SUMMARY:
Langston Hughes ‘As I Grew Older’ begins about a dream that the poet had ‘long time ago.’ The poet says his dream, bright as the sun, was right in front of him until a wall rose between him and his dream. The poet is an old man now and he is thinking about his dream which he dreamt long time ago. 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.’ The dream which was as bright as the sun has now turned dark. The wall has become a long dark shadow and has been blocking his dream. The dream being replaced by a shadow, the poet has become black.
The poet lies down beside the shadow which means he feels defeated and helpless. He finds that his dream is no longer above him and so he feels vanquished. Instead of his dreams, he finds the ‘thick wall’ and the ‘shadow’ above him. A plausible interpretation can be that the dream of freedom and independence is no longer real for the blacks and it has been overshadowed by the wall created by the fellow white people.
‘Dark hands’ refers to the poet’s own hands, the color of his skin, who will be able to ‘break through the wall’ and ‘find his dream.’
The poet wants to break the wall and shatter the darkness that is keeping him from attending his dream. He wants to break the shadow into thousand lights of sun and thousands of whirling dreams.
ANALYSIS:
THEME: The poem is in negative effects of racism, prejudice and discrimination. It is a comment on any form of racial oppression where one is unable to achieve their dreams, whether it is because of age, gender, nationality or religion. The poem puts up a message that we should believe in ourselves and stand up against the unjust society and rise above any sort of discrimination.