Dreams

Dreams is one motif that weaves itself through this entire volume. In fact, the concept of the dream, a dream or the act of dreaming appears no fewer than 17 times in this collection. In each piece, the characters and/or narrator talk about dreams in both literal and figurative terms. For instance, in the poem "As I Grew Older" the speaker reminisces about times past and the nature of the dream he had as a young man. Most importantly, however, the dream motif is most prevalent in the penultimate section entitled "Montage of a Dream Deferred." This section contains the poem "Harlem," which is certainly Hughes' most well-known, thoroughly studied piece. On the surface, the dream which is the most important is what is known as the American Dream. The American Dream is what brings people into the United States even today. Living the American Dream means that...