Between 1920 and 1930, America moves into a more social period, known as the Harlem Renaissance. After World War I, many African Americans migrate to big cities in the North. Harlem takes place in one of the major cities, which is in New York. In the ‘Cultural and Historical Context: The Harlem Renaissance,’ more than 100,000 black migrants move to Harlem and change a neighborhood in Manhattan into a distinctive and creative center of art and performance activities (1010).
The Harlem Renaissance is a movement for African Americans to become equals in society when most of them felt limitations in their ability to achieve their dreams due to racial prejudice and segregation. The era of the Harlem Renaissance soars with talents of African Americans in art, music, literature, and poetry. Langston Hughes and Claude McKay are two popular poets during the Harlem Renaissance. In ‘Harlem,’ Hughes addresses the limitations of dreams for African Americans and the danger of delaying them while McKay describes a woman dancing as people are watching her in ‘The Harlem Dancer.’ While both poets share similar viewpoints on racial oppression, Hughes and McKay deal with the same issue in different ways.
Both poets share similar views on how dreams are put off due to racial oppression. In ‘Harlem,’ Hughes helps readers to think about their dreams and the danger of deferring them through images such as smell, feel, and taste. In the poem, he opens with ‘What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?’ (1-2). With segregation, financial limitations, and racial prejudice, many African Americans have little hope for the future and forget about their dreams. Similarity, McKay describes the dancer as a ‘proudly-swaying palm / Grown lovelier for passing through a storm’ in ‘The Harlem Dancer’ (7-8).
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In other words, she remains grace and poise even though she may have gone through something difficult in her life. Perhaps, she is unhappy with her life due to racial oppression. Also, McKay asserts in the poem, ‘But looking at her falsely-smiling face, / I knew her self was not in that strange place’ (13-14). The dancer is not content with her life and does not want to be there. Thus, some people put their dreams on hold due to various circumstances in their life. As both poets share similar viewpoints on racial oppression, Hughes and McKay also deal with the same issue in different ways.
The Harlem Renaissance creates hope for many African Americans to recognize their identity in society. In New York, many entertainers and dancers in nightclubs are ‘primarily African Americans, and the clientele are mainly white’ (‘Cultural and Historical Context: The Harlem Renaissance’ (1010). McKay deals with the same issue differently from Hughes by being conservative with black identity. McKay asserts in ‘The Harlem Dancer’ with ‘She sang and danced on gracefully and calm, / The light gauze hanging loose about her form’ (5-6).
McKay suggests that the dancer’s experience has endowed her with a kind of beauty that she might not have achieved if she does not experience it. Hughes deals with the same issue differently through his own experience of racial oppression and reflects on the lack of opportunity for African Americans which can result in deferred dreams. Hughes asks the question, ‘Or does it explode?’ to let readers contemplate on discarded dreams (11). Can dreams permanently go away or can it come back? It is critical to think and to understand what the consequences are when dreams are postponed.
While Hughes’ poem is certainly talking about what happens to dreams that are deferred, some of the ideas are reflected from McKay’s ‘The Harlem Dancer.’ Many African Americans face many difficulties in their life due to the surroundings that they are in between 1920 and 1930. The Harlem Renaissance creates opportunities for many African Americans to find their full potential and intellectual, especially in poetry. Many famous poets reflect on their works through experiences and express melancholy or hopefulness. Not only is the Harlem Renaissance inspiring many African Americans to find their voice, but it is also an era for African American culture to prosper.
