that you used not only information directly from the poem, but you brought in your own insight and interpretation of each question. As cliche as it may seem, this was a very interesting post, good work :)
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I enjoyed reading your take on "Harlem". When you addressed each of the rhetorical questions, you always followed up with a further explanation to their possible meanings, which is great. This provided a connection between the lines in the poem and your entry. I really like how you described the person as "nothing more than a shell" when the dream deferred is like crusted over sugar because it provides a great visual. Also, you helped me notice that the last question about the explosion is the most powerful because it is not a simile, like the other questions have been. The only thing I suggest is tying in specific African American dreams into your second paragraph to strengthen your idea about how the poem relates to their community.
ReplyDeleteYou have wonderfully formatted your essay with a thesis in your introduction explaining to the readers what you will mention, then you use your second and third paragraphs to prove your thesis, then you end with a conclusion bringing everything together. I agree that the poet beleived African Americans needed to express themselves.
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