Read the following poem and attempt the question :
Harlem
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore -
And then run?
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?
Choose the incorrect option. According to the author, what happens to a dream deferred?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → it starts to fade away
The poem asks what becomes of a dream deferred and answers with a series of images: it may dry up like a raisin, fester like a sore, stink like rotten meat, crust over like a syrupy sweet, sag like a heavy load or explode. Nowhere does the poet say that the dream quietly fades away; every image is of decay, pain or violence, not of a gentle disappearance.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: it dries up like a raisin — Incorrect. True in the passage: the poem says "dry up like a raisin in the sun": the dream shrivels and loses its life, so it is not the incorrect option.
Option 2: it stinks like rotten meat — Incorrect. True in the passage: the poem asks whether it stinks like rotten meat: the dream goes bad and becomes offensive.
Option 4: it festers like a sore — Incorrect. True in the passage: to fester is to become infected and painful, like a wound that does not heal.