Raisin In The Sun Family

There was once a time, shortly after World War II, that America gained its status as an international superpower and enjoyed an era of atomic growth and prosperity. Returning soldiers and folks at home dreamed of achieving long cherished visions of quiet normality, of comfort and security, of kids playing tag –and a snazzy car in their suburban driveway. In just about every suburban home, televisions would be running iconic shows, such as “I Love Lucy” and “Father Knows Best.” These were the iconic, black and white, sitcoms of their time that portrayed happy families with simple structures; the father went to work each day, and the mother stayed home to run the house and raise the kids. The nuclear family was a motif of the atomic-era that …show more content…
The Younger Family in “A Raisin in the Sun,” shows Lorraine Hansberry’s audience the impact that racial contempt had on African American, but more importantly she uses Walter Younger to illustrate how many African Americans families deviated from the contemporary families portrayed on television. Lorraine Hansberry’s play follows the story of an African American family, presumably somewhere in the lower spectrum of the middle class, who eventually make their way into a white suburban neighborhood. Lena Younger (“Mama”) is the matriarch of the family who provides shelter in her small, two-bedroom apartment in Chicago for the other four members of the family. Recently widowed, she is nervously waiting for a life insurance check for $10,000 in the mail. This would be roughly worth $102,000 today. She dreams of moving the family out of the Chicago ghetto and spending the money on a nice suburban home. Walter Lee Younger, her son, is a 35-year-old chauffer that dreams of opening his own liquor store with his mother’s insurance