Harlem

Food figures prominently in “Harlem.” Each time this motif appears, it takes dual forms—positive and negative.

The first image is “a raisin in the sun” (Line 3). Grapes are a longtime cultural symbol signifying, among other things—joy, abundance, fertility and promise. In “Harlem” the grapes wither on the vine, burned first into raisins and then into inedible dust. Deferment counteracts what could have been a bountiful harvest, denying people the immediate fruits of their labor and the promise of future enjoyment.

The next food image is the “stink" of "rotten meat” (Line 6). Fresh meat is a staple source of protein—a building block of life. Rotten meat reeks and can poison. Once again, time has worked against something healthy, spoiling it—no one has bothered to preserve or refrigerate the meat to ensure it retains its nutritive properties. The stink of rotten meat symbolizes a warning about the dangers of decaying dreams.

The final image is the "crust and sugar" that has emerged from a “syrupy sweet” (Lines 7-8), rendering it unpleasant and unpalatable. A dream can sweeten lives and offers something more than mere survival. Candy can go bad, too, losing integrity.

Taken together, the food imagery asserts that dreams are as necessary as food to sustain life. Food fuels the body and dreams feed the spirit; the consequences of withholding either are dire.