What does the wall signify answer with reference to the poem as I grew older? The wall
symbolizes discrimination, prejudice, and racism in a society who doesn’t see him as a human being
. The wall keeps Hughes in the “shadows” of society unable to get up and out of his predicament of simply being black.
Why does the speaker mention his hands to break through the wall answer in reference to the poem as I grew older?
Why does the speaker mention using his hands to break through the wall?
The speaker’s dream is to achieve racial equality
. What is the dream? The effect will be that the speaker will be able to achieve his goals and dreams.
What are the poet’s feelings with reference to the wall as I grew older?
“As he grows older”,
he “understands that he is not equal to others”
and he “cannot break the wall”. But finally he recognizes his hands as a tool and he decides to break the wall and achieve his dream.
What does as I grew older by Langston Hughes mean?
The poem is about
the speaker’s inability to achieve a childhood dream
because of his society’s racism and prejudices. He describes his experiences as a young man and his dream of being something great.
What do the speaker’s hands represent as I grew older?
However, the speaker is not going to give up his dream. His hands are the “tool” that will break through the metaphoric wall and destroy the hatred and prejudice. It is ironic that these same hands represent
the power that can bring him to his dream
.
What is the central idea of the poem as I grew older?
In the poem, “As I Grew Older” by Langston Hughes, the persona’s dreams are immortalised since his childhood although he faces numerous obstacles in achieving them. … The theme of this poem revolves around
the strong willingness and the hardship needed for ones to achieve their goals.
What is the summary of the poem as I grew older?
The poet uses the metaphor of the wall to represent racism and prejudice that shatter dreams for the child.
As he moved through his life
, the narrator felt unable to go out into the sun that once held his dreams. He moves now in the shadows of life. He can no longer see the bright dreams that he had as a naïve child.
Why was the poet’s dream not fulfilled?
Answer: He thinks he has almost forgotten his dream. He remembers that his dream was
not fulfilled as a strong barrier was created
by his fellow white people who will not let his dream come true. The wall seems to grow forever and ever and it has become it has become so taller that it ‘rose until it touched the sky.
What has happened to the dream in poem as I grew older?
As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes … “As I Grew Older” is a poem about
the dreams that the poet was unable to achieve because of racial subjugation and discrimination
. The poet, in his childhood, had dreams but as time passed and he grew up, he was subjected to racial prejudice and oppression.
How many time frames are used in the poem as I grew older?
The simple vocabulary makes each word important, the themes are clear, and repetitions in the poem create movement. The speaker is the poet himself, telling us about his own personal experience in his life. The setting of the poem is divided into
three clear time frames
.
What are the three major symbols used in the poem as I grew older?
- Symbolism.
- “As I Grew Older”
- Sun/Light: Represents hope for the future.
- The Wall: Represents obstacles.
- Darkness: Represents despair and hopelessness.
- The Shadow: Represents defeat.
- Black Hands: Represents the tool a person uses to overcome their obstacles or fight against them.
What does the poet compare his dream to?
“Dreams” is a poem written by Langston Hughes. The poem speaks is about the importance of a dream. The poem is composed of two stanzas with four lines each. The poet has metaphorically compared
a life without a dream with a bird with broken wings that cannot fly in the first stanza
.
What did the poet have a long time ago and what happened to it?
Explanation: The poem starts by
elaborating the dream the
poet had a long time ago which he barely remembers. Since the poet has a love for nature, the dream begins with a beautiful sunset which is as lovely as the rose. This poem represents the symbolic struggles of African Americans!
What does shadow signify?
A shadow itself represents
the blocking out of light
and, therefore, implies the existence of some lurking darkness or source of evil. … Peter Beagle also uses the contrast of darkness and light in The Last Unicorn to reveal the forces of good and evil at work in the story.
What images are used in the poem as I grew older?
The primary imagery in the poem is
light and dark
. The speaker of the poem compares his dream to the sun. Standing between the speaker and the sun are a wall and a shadow, blocking the light of the dream.
What do the speaker’s hands represent?
These gestures mostly represent the viewpoint of an observer on the action. That is, the speaker’s hand as a whole represents
a characters feet, or body
(such as in Figure 6).
