Question

Consider what you know about the time period before and during the Civil Rights Movement. Why would the poem “Harlem” significant to the African-American community?
1. it represented the African-American view of life in the late 1800s
2.it represented the migration of African-Americans to Harlem
3.it represented the postponement of African-American dreams
4.it represented the migration of black African-Americans to Harlem

Answer 1

The correct answer is alternative three.

The poem "Harlem," by Langston Hughes, suggests that the dreams and hopes for the future of African-Americans are postponed or discouraged.

The author uses expressions such as "a raising in the sun," "like a sore," "rotten meat," "a syrupy sweety," "heavy load" and "explode" so that readers can feel, smell and taste how new dreams and ambitions turn putrid and useless when there are no solutions over the course of time.