The poem opens with "What happens to a dream deferred?" Although he addresses the dream itself, I think he is actually talking about the people who dreamt these dreams.
He goes on, saying "Does it dry up/ like a raisin in the sun?" This line was the inspiration for Lorraine Hansberry's play entitled "A Raisin in the Sun," but it doesn't mean much for us today, although the play was the first play written by a black woman and produced on broadway and was considered the best play of 1959 by New York Drama Critics' Circle (Wikipedia, sorry).
The line suggests that when a person's dream is deferred, they tend to stay where they are and have all of their energy and will sucked out of them, leaving them dried up and basically useless (I'm not a huge fan of raisins, if you can't tell).
The next line, "Or fester like a sore-/And then run?" implies one of two things: first, the person may build up potential energy and ideas and then let them loose, similar to a blister bursting (gross, I know) or they could let all of their frustration and anxiety build up until they run away from everything they know.
I'm not sure what the next line, "Does it stink like rotten meat" means besides the obvious, sitting there until the person rots or dies, but it could imply something far different. Does anyone have suggestions?
"Or crust and sugar over-/Like a syrupy sweet?" (This line and the "bacon bowl" infomercial I just heard on my roommate's tv are making me go get french toast at IHOP after I post this. I'm not lying.) The speaker could be implying that the person could get so used to their dream being deferred that they grow comfortable with where they are and see it as sweet- as if their alternative isn't as good as what they have here. They could use it as justification for staying in one place or being comfortable with their dreams being deferred. It's not what they want, but it's sweet enough to stay.
"Maybe it just sags/ like a heavy load." The idea that he or she has barriers, physical or mental, that prevent him or her from achieving his or her goal is so heavy, the person bears the weight for the remaining of his or her days. This is an incredibly sad ending to this poem, and makes me realize that I definitely have things in my life that I've wanted to do but I've put them on hold for a while. I hope I can speak for everyone when I say that this is part of the human experience- an unfortunate one, but one that pulls us together nonetheless.
"Or does it explode?" The speaker could be using "explode" in a multitude of ways here, and I'm choosing to read it as an explosion of emotion, similar to "fester like a sore/And then run" as stated previously. The person could be so fed up with what they have to go through that they could revolt against everything and run from their current responsibilities.
Although a lot of Hughes' book/poetry has to do with African Americans and the culture in Harlem, I think he is so relatable because everyone, no matter your race, ethnicity, class, age, etc. has had a dream deferred.
Do you, as a reader, think that Hughes relates to the average person and not just a certain demographic? Are there any other examples in the text that show us this relationship with the reader? Do you think his poetry comes to a distinct conclusion, or is something left up in the air after you are done reading?
I personally don't think the speaker in "Harlem" is giving a solution to deferred dreams, but rather is illuminating different ways people deal with their lives. Do you think Hughes suggests a way to deal with deferred dreams throughout his poetry? Or do we never really know?
Thanks guys. I'll try to enjoy my french toast and I'll see you all at one tomorrow.
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