Essay - The Message of Empowerment in Dream Deferred, Dreams, and Daystar...

The Message of Empowerment in Dream Deferred, *****s, and Daystar

Dream Deferred (Harlem) by Langston Hughes, Dreams by Nikki Giovanni, and Daystar ***** Rita Dove are most often categorized as poetry offering insight into the frustration of African Americans because of societies continuous oppression of their hopes, desires, and dreams. This is correct, but upon further examination one finds there ***** a deeper, more universal message among the prose...personal empowerment.

A person's individual capability must be fully developed before embarking on a revolution. L*****ngston Hughes in A Dream Deferred warns of the danger ********** when potential is subjugated. "What happens to dreams deferred" (Line 1) he asks. "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" Or fester like a sore and run" (*****s 3-5) The imagery is vivid, bringing a t*****ngibility to the emotional death caused by a crushed spirit. The inevit*****ble result of burying potential is a powder keg of ***** guilt. "Maybe it just sags like a heavy load... Or does it explode?" (Lines 9-11) Hughes is defin*****ely discussing the plight of many ***** Americans whose ***** have been quashed by society ***** he is also addressing all who ***** put aside ***** dreams because of their own imagined inadequacies. This type ***** repression breeds anger and a combative spirit that may cause a person to lose the innocence of youth.

***** Giovanni in *****s aptly expresses the way ***** of us are born empowered. At birth the world is our canvas, which we are able to paint with our dreams. The possibility to do anything we w*****h with our lives is at ***** fingertips "In my younger years...I wanted ***** be a raelet." (***** 1, 5-6) As a person matures ********** often modify their goals in life, becoming ***** "realistic" in their desires. "*****n as i grew and matured I became more sensible and decided I would settle down and just become a sweet **********" (Lines *****4-19) Modification of a dream *****ten necessary but dis***** can occur when a ***** is completely abandoned. Giovanni ***** challenging us to live up to the adage "***** thyne self be true." Giovanni also expresses that the loss of empowerment ********** occurs when others destroy it, as expressed in the lines "before I learned black people aren't supposed to dream" (Lines 2-4) Daystar teaches us that any adversity is conquer*****.

***** to herself is the woman portrayed in ***** by Rita Dove. Dove is trying to explain that outsiders may view an individual ***** inferior because of his/her race, family, or socio-economic status but this ignorance will not *****courage a ***** who possesses ***** self-confidence to define oneself on his/her own terms. This is expressed by the line "And just what was mother doing out back with the field mice? Why building a p*****lace." (Lines 14-16) ***** also shows us that the road to empowerment is not always easy "Sometimes ***** were things to watch" (Line 6) "Other days she stared..."(Lines 8-9) but once it is achieved no one