“Harlem” Analysis

“Harlem” by Langston Hughes describes an aspiration that is--or in the process of being--lost. Hughes effectively displays this hopelessness by the repetition of similes, as well as the allusions that the name "Harlem" provides.

Hughes's usage of similes describes what he believes are what lost dreams are, as Hughes presents himself as a person who is not experienced with such devastation. To begin, Hughes notes "Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun? / Or fester like a sore" (lines 2-4). Obviously, a dream is not tangible, so it cannot dry up or physically hurt, but it rather feels similar to a sore to the owner of the dream. By this, I mean that when an individual has something that is important to them (like a goal), it can be extremely disheartening when it doesn't work out in the end.

The name "Harlem" is a reference to the neighborhood in Upper Manhattan in New York. In the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance began, which sparked African Americans' "fuller participation in American society" (found here). Furthermore, the Harlem Renaissance exhibits itself as an example of an aspiration that Hughes had been musing about. To add on, the Harlem Renaissance relates to a dream being lost if a person were to view the movement from before it began; an African American individual could regard the United States as an exclusive location and would feel enraged with the country's state. This dissatisfaction would be met with the exponential empowerment of African American elements, which would eventually be known as the Harlem Renaissance in the future.

“Harlem” Annotation