Dreams Deferred- Langston Hughes

There are many literary techniques in this poem. I found it interesting that almost the entire poem contained rhetorical questions. The speaker is asking the reader what happens to dreams or goals that they don't go after. Although rhetorical questions don't require an answer, I think they are effective because they allow for reader involvement. While reading this poem, I found myself seeking an answer to each of the questions posed. Do my dreams "dry up like raisins in the sun?" Do my dreams "stink like rotten meat?" I suppose they do. Rhetorical questions get the reader thinking.


Another literary technique used in this poem was a metaphor. The entire poem contained five similes and was only eleven lines long. That impressed me. The last line however contained a metaphor. The metaphor was "or does it explode?". I think this metaphor that compares giving up dreams to explosions is effective because it creates a lasting image. I think the writer used five similes and then one metaphor to contrast his final idea and show how it was different from the others. The word explosion brings up images of destruction and doom which is what the speaker says will happen if we don't go after our dreams. 

Rather be feared than loved- 5

"Sometimes she'd be going on very intensely then come to a sudden stop with something like: "What is it? What is it? What can it be that thwarts us?" (Never Let Me Go, page 43)


Miss Emily asks this rhetorical question to the students as she lectures them on the proper way to behave. I think these rhetorical questions are effective because they show what kind of person Miss Emily is. When she preaches to the students, they feel awkward and confused not really knowing how to respond to her. She is the head guardian and people are afraid to cross her.


I especially found Kathy's encounter with Miss Emily on the footpath interesting. Kathy finds Miss Emily muttering to herself. I think Miss Emily might know something that the reader doesn't. Maybe she knows something about the Gallery or Madame. She seems like the type of person who is knowledgeable and respected but not really sociable. I was surprised when Kathy said "it was her presence, intimidating though it was, that made us all feel so safe at Hailsham." Then again, it seems like the most influential people are those who are feared.