Dylan's "The Times they are a Changing," Hughes' "Harlem: A Dream Deferred," and Auden's "The Unknown Citizen" all investigate the themes of human goals, and the impact of society upon these goals. Hughes' poem provides an analysis of how the deferment of life goals by society can result in great destruction to both the individual and society. Auden's poem also looks at the loss of life goals, this time through the overarching control of a mechanized, soulless state and conformity. In contrast, Dylan's lyrics provide hope for the realization of dreams and hopes through social change.
In his poem, "Harlem: A Dream Deferred," Langston Hughes investigates the theme of the destructive impact of deferring dreams. In his first sentence, Hughes sets up a rhetorical question, "What happens to a dream deferred?," and then sets about determining the effect of life goals that are delayed or put off. Clearly, Hughes wants to impart the idea that any life goal that is delayed gives a negative outcome. Further, his inclusion of the word Harlem in the title is indicative that the poem reflects the destruction of life goals in the African-American community that is symbolized by Harlem itself. Hughes' poem describes the effect of life goals that must be put off until society changes, and laws and institutions are ready to accept African-Americans. Until the time that an African-American's goals can be fulfilled, Hughes'...
Dreams may simply wither and "dry up," they may lie dormant under the surface and "fester like a sore," become putrid "like rotten meat" or simply become unusable due to lack of use, and "crust and sugar over." Perhaps the most interesting of the alternatives is the implied violence in Hughes' last stanza, where he suggests that unfulfilled goals may "explode." Here, it can be interpreted that Hughes is clearly warning larger society about the inherent danger in subjugating the hopes of an entire class of people, who may "explode" with anger or frustration. Alternatively, Hughes may be speaking on an individual level, and suggesting that unfulfilled dreams can result in an individual "exploding" with despair, and committing an act of self-destruction.
W.H. Auden's "The Unknown Citizen" provides a subtly different thematic look at the value of human hopes and individuality than Hughes' "Harlem: A Dream Deferred." "The Unknown Citizen" explores a society where happiness and freedom have become lost through the overwhelming control of a bureaucratic control. In Austen's poem, human dreams and goals are lost to the mindless and mechanized control of the state. Individuals are reduced to numbers, and the unknown citizen's life is simply defined by his lack of defiance and conformity. In Hughes' poem the loss of…
