A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry about a close-knit family trying to reach each of their own goals in life. The family consists of Lena Younger (Mama), her children Beneatha and Walter Lee Younger, Walter’s wife Ruth, and their son, Travis. They all live in a run down apartment in the South Side of Chicago. Mama gets an insurance check of $10,000 upon her husband’s death. Each family member has an idea of what to do with the money once they finally get it. Walter Lee wants to own a liquor store with his friends Willy Harris and Bobo, Beneatha wants to continue her college education and become a doctor, Mama wants to move to a nicer house where there are enough bedrooms for everyone to sleep in and fulfill her and her late…
Having a dream is a wonderful opportunity to expand and make an impact in the lives of others, yet oftentimes these dreams are given up when they require a commitment people are unwilling or unable to give. The play A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the dreams of the Youngers, an African American family living in the Southside of Chicago around 1950, and their journey to achieve them. The Younger family is made up of Mama, her daughter Beneatha, her son Walter Lee and his wife Ruth, and their…
consciences with more and more lies until they become prisoners of those lies. They cannot face the truth of human equality because it reveals the horror of the injustices they commit” (Brainy Quotes). In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family lives in South Side Chicago and faces racial discrimination. The entire family experiences different hardships over the years. While reading Hansberry’s drama, the audience can better comprehend the content with the help of…
A Raisin in the Sun Title Controversy; Emotion v. Plot Titles are not to be taken lightly as they are what a reader keeps in mind throughout a piece. “Mother to Son” and “Harlem” are both written by Langston Hughes and portray the struggles of maintaining a dream during difficult times. “Mother to Son” uses the extended metaphor of a staircase that parallels the struggles and overall actions in the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, while “Harlem” uses graphic images in order to…
In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, involves a poor family where each member of the family has their own problem like for Lena, it was moving into a new house, for Ruth what to do with the baby that still hasn’t be borned, and Walter to open a liquor shop. It is hard to define one as the protagonist since every character is really influential and contributed a great amount in it. In fact, you could say all of them are protagonists or none of them. There are many traits that…
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is able to bring to light various issues occurring in Chicago’s Southside during the 1960s,the time at which the play takes place. Many of theses issues stem from racial tensions,terrible education and poor housing systems among other things for blacks at the time. Money, however is the main focus in the play because it interrelates with many of the conflicts that occur between family members in A Raisin in the Sun. The Younger family’s perception of…
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (1959) is set in Chicago’s Southside and many social issues of the 1950’s are the themes of this play. This essay is about one of the major themes in the play, racism, and how the Younger family, a poor black family, experienced and resisted the racism in their society. The members of the Younger family had to deal with discrimination in the housing industry, their home and their jobs. In, A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family bought a house in a…
A Lock on the Mind “A good job is more than just a paycheck. A good job fosters independence and discipline, and contributes to health of the community. A good job is a means to provide health and welfare for your family, to own a home, and save for retirement.” - James H. Douglas Jr. In Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Crash by Paul Haggis jobs and living situation play an important role in how the characters live. In Tortilla Curtain, Crash and A…
A Raisin in the Sun A Raisin in the sun by Lorraine Hansberry, is a story of a family whose father dies and the family is expecting to get an insurance check from their father’s life insurance policy. This is also outline a very important part of black american history. It shows the culture around money in the black community. We can see some of this if you look around in present day. black lifestyle that we have now and then are shown countless times throughout the storyline. At the…
The Younger's Family in Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun, have faced many hardships in 1950s America. In the play, Hansberry writes about a family on the south side of Chicago, in a beat up, old apartment that is about as tired and worn out as the Younger’s are. The Younger Family goes through many trials and tribulations that are best represented by the symbolism with their tiny one window, the plant, mama's gifts, and the condition of the old and new house. The condition of the…