George Bush, Creationists
Circle I Limbo

Scientologists, Hipsters
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

Greens, Democrats
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

Bill Clinton, Bill Gates
Circle IV Rolling Weights

Objectivists, Libertarians
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled

River Styx

PETA Members, Osama bin Laden
Circle VI Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

Gray Davis, Saddam Hussein, The Pope, Uday Hussein, Qusay Hussein, General asshats, Oakland Raider Fans
Circle VII Burning Sands

The New York Yankees, Republicans, Riceboys, Trixies, Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies, DMV Employees, Geeks, Rednecks, NAMBLA Members, Militant Vegans, Goths
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement

mike fenley
Circle IX Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

Hope

Sara Tezel
Senior Comp. 12-2
Mrs. Wacker
3 November 2006
The Need for Hope
Is a person who does not dream, really a complete human being? Both Langston Hughes’ poem “Dreams” and Stephen Crane’s “I Saw a Man Pursuing the Horizon” concern the need a soul has in order to believe in its desires. Short as the poems may be, they offer the readers a knowledgeable grasp on the subject. Although Hughes and Crane discuss the importance of hope and dreams in human life, Hughes stresses the responsibility an individual has to “hold onto his or her dreams,” while Crane criticizes those who discourage others from achieving their goals, no matter how seemingly impossible.
Hughes and Crane write about the importance dreams hold for people. They emphasize that in order to live, a human needs a goal, a purpose, a dream. Life is plain and not worth suffering through if the body does not have a purpose. Encouraging the fulfillment of dreams, both poets mention the necessity of a goal for a complete and rich life.
The two writers differ, however, in the direction of their poems. Langston Hughes concentrates on the result of being alive without feeling purposeful. He argues that a person is only existing when he or she does not hope. Hope and dreams is the key to happiness Hughes argues, and without enduring the pain and disappointment failed dreams bring, one doe not experience the de facto side of the world.
Stephen Crane on the other hand discusses the importance of knowing ones goal. In his poem he mentions a man pursuing the horizon. Although this goal is, as another man in the poem points out, impossible, the runner has a goal and is not going to let anyone or anything discourage. There are others in Crane’s work that just seem to scramble in circles, not sure of what their goal is. Another point that is made in Crane’s poem is that one should not discourage the dream of another. Nobody has the right to deject another’s hopes because those who do not dream do not have much.
Both poets have a strong opinion on dreams although their direction differs. Langston Hughes believes that dreams are vital to thriving in this world, not just surviving while Stephen Crane’s work is about having a direction for a goal to follow and not discouraging others in their attempt to achieve their own goal. Hope lets a person’s soul soar and allows them to truly feel alive. Hughes and Crane both realized the importance dreams have and captured it beautifully in their poetry.