Identity Unit 3: Post 3

Literary Technique:
"Dream Deferred"
Langston Hughes

Hughes writes many similes and one metaphor within his poem. Each object that he utilizes as a reference is familiar and has an ideal opposite. He likens his deferred dreams to raisins, sores, rotten meat, a crusty sweet, and a load, which all have negative connotations. People would rather eat grapes than raisins typically, fresh meat instead of rotten, and a sugary sweet rather than a crusty one. These images create vivid imagery, which is not very pleasant. When unrealized dreams come to the forefront of a person's brain, he may acknowledge the better opportunities. However, like in this poem, the person excessively ponders his misfortune. He had an idea in the beginning, which in the context is civil rights for African Americans, yet they procrastinated in receiving their rights fully. Their dreams kept being deferred by compromises until the Civil Rights Movement. "Or does it explode" demonstrates that they did explode.  They are the dynamite in the situation, finally acquiring the rights they were promised.