“Harlem” describes the American Dream, because of the unfavorable environment to which African Americans were exposed to making it hard for them to achieve their goals. Hughes criticizes the mistreatment of the Black community by Whites through his writing. The poem highlights issues likely to arise if part of a population has to put their aspirations and objectives aside. Through different techniques, “Harlem” has clearly shown problems, which African Americans were facing. Hughes has successfully utilized various poetic elements within his work to protest against the oppression of African Americans. The poem was written during the “Harlem” Renaissance when Black writers were expressing their opinions on social injustices which were happening in their community. Moreover, they wrote about mistreatment and racial discrimination against black people. In this sense, they sought answers to the question, “What happens to a dream differed?” (Hughes, Line 1). Therefore, “Harlem” tends to show how African Americans had lost hope after their dreams were crushed due to White men’s mistreatment. To address the question posed in the poem, Hughes creates a set of similes that assist in seeking answers to the aforementioned question. Notably, a simile can be defined as the comparison of different things which have common unique attributes. His suggestions create an image that highlights how African Americans felt when the poem was written. For example, to give a vivid description of their emotions, Hughes asks whether their dreams “… dry up like a raisin in the sun?” (Hughes, Lines 2-3). The author answers this question using a simile, which is hard for the reader to understand. He asserts that “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load” (Hughes, lines 9-10). Through this statement, Hughes insists on his idea of the devastating circumstance African Americans are exposed to by the Whites. The author can create a visual picture of how heavy the problem is in this section. Based on these examples, Hughes allows the reader to have a clear image of the situation by examining the demoralizing circumstances African Americans are going through to be able to feel their emotions and understand their plight. The similes clearly show sentiments of lost hopes and depression that a Black man has to endure while trying to achieve the American Dream. To describe the availability of the American Dream between African Americans and the whites in American society, Hughes uses imagery. One can realize that; the poem is made up of different circumstances in which the author compares the American Dream to normal life experience by the use of similes. For example, Hughes utilizes words that are familiar and normal to people such as “raisin” (line 3), “sore” (line 4), “rotten meat” (line 6), and syrup (line 8). On that note, the incorporation of simile in the poem gives a symbolic illustration of the “dream deferred,” hence improving meaning of the words employed by the author. Towards that end, the stylistic representation in the poem creates a situation that allows the reader to relate to the differences regarding the American Dream between the two societies in America (Annas and Rosen)