A Raisin in the Sun is a famous poem by renowned Harlem Renaissance Poet Langston Hughes. This iconic piece of literature can be interpreted as a metaphoric portrayal of every human’s struggle for a fulfilled existence and a desperate attempt to cling to hope, while languishing in despondency.
What happens to a dream deferred?
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Does it dry up And then run?
:-Langston Hughes
This poem reflects the present state of the Ghanaian proletariat that is overburdened by failure of successful political administrations to salvage the nation’s economy.
Like Hughes fabled raisin, the Ghanaian hope for a better existence continues to fade Once ascribed to be a nation full of hopefuls, the President of Ghana unequivocally asserts that Ghanaians have become pessimists. The Ghanaian when asked about the state of the country’s plight used to reply that though times were tough, it would be alright.
The reply that the same question evokes is that times are hard. Gone from the speech of the Ghanaian’s lips are the sermons of hope and fortitude. The consoling orations have been replaced by an uneuphemistic presentation of the bare facts.
The dream of the Ghanaian proletariat for a blissful existence continues to dry up and stoking up hopes of immigration to perceived better economies outside Ghana. Some people have found their way to United States, Europe, and South Africa where they now struggle to build a meaningful constantly overshadowed by xenophobia and the disdain they daily experience for supposedly stealing the few jobs of the citizens of the counties they have migrated
The raisin can no longer become grape, but its sweetness that fill the thirsty traveler with joy and refreshing can be saved before it begins to fester, run, stink, sag and explode.