Unrealized Dreams Exposed in Hughes' HarlemMost of us have dreams that we hope to one day realize. These can be small dreams that will take little time and effort to achieve, or big dreams that will take more time and energy to achieve. However, “whether the dream is as banal as beating numbers or as noble as hoping to see one's children raised well,” each dream is equally important to the one who has it (Bizot 904). Each dream is also just as painful when taken away; or if we never get the chance to make the dream come true. In the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes, the different emotions people feel when a dream is "deferred" are presented through Hughes' unique style, use of language, and imagery. The poem "Harlem", originally printed in the book Montage of a Dream Deferred, is only a small part of an extremely long poem contained in the book. One reviewer calls the book “a commentary on the unrest and anxiety of postwar black America,” and “Harlem” does just that (Farrell 221). Hughes has a very unique way of describing the different types of people who inhabit the city of Harlem. Because of its unique style, this poem is “widely known and beloved among blacks for…[its] particular insight into the African-American condition” (Rampersad 200). What adds to Hughes's uniqueness is his "almost ruthless exclusion of superfluous embellishments." , which gives a clean, refined and uncluttered style” (Jemie 220). Another reason Hughes has remained so popular is that his work transcends time because, according to Arthur P. Davis, "he expressed the feelings of black people in black ghettos all over America" ​​(903). People living in Harlem today...... middle of paper ...... Masterplots II: Poetry Series. Flight. 3. Ed. Frank N. Magill. New Jersey: Salem Press, 1992. 901-904. Farrell, Walter C. and Patricia A. Johnson. “Langston Hughes.” CTC. Flight. 35. Ed. Daniel G. Marowski. Detroit: Gale, 1985. 221-222. Garber, Earlene D. “Form Complements Content in Three Poems of Langston Hughes.” Black American Literature Forum. 5.4 (winter 1971): 138-139. Hughes, Langston. “Dream deferred.” Perrine's literature: structure, sound and meaning. Ed. Thomas R. Arp. Strong. Value: HBJ, 1998. 637.Jemie, Onwuchekwa. “Langston Hughes.” CTC. Flight. 35. Ed. Daniel G. Marowski. Detroit: Gale, 1985. 219-220. Rampersad, Arnold. “Langston Hughes.” African American Writers. Ed. Valerie Smith. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1991. 193-204. Wintz, Gary D. "Langston Hughes." CTC. Flight. 10. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit: gale, 1979. 279-280.