Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Improved Essays
“...There ain’t no causes - there ain’t nothing but taking in this world, and he who takes most is smartest - and it doesn't make a damn bit of difference how.”(3(Act).1(Scene).) A Raisin in the sun is a play that is written by Lorraine Hansberry. She also wrote The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window and Les Blancs.The first play produced based on A Raisin in the sun was in 1959, which is considered a landmark in American literature and drama. This play took place in Chicago’s South Side. In this play, there are three main male characters which are George Murchison, Joseph Asagai, and Walter Lee Younger. Each of these three characters have their similarities and differences.
For instance, George Murchison and Joseph Asagai Have their contradictions

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Raisin In The Sun was a play written in 1959 by Lorraine Hansberry. She was the first black woman to write a play that got produced on Broadway. This play was not destined for success but despite the critics it had became one of her most well known plays. The written play is different from the movie in a few ways. Some of the major parts in the written play are not in the movie and vice versa.…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry is a play written in the 1950’s that focuses on the idea of unfulfilled dreams yet to come true. The play "A Raisin in the Sun" is a story about an African American family facing racial problem for their color and each member in the family has hopes and dreams they hope to live up to. The play shows the struggle it is to live in the apartment and the lack of money. As they will now own a home, each individual’s family attitudes starts to change, as way back in the family, the family attitude was hopeless, restless and unhappy. Ruth, Mama, Walter Lee, Travis, and Beneatha all live in the apartment.…

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    A Raisin In The Sun is a book by Lorraine Hansberry that tells a story about a african american family of five living in poverty in Chicago in the 40s. They all have a dream of getting out of the small kitchenette space and working for their dream job. Then they receive an insurance check for $10,000 for the death of big Walter. Because of how successful Lorraine Hansberry’s book was there were many movies and plays based of of the book. Two of the most popular movies were one starring Sean Combs made in the 2000s.…

    • 125 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Raisin In The Sun Mama

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Raisin in the Sun portrays a few weeks in the life of the Youngers, an African-American family on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s struggling to support themselves each and every day from paycheck to paycheck. When the play opens, the Youngers are waiting to receive an insurance check which comes from the deceased Patriarch of the Younger family, Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy. Mama and Walter have an idea as to what he or she would like to do with the money they are about to receive. Each member in the Younger family are having internal strive with wanting to improve their lives for the better without thinking about the consequences of their actions or considering what the other person has to say. However, the person who is having…

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun Essay Demi Lovato Once said, “No matter what you're going through, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you'll find the positive side of things.” A play, A Raisin in the Sun, was written in 1959 by Lorraine Hansberry. The play is about the Younger family who wants to move out of their neighborhood for a new beginning. Among each Younger, they each face a conflicts that are related to money. Lorraine Hansberry reveals her idea through the character Beneatha.…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Argumentative Essay The play we read in class was called A Raisin in the Sun. Lorraine Hansberry the author of the play wrote about a African American family living in Chicago during segregation. Throughout the play we learned about each of the characters dreams.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Younger family and the money they had affected Beneatha’s schooling. The society of the 1950’s affected Ruth wanting to be treated as an equal. Not having money for a house affected Mama’s dream of owning one. As said in 'A Raisin in the Sun' Reveals Playwright Lorraine Hansberry's Black Activism, “A Raisin in the Sun is a play about an African-American family aspiring to move beyond segregation in 1950s Chicago. The work speaks universally to the desire to improve one's circumstances while disagreeing on the best way of achieving them (Robinson).…

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Happiness is defined as “feeling or showing pleasure or contentment” (according to google), happiness might be achieved through your own self goals and accomplishments, or some people might achieve happiness through watching other fellow friends or family achieve their goals. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry many characters reflect on what people will make them happy and how it affected their relationship with their family members, some of the family members becoming selfish and some striving to keep the family together. This paragraph is meant to explain the story and conflict, we are first introduced to three characters: Travis(Ruth and Walter’s son), Ruth, and Walter Lee(Walter). Travis is more of a supporting character…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Raisin In The Sun Tragedy

    • 1625 Words
    • 7 Pages

    A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted March 11, 1959. The play is written about a family that is living in Chicago in the midst of predudism and are barely holding on. From start to finish we see the characters change not by choice but because they realized they had to. The genre of the play is definitely a tragedy that ends with a turn of events to create a happy ending. The tone of the play is not consistent for the most part.…

    • 1625 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun By Lorraine Hansberry is realistic fictional drama in which the play’s title and the action of the character represent the play’s theme. The play focused on Black America 's struggles to reach the American Dream of life, liberty, and pursuing happiness during the 1950s and the 1960s. The idea of everyone having the chance to achieve a better life should exist for all. Hansberry created her title using a line from Langston Hughes’ poem “A Dream Deferred”. The original poem was written in 1951 about Harlem.…

    • 1388 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Selfish. Desperate. Ambitious. When the opportunity is taken right under from someone's feet, it can be conceded, eager and even hard working depending on the opportunity given. In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry shows how the struggle was for a colored man in the 1950s to not be successful.…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a realistic fictional drama in which the play’s title and the actions of the characters represent the play’s theme. The play is focused on Black Americans struggles to reach the American Dream of Life,Liberty, and pursuing happiness ,During the 1950’s and 1960’s . The idea of everyone having the chance to achieve a better life should exist for all. Hansberry created her title using a line from Langston Hughes’ poem “ A Dream Deferred”, The original poem was written in the 1951 about Harlem.…

    • 1582 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sejal Agarwal Grade 10 Mr. Minicozzi New Historicist Biographical Lens Lorraine Hansberry, an African-American playwright and author, wrote her very first play when she was only 27 years old. Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is best analysed by the New Historicist Biographical lens as the play’s plot and mood is greatly influenced by the author’s personal experience with housing and economic conditions, making it more authentic and real. One may argue that the New Historical lens is more effective when analyzing this play because it showcases the outside world, however the play is centred around the family and the audience is only exposed to their life inside the apartment, while the New Historical lens focuses on the life outside…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Men, for many years, have been considered as the head of the family while women were more compliant, however that changes in the 1900s as women break from their traditional roles thus causing a shift in the men’s roles. According to The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Lorraine Hansberry was “the first black woman to have a play produced on Broadway” (Gates 1768). Hansberry ’s play A Raisin in the Sun is set around 1959 in Chicago and it is about the Younger family facing situations after the death of their father.…

    • 2171 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that has been shown on Broadway in 1956. The title of this play come from a poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes. The story of this play tells us about a black family experiences in the Washington Park Subdivision of Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. The characters in the play Walter and Ruth Younger they have a son Travis.…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays