The play “A Raisin In the Sun” and the poem “Harlem” both concentrate on the attainment of the forever promised “American Dreams” (higher education, prosperity, equality, freedom to come and go as you desire and to be whoever and whatever you want). These aspirations were and still are the hopes and goals society offers to all of us, unfortunately, many African-Americans rarely achieved and experienced them. Both writings depict the unfair treatment of African-Americans during the 1960’s with each implying how, discrimination and segregation, made achieving these dreams virtually insurmountable for most of the black population. The main difference between the play and the poem are the endings. The poem ends with a reference to the total destruction
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This is analogous to “A Raisin in the Sun.” For example, Walter has a dream of owning his own business. He imagines moving his family of five out of their two bedroom apartment in Harlem. Also, Lena (Mama) dreams about getting her family out of the small apartment and into a home. Mama receives an insurance settlement worth $10,000 which today would be worth roughly $100,000. She plans to utilize part of money to acquire a home, put Beneatha through medical school and invest in Travis’s future. Reluctantly, she gives some money to Walter so he can open a liquor store. Walter ends up losing his portion after his “business partner” Willy Harris takes all the money and skips town, squelching any hope of fulfilling the family’s dreams. Therefore, the main similarity between “Harlem” and “A Raisin In the Sun”, is the frustration of unfulfilled dreams because they “explode” and never happen or at the very least they get postponed and end up being a fraction of the total …show more content…
The common theme of the two is “deferred” dreams and the pain associated with desires being unrealized. In fact, the two are so similar the poem “Harlem” the author uses references in her play “A Raisin in the Sun.” By contrast, the main difference between the two is that the play focuses primarily on elements of hope if one can persevere and stay dedicated to their cause. Whereas, “Harlem” focuses on racism to such a degree that it causes African-American dreams to dry up, fester, stink, and sag from being such a heavy load that the dream simply explodes leaving little to no hope of overcoming the barriers.The play “A Raisin In the Sun” and the poem “Harlem” both concentrate on the attainment of the forever promised “American Dreams” (higher education, prosperity, equality, freedom to come and go as you desire and to be whoever and whatever you want). These aspirations were and still are the hopes and goals society offers to all of us, unfortunately, many African-Americans rarely achieved and experienced them. Both writings depict the unfair treatment of African-Americans during the 1960’s with each implying how, discrimination and segregation, made achieving these dreams virtually insurmountable for most of the black population. The main difference between the play and the poem are the endings.
This is analogous to “A Raisin in the Sun.” For example, Walter has a dream of owning his own business. He imagines moving his family of five out of their two bedroom apartment in Harlem. Also, Lena (Mama) dreams about getting her family out of the small apartment and into a home. Mama receives an insurance settlement worth $10,000 which today would be worth roughly $100,000. She plans to utilize part of money to acquire a home, put Beneatha through medical school and invest in Travis’s future. Reluctantly, she gives some money to Walter so he can open a liquor store. Walter ends up losing his portion after his “business partner” Willy Harris takes all the money and skips town, squelching any hope of fulfilling the family’s dreams. Therefore, the main similarity between “Harlem” and “A Raisin In the Sun”, is the frustration of unfulfilled dreams because they “explode” and never happen or at the very least they get postponed and end up being a fraction of the total …show more content…
The common theme of the two is “deferred” dreams and the pain associated with desires being unrealized. In fact, the two are so similar the poem “Harlem” the author uses references in her play “A Raisin in the Sun.” By contrast, the main difference between the two is that the play focuses primarily on elements of hope if one can persevere and stay dedicated to their cause. Whereas, “Harlem” focuses on racism to such a degree that it causes African-American dreams to dry up, fester, stink, and sag from being such a heavy load that the dream simply explodes leaving little to no hope of overcoming the barriers.The play “A Raisin In the Sun” and the poem “Harlem” both concentrate on the attainment of the forever promised “American Dreams” (higher education, prosperity, equality, freedom to come and go as you desire and to be whoever and whatever you want). These aspirations were and still are the hopes and goals society offers to all of us, unfortunately, many African-Americans rarely achieved and experienced them. Both writings depict the unfair treatment of African-Americans during the 1960’s with each implying how, discrimination and segregation, made achieving these dreams virtually insurmountable for most of the black population. The main difference between the play and the poem are the endings.