Megan Maurer
Bonnie Flaig
English 1118
10/26/08
Dreams Deferred
Whether it’s a play or a poem, authors use specific words to show the imagination of how opening things are to one’s mind, just as a dream would do. In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry and the poem, “A Dream Deferred,” written by Langston Hughes, they both are able to use their own words to show the dreams of someone. In Raisin in the Sun, Walter, Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha, have all had their dreams deferred in some way, which also resembles how dreams are deferred in Lorraine’s play. The theme of “Dreams Deferred” is found in both the poem and the play through the poem’s imagery and the play’s characters; a very specific picture of the dangers of dreams deferred too long is apparent.
There were a lot of dreams amongst the characters in A Raisin in the Sun. Walter was the main character in this play who had the biggest dream, the dream of opening a liquor store up. He talks about the money and how much it would help his dream out. When talking to Mama he says, “Do you know what this money means to me? Do you know what this money can do for us? Mama -Mama –I want so many things” (1.1.1814). Walter dreamed so much of this that he started to lose control of himself and his family’s respect.
Just as the poem, “A Dream Deferred,” states, “or does it explode?” (line 10), it is easy to relate Walter’s character to how he reacts when his dream does indeed get deferred. The first time his dream crashes down is when Mama tells him that she will not give him money to open a liquor store. He angrily says, “So you butchered up a dream of mine – you – who always talking ‘bout your children’s dreams…” (2.1.1825). Walter explodes with anger because his own mother will not use one cent on helping him out with his dream. Another time Walter’s dream gets slapped back into his face is when Mama decides to trust him with the insurance money. After making a foolish...