Unfulfilled Dreams Exposed in Hughes Harlem Essay

Unfulfilled Dreams Exposed in Hughess Harlem Most of us have dreams that we one day hope to fulfill. They could be little dreams that will take little time and effort to accomplish, or they could be big dreams that will take more time and energy to fulfill. Nevertheless, whether ones dream is as mundane as hitting the numbers or as noble as hoping to see ones children reared properly, each dream is equally important to the person who has it (Bizot 904). Each dream is also equally painful when it is taken away; or if we never have the opportunity to make the dream a reality. In the poem Harlem by Langston Hughes, the different emotions that people feel when a dream is deferred is presented through Hughess unique†¦show more content†¦For some of the words, he uses the dictionary meaning, yet for others he uses the connotative meaning. When Hughes uses a word connotatively, he wants the reader to receive a deeper meaning than the dictionary definition would give. For example, the word deferred in Harlem means unfulfilled. The dictionary meaning, however, is to postpone. In the dictionary, postpone means will happen at a later date or time. However, the dreams that Hughes refers to are ones that will never come true. Hughes also uses the connotative meaning for the word fester (line 4). The dictionary meaning is to form pus, yet this definition does not seem strong enough for the emotion the word is trying to express. The word fester in the poem means to become a source of pain or anger. This is exactly what becomes of a persons deferred dream. It becomes painful because that dream never leaves the persons mind. The person might forget about it for a little while and go on with his or her life, but like most painful memories, it will pop up when the person least expects it to. Each line in the poem Harlem gives an imaginative description of what a person with a deferred dream can become. Since this poem does not define or give examples of the dream, well have to make up our own (901). Lines two and three ask, Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun? We know that aShow MoreRelatedThe African American Struggle During The United States Essay2085 Words   |  9 Pagesout about the problems African Americans faced. Wilson, Hughes, and Hansberry explore the themes of racism and the American dream in their works to reveal the situation for black Americans in the United States during the time period after World War II. The American dream is the idea that every person should have the chance to be successful in the United States. People from all over flocked to the US in hopes of achieving this American dream that everyone talked about; however, things were not quiteRead MorePoverty and the American Dream Essay2446 Words   |  10 PagesPoverty and the American Dream Research Paper Final Draft Jeffery White English 101 Section 7 December 20,2012 The American Dream has driven many people for a long time. The dream has been presented in Hollywood movies showing a family or person striving to succeed in America. When the dream is mentioned it is done so as a powerful symbol inspiring a whole nation of immigrants. However, the â€Å"Dream† is misleading because it implies there is only one rather than many. Moreover, there are many

ROSIE THE RIVETER AND HER CONTRIBUTION TO WWII Essay

I. INTRODUCTION The role of women in American history has evolved a great deal over the past few centuries. In less than a hundred years, the role of women has moved from housewife to highly paid corporate executive to political leader. As events in history have shaped the present world, one can find hidden in such moments, pivotal points that catapult destiny into an unforeseen direction. This paper will examine one such pivotal moment, fashioned from the fictitious character known as ‘Rosie the Riveter’ who represented the powerful working class women during World War II and how her personification has helped shape the future lives of women. II. BODY To understand the significant changes within the role of women, it’s important to†¦show more content†¦Clearly the role of women reflected one of diminished value as compared to her male companion. But that was all about to change with the onset of World War II. During World War II the United States began to manufacture war materials to support its allies through lucrative government defense contracts as automobile factories like Ford and General Motors put aside their usual business operations and began to produce tanks and airplanes, shipyards too expanded their operations . The demand for war equipment naturally increased the demand for labor and as a result helped pull the American economy out of the grips of the Great Depression. Then as the unthinkable happened, on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, which drew many young American men into the battlefield. As young men responded to their call of duty and enlisted in the armed services, this left the American war industry with a severe labor shortage. With so few men left to satisfy the labor needs, a call went out to women to fill this void. However, the initial response to this request was not satisfactory . As a result, the government devised a propaganda enriched advertising campaign to motivate the masses of women by appealing to their sense of patriotism as well as telling women their labor efforts would help end the war and bring soldiers home moreShow MoreRelatedFeminine Mystique12173 Words   |  49 PagesSupplemental Reading for US History 2 From Rosie to Lucy Questions students must answer in a 500-word (minimum) essay: 1) Describe the post-WWII frustrations felt by women such as Betty Friedan. 2) During the era of â€Å"Rosie the Riveter†, what gains did women make in the workforce? How did these women feel about themselves and their contributions? What did society as a whole think? 3) What role did mass media play during the 1950s and 1960s in regard to supporting or undermining the

Because It Is Running by Free Essays

Because It Is Running By – 2. Delprove A. â€Å"This is Edie, Wil, said his mother. We will write a custom essay sample on Because It Is Running by or any similar topic only for you Order Now She’s going to be helping me out. [†¦] When was this decided? he said. † Edie meets Wil, opposites meet. In Because It Is Running By these two main characters, Wil and Edie, meet when Wil’s mother hires Edie to help out with some chores. As the first quote might allude to, Wil is not very happy with Edie coming into his life. Eventually Wil seems to accept Edie as they spend some time together and get to talk. One thing leads to another and one day Wil invites Edie out and buys her a drink. When Wil realizes that Edie is leaving soon, he accuses his mother of throwing Edie out of the house. Edie is heading for Marrakesh, Morocco and, as the text ends, Wil is with Edie and Wil suggests that he could go to Morocco. Wil is a young man who is not in his teenage years anymore. He lives with his mother and has probably done so most of his life. We know that he has never left Great Britain and, at this point, the only woman in his life is his mother. We don’t know much of Edie’s past. We only know of where she is now and where she’s going. These two main characters have completely different approaches to life. Edie is staying with his mother where everything is safe, while Edie dares to enter new areas unknowing of what will happen. â€Å"Never been abroad. Never been on an aeroplane. I’m just a fucking peasant. † â€Å"Don’t do that, she said. † â€Å"I seen you thinking it, he said. With your Pernod and your fancy accent† [†¦] â€Å"I think you are where you are. † I think this is a very interesting dialogue between Wil and Edie, which gives us some idea of who our main characters are, especially Wil. Wil is very much aware of his lifestyle, within the safety borders, and the dialogue might indicate that he is somewhat ashamed of it. When later, he says that â€Å"I could go to Morocco†, he is probably fascinated by Edie and her way of life. He wants to see what happens if you leave the comfort zone. All in all, the last sentence of the text basically sums up Wil’s way of life: â€Å"[†¦] things continuing in the same way. † While Edie is the opposite who has only been at their place during summer, until she is moving on to another distant location – which is fascinating to Wil. There are several themes in this text: relationship between a mother and her son, relationship between a boy and a girl. But in my opinion the main theme is breaking the comfort zone or, as the old Latin phrase goes, Carpe Diem – seize the day. Wil probably had his reasons for living with his mom, but if you’re too scared to go anywhere else, who knows, you might just end up dying as the same â€Å"fucking peasant† that you have been your entire life. The title of the text, Because It Is Running By, could refer to Wil who is just letting life run by, instead of getting the best out of it and becoming a part of it. Text 4, Making the decision to take a gap year, deals with this matter. There are many things to worry about when leaving the comfort zone, such as loneliness and language problems. But all these factors are just a part of the adventure that life is supposed to be. You can’t know what experiences you’re missing out if you’re well pleased with where you are. It’s our life and our responsibility to get the best out of it – seize the day or die regretting the time you lost. Picture 1, Desired Freedom, shows a man leaning, with his arms, against the window and a dove painted on the wall. Like Wil and Edie; the man and the dove are opposites. Since there are no bars on the window we can conclude that he is not in prison. But then again, this man has probably imprisoned himself, by not living life to the fullest. He has only spectated life from the sidelines, but he doesn’t dare to go to the other side of that window and experience what it’s like. The dove, on the other hand, is completely free. And the dove knows what to do to survive. Its mother might have fed it at first, but eventually it has to live life on its own. Even if that means going to dangerous territories to find food, the dove knows that it must be done in order to survive. It doesn’t wait in its own prison and end up dying in regret. Which way of life would you rather imitate? B. Because It Is Running By is a text which is basically built up of dialogues, with remarks from a narrator. Since there are many dialogues in the text, it is written in colloquial language. That means a large amount of very short sentences, which aren’t necessarily grammatically correct. An example of this is the above-mentioned dialogue: â€Å"Never been abroad. Never been on an aeroplane. I’m just a fucking peasant. † â€Å"Don’t do that, she said. † â€Å"I seen you thinking it, he said. † However, typical slang used in colloquial language, such as â€Å"gonna† and â€Å"wanna† is not used in the text. The text is not written with formal language and there are very few difficult words. The text can be rather annoying to read, due to the fact that there are many stops throughout the text, caused by small sentences. Also, Wil often jumps from one subject to another, which can be frustrating for the reader. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Song: Avenged Sevenfold – Seize The Day How to cite Because It Is Running by, Papers