The American Dream In A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry

Improved Essays
In the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry , The center of attention throughout this entire play is the life and dreams involving the members of the Younger's family. In 1952 colored people were always being mistreated and had to live a very struggling lifestyle. Earning low income, were barely making ends meet, put money on the table to eat for the kids and themselves. Lot of racist slurs were used to put colored people down and make them feel unwanted. The Younger family consisted of Lena Younger (MAMA) , Beneatha Younger, Walter Lee Younger, Travis Younger, and Ruth Younger. Lorraine Hansberry discusses the lifestyle of the Youngers family, also the dreams of each family members how that they are deferred. Money affects all …show more content…
That is what most individuals pictured as to be the American dream. But the American dream isn't about making a lot of money. The American dream is all about achieving your goals that you have set for yourself and spending time with the family and friends that you love. That is the correct term for the American dream. Appreciate what you have because in instance something could go horribly wrong and things could change. Money may help put you at ease but it is not the source of happiness, but instead is the source of problems occurring. All these dreams such as opening up a store , or going to medical school so that they can become a doctor are dreams known as the American dream because American is suppose to be the land of the free and life and liberty. It was a huge struggle for colored people than it was white people and the discrimination went on for years and years. Which made it harder for colored people to reach their goals that they dreamed of. May it be living in poverty or being threatened or discriminated against constantly. Life isn't always going to be easy and it will be tough and make you want to give up on your goals but if it is what you really want to do then you have to pursue it with everything you got. Raisin in the sun is a play created by Lorraine Hansberry which is about the family of the Youngers, and how that they struggle through live trying to achieve their dreams. In the 1950's it was not an easy time for colored people due to all the discrimination and racism going on. Dreams were crushed or deferred based on certain events that happen with in the family. Money impacted the lives of millions of people back in the day, and still does impact everyone lives to this

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream is a broad supposition in which it varies amongst many particular individuals. Many people conceptualize it as being successful and wealthy, meanwhile others hypothesize it to be content and stable. Most of the times, the cases of which the American dream is portrayed usually is dependant on the race, ethnicity, and age of that certain individual. Some latino US citizens would say that their American dream is to buy a house and be contently stable in a state of alacrity, meanwhile some white US citizens would say it to be prosperous and well-living. It varies on whoever the specific individual is.…

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tori Robinson April 2, 2015 Ms.Mazaheri A Dream to Come True Lorraine Hansberry was an African American Playwright and civil rights activist. Ms. Hansberry was also the first African American women to write a play that were performed on Broadway. “A Raisin in the Sun” can be considered a significant milestone for African American in the United States. Lorraine Hansberry attains the title “A Raisin in the Sun” from the poem “Dream Deferred” written by Langston Hughes.…

    • 1600 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun centers on an African American family’s struggles during the twentieth century. In the play, the author illustrates vital issues such as poverty and gender, and racial discrimination on colored people. However, there are many other features that contribute to the play’s success, including: its two major themes (importance of family and significance of their dreams), the main character’s personality, and the author’s standpoint in the story. One of the major themes in A Raisin in the Sun is the importance of family and values, which contributes to the play’s unraveling.…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great 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
  • Great Essays

    Occurrence of Different Dreams and Ultimate Lessons How was look like when the Lorraine Hansberry 's play, A Raisin in the Sun, is written? At that time, from the abolition of black slavery, African Americans could have freedom differently from the past. However, the liberty existed on the only surface. As the reader can find in the play, there were many cases that the African American families that are not different from other normal white families have pain in racial prejudice and discrimination. Even if they had same right on the surface of society, they still had invisible wall that separates their social position and status.…

    • 2305 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream varies between each individual. Everyone has a different goal that they would strive to achieve. Some may think the American dream is accomplishing great actions or events, such as obtaining a countless amount of money or living in a mansion. Another perspective is that others would want to get more out of life then what they have previously, such as not being homeless or being financially stable. The American dream can become a reality if the person can motivate themselves to keep going even with one or multiple obstacles in their way.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved 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
  • Superior Essays

    Acquired Fate Living with your entire family cramped up in a tight space can usually cause issues to develop between the whole household, it’s an unavoidable situation.. Although issues develop, families are strong, they’re able to pull through anything they undergo. The author Lorraine Hansberry wrote the play, A Raisin in the Sun, about a colored family from the Southside of Chicago being given a great deal of money after a family members passing. Though this family now has money, it stirs up a few complications. Little did they know they had a bond strong enough to function well together.…

    • 1587 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Imagine if you were a black family living in the 1950's during the height of racism and the civil rights movement. How difficult would your life be, and what obstacles would have to be overcome? In Raisin in the Sun by Loraine Hansberry, the Youngers family live in a rundown Chicago Black neighborhood and face many challenges throughout their lives, including racial discrimination and sexism. Hansberry's message talks about the importance of achieving dreams, awareness of racial discrimination, and family dynamics. Many of the characters in the play dream of being something better in life.…

    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lorraine Hansberry’s play, “A Raisin in the Sun”, is about an African American family, the Youngers, who are surrounded by poverty, racism, and family conflict. The Youngers aspire to give themselves a better life to ultimately pass that down to future generations. Their conflict comes into play when the family receives an insurance check for $10,000 and has split decisions on what to do with it. Hansberry’s play suggests that poverty is a symptom of racism by using characters that seem to be of the typical racial stereotypes, and a setting surrounded by racial concepts. This play uses the racial stereotypes of a mammy, jezebel, profligate as well as the racial concepts of institutionalized racism, internalized racism, intraracial racism, and…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A new national poll issued by the Episcopal Church has found that 98 percent off all Americans feel that there is at least some discrimination in the United States today. In addition, African-Americans are three times as likely as whites to feel there is a “great deal” of discrimination (Episcopal Church). Many blacks are discriminated for simply the color of their skin and being African American. Countless African Americans find it hard to obtain housing without being discriminated for it. Although the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry was written in 1959 and set in the 1950s, many themes and issues are still prevalent in today 's society.…

    • 1101 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In a world so transfixed on the color of someone’s skin one can not help but be loss among the troubling affects that this american psyche places on them. Lorraine Hansberry figured out the mindset early and began to challenge societies view on stereotypes. By doing so she created a worldwide phenomena that has been critically and socially acclaimed by generations of people. Her raw and omniscient view of a struggling lower class family is completely realistic and relatable no matter what color of skin the audience is. People are so intrigued to learn about the troubles of other people and then compare their situations to make them feel better about themselves, but in A Raisin In The Sun audiences get to see not only the troubles of an average…

    • 791 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

    In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, which takes place in the 1950’s, the Younger family struggles with money issues and racial prejudice. The Southside of Chicago is where most of the discrimination happens in the play, and also…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about American life is achieving the “American Dream”. The very thought of living a life of freedom in lifestyle choice, economic opportunity, and political engagement, drove many immigrants to this country. E.L Doctorow explores this phenomenon in his novel, Ragtime. Although he speaks almost explicitly about achieving the American dream, what he does not say is almost as important. The American Dream is not achievable for African Americans, or any non-white person, who does not assimilate themselves with the help and approval of whites.…

    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays