Chapter 17, Dream Deferred Summary

He returned to the United States in the midst of the Great Depression. Since he had been doing well as a short story writer in Russia, Hughes continued writing stories when he returned to the states. Noel Sullivan, an old friend of Hughes', put him up in a cottage in Carmel, California, where Hughes wrote prolifically. The result of this writing was a book of short stories entitled The Ways of White Folks, which was published by Knopf in 1934.

While in Carmel, Hughes also became involved with anti-war campaigns, writing and handing out pamphlets to the public. After the publication of his book, Langston traveled to Reno, Nevada, where he took a room in a black boardinghouse. He thought about his father, and thought that he should write to him soon.

When he awoke the next morning, Langston received...