A Dream Deferred – a Literary Comparison

The ambition Deferred A Comparison Kristy Andrews Axia College of University of Phoenix In Lorraine Hansberrys play A Raisin in the Sun, the author reveals a hard- landing, open African-American family struggling to make their pipe intakes bugger off true. Langston Hughes poem, Harlem, illustrates what could happen if those inspirations never came to fruition. Together, both Hansberry and Hughes show the effects on human beings when a long-awaited woolgather is thwarted by sparing and social hardships. Each of the computer addresss in A Raisin in the Sun has a dream for which they base their whole happiness and livelihood on attaining.However, the character of Lena Younger, or Mama, differs from the other members of her family. Time after time, Mama postpones her dream of decl being a house and garden to carry on the dreams of her family members. Finally, when Mama receives the $10,000 insurance check, she feels that her dream can become reality, and purchases a house in Clybourne Park. Her dream drys up like a raisin in the sun when she removes that Walter gave the money to Willy Harris, who mysteriously disappears. Mama does not shatter only if because her dream has not been fulfilled. Lena Youngers strength of character has come from the steadfast endurance of hardship and a refusal to be conquered by it (Phillips 51). Mamas economic hardships may have killed her dream, but she has not allowed it to kill her. You can feel the desperation not only in the poem but also through the character of Mama as you read the passages of the poem and story. The symbol of the dream in A Raisin in the Sun is equal to the symbolism used in the poem by Hughes. In the story, we see what can happen to a dream that is deferred, which is what the poem speaks directly about.The social inequality which the Youngers encounter also does not hinder Mamas compassion. Mr. Lindner temporarily shatters Mamas dream of owning a home when he comes to the Youngers prepared to g ive them money to expire from Clybourne Park. The derogative use of you people by Mr. Lindner has little to no effect on Mamas steadfast decision to sham to Clybourne Park. Mamas dream of a house simply modifies. She does not care that the house is located in a neighborhood where there are no colored people.Mama concerns herself only with the fact that she and her family will own the house and not have to d swell in the tired, old apartment on Chicagos south side. In a sense, Mamas dream has crusted and sugared over like a sugary sweet (Hughes Lines 7-8). Her dream has changed to fit the circumstances she must cope with. The character of Mama represents those who do not shrivel up and die just because their dream does. Walter Lee Younger, Lenas son, is second only to Lena in arousing sympathy and pathos from the audience.The accurate play shows the development of Walters quest for manhood. Similar to Lena, Walters dream of owning a liquor store becomes hindered by his economic st ation, or lack of money, and his social linear perspective. In the opening scenes of A Raisin in the Sun, Walter does not occupy the position of head of the household. This secondary position to Mama demonstrates his frustration with his limiting environment, and plain Walters job show subservientness and inequality as a chauffeur to wealthy white people.Elizabeth Phillips comments, Consequently, he Walter is forever on the discoverer for a means of making more money, not only to enable him to give luxuries as well as necessities, but also to satisfy the deep inner need of e genuinely man to advance that he is capable of great achievement (54). Walters great achievement appears as a failure at first before revealing the man that he has become. The destruction of Walters first and superficial dream of owning a liquor store perpetuates Walters downfall. This symbolizes Langston Hughes question, Does it a dream deferred stink like rotten meat? (Line 6).The finish of Walters drea m occurs when Willy Harris disappears with Walters and Bobos money. Walter at long last understands Lenas sacrifice for him and the family with the words, That money is made out of my fathers flesh (Hansberry 1747). Walters lost dream rots his strength until he sinks to his concluding point in the play Walter plans to accept the money from Mr. Lindner in return for agreement not to move into the house in Clybourne Park. But in the ultimate test, Walter Lee cannot sell his own soul (Phillips 55). The gazump of both Walter and the family makes it impossible for Walter to accept Mr.Lindners offer. Walters final stand made to Mr. Lindner provokes Lena to announce to the family that Walter Lee has finally come into his manhood (Hansberry 1757). Walter lee Younger represents those who rise above their own weaknesses even after all the dreams they work for have been deferred. The character of Beneatha Younger illustrates the best-educated member of the Younger family. Beneatha dreams o f be advent a doctor. This dream originates from a puerility experience where a playmate injured himself while sledding, but a doctor was able to ransom him, with only a small scar left as evidence of the accident.This left Beneatha with the determination to learn medicine. Beneathas obstacles differ greatly from both Walters and Lenas. First, Beneatha is only twenty years old, and attractive. Women such(prenominal) as Beneatha were expected to wed and have children, not become a doctor or have any education pasts that of broad(prenominal) school. Second, Beneathas extreme naivete towards the world around her affects her perception of her familys and Asagais actions and words. When Beneatha learns of Walters loss of the money, she calls into question whether she will ever be a doctor.Mama reassures her that she will, God willing. Beneatha responds by blaspheming God. The deferment of Beneathas dream causes her faith to fester like a sore and then run (Hughes Lines 4-5). Beneathas faith had not wavered before, but now that all she has ever cherished is precariously hanging in the balance, she questions if God exists at all and that maybe it is man who makes miracles, referring sarcastically to her brothers gruelling mistake. Beneatha feels that all that she has worked for since she was a child has been stolen from her. This burden of doubt, sags like a heavy load (Lines 9-10).However, Joseph Asagai offers the solution of coming with him to Nigeria and becoming a doctor there, which fulfills both of her dreams of finding her African heritage and becoming a physician. Beneatha demonstrates her immaturity be her naive interpretations of Asagais actions and words (Phillips 59). She misunderstands Asagais proposal of marriage, and is unable to give the man who hit the sacks her so much and understands her so well a concrete answer. Beneathas complex character reveals another hidden quality towards the conclusion of the play. aft(prenominal) Walters confrontati on with Mr. Lindner, Mr. Lindner states pompously, I take it then that you have decided to occupy (Hansberry 1756). The simplicity of Beneathas reply is illustrates in the statement, That is what the man said (1756). Beneatha executes an ironic reversal where she refers to Walter as the man and not the white Mr. Lindner. Hansberry indicates with the previous statement that Beneatha has the subject to recognize greatness in others as well as the ability to respond with warmth and love to words and acts of family pride and dignity.Beneatha still encompasses some immaturity, but she shows great authority for good. Beneatha Younger symbolizes the immature psyche whose dreams are not completely decimated. The strength of character against social and economic hardships produce dreams that have the potential to prosper. The affects of a dream deferred vary intensely from person to person, as seen in the variety of characterization in the Younger family. Lorraine Hansberry draws a vivid description of the influence a dream can have on human beings. Similarly, Langston Hughes poem Harlem depicts how human beings react when a dream dies.Edward J. Mullen notes that Hughes poem represents the idea that, the inhabitants of this 1951 Harlem seem to be seeking feverishly and forlornly for some simple yet apparently unattainable satisfaction in life (142). Both Hansberrys play and Hughes poem establish a potent and human reaction to the death of a dream. The eloquence and reality of this is believable and almost felt personally by the reader due(p) to the excellent use of symbolism, imagery, and other literary devices by each author. It is in truth easy to see how these ii literary works are similar since they re dealing with exactly the resembling theme i. e. that of the dream deferred. However, remarkably there are also several differences. Since the poem by Hughes is of modest length, there are not nearly as many literary devices used for this type of literary work . However, it is the more powerful of the two in bringing the message across because you feel the same feelings after reading it even though it takes merely seconds to finish. Hansberry takes us through a heart-felt journey in which she hones her writing skills and uses several literary devices such as characterization, irony, and climax.She has a protagonist and antagonist, a setting, and makes use of allegory where every aspect of a story is representative, usually symbolic, of something else, usually a larger abstract concept or important historic/geopolitical event. (Braiman) A Raisin in the Sun provides a compelling allegory of human nature, illustrating choices made and the consequences of such choices through its sharply-defined characters. Clearly these two literary works have similar as well as different aspects. They both include mood, tone, similar themes, and symbolism, and yet they both are introduced to the reader in very different ways.These works, although written m any years before some of the people who read them, are very important to the literary canon today. They represent something that is still a part of our culture today, and they are very useful references to show how an author can use many different literary devices to capture the same initial theme when writing, especially since they are two totally different types of literary work i. e. that of song and plays. It should be required reading for any professor teaching the techniques of writing when teaching about literary devices and how they are used.Bibliography Hansberry Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. 1959 Literature. 5th ed. Eds. pack N. N. Pickering and Jeffery D. Hoeper. Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice, O. 1700-57. Hughes, Langston. Harlem. 1951 Literature. 5th ed. Eds. James H. Pickering and Jeffery D. Hoeper. Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice, 1027-28. Mullen, Edward J. Critical Essays on Langston Hughes. Boston G. K. Hall, 142. Phillips, Elizabeth C. The Works of Lorraine Ha nsberry. New York Simon & Schuster, 1973. 48-62. Braiman, Jay. Mr. Braimans position Online. http//mrbraiman. hom. att. net/lit. htm.