The whole poem is talking about where dreams go when they’re done. It’s also a darker thought to where dreams go. The first simile, “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” sets the tone for the poem. It introduces what Hughes is going to go into more detail about. It shows the reader that the poem isn’t going to be light and fun, it’s actually something for them to think about.
The second simile is “Or fester like a sore- and then run.” Dreams usually are considered nice, it’s a person’s get away from reality for a while. In this way, Hughes is creating a darker image, talking more about nightmares than happy dreams. The two similes together show that the dreams are dying and if they don’t die, then they fun away. The dreamer can never catch them. This could be Hughes taking an adult view on dreams. When you’re a kid, you were always told to chase your dreams, but as an adult, you see the reality that dreams are just dreams and just because you dream it doesn’t mean it’s possible.
The third simile is “Does it stink like rotten meat” this also plays into the fact that this is an adult looking back on childhood dreams and how they just show him what they didn’t accomplish. The next simile is “or crust like a sugar over like a syrupy sweet.” This is showing that dreams that are too good to be true. The reality of dreams is that they most likely won’t come true. The sweetness is overly sweet while the bad dreams stink. The final simile is “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load,” Hughes is saying that if people hold onto dreams too long, it just holds them back because holding onto something that will never happen just holds your entire life back. The similes are in this order because it tells the story of how an adult gets to see his dreams from childhood, he sees them in a very negative and depressing way, but it is more realistic.
The metaphor is the highest point of the poem because it is so different from the rest of the poem. “Or does it explode?” this is the high point this is Hughes showing that sometimes, just sometimes your childhood dreams actually can come true and make your life worth living. It is incredibly important because up until that point,the entire poem was about how dreams are just dreams, they can be nothing, they don’t do anything but give people false hope about their lives and their future. I interpret this metaphor as someone finally living their dreams, the explosion is the dream coming to life and it is the only positive outlook on dreams in this poem. Dreams can either hold you down or, if you live them right, they can boost you up and make you successful and have a happy life.
