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The American Dream Of The Poer V, Volar, By Langston Hughes

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The short story Volar by Judith Ortiz Cofer, and the poem Harlem by Langston Hughes share a common theme which is the elusive American dream, thus, compared to a pot of gold for migrants. There are several ideas that pertain to elusive American dream of both the short story and the poem. First, in Volar, a family migrated from Puerto Rico to New Jersey to seek opportunities and better life conditions. Similarly, in Harlem, it speaks about African-Americans who migrated from the South to the North for better working conditions. Secondly, in Volar, the reality of how hard to attain the American dream is evident as the story described the living conditions in their tiny apartment. In a like manner, the poem Harlem expresses the devastation in the truth that American dream of African-Americans is unattainable. Lastly, both the short story and the poem have a message of hardship contrary to their expectations once settled in the place of what they thought to be the end of the rainbow. Furthermore, some similarities and differences of figurative languages are used in both the short story and the poem. For the similarities, in Volar, the author used similes, allusion and repetition of significant words which reinforce the theme. The similes are “Supergirl comic books in my bedroom closet that was tall as I am”, and “sleek and hard as a supersonic missile” (Cofer 317). In addition, the allusions refer to Legion of Super Heroes and Supergirl comic books, the mention of Puerto

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