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A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

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A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, which debuted on broad way in 1959. They play takes place sometime in the 1950’s, a time period wrought with social issues which were ignored by the general public. The play concentrates on the Younger family; Ruth, Travis, Walter Lee, Beneatha, and Lena, the family head. The events of the play take place over the course of only a few weeks, where-in the Younger family is to receive a large sum of money for the death of Lena’s husband. The family is then torn between what they all want from the money, causing conflict. Ultimately they move into a house in an all-white neighborhood. (Hansberry 1959) Lena’s husband, Mr. Younger, died and as a result, the family is scheduled to receive a 10 thousand dollar check on Saturday. This causes a lot of tension between the family members, including Ruth and Walter Lee. They get into multiple arguments regarding the money. In one particular argument, Walter indulges Ruth with his dream of opening a liquor store, and that he only needs a few thousand dollars. Ruth disregards him and tells him to eat his eggs or they’ll get cold. (Hansberry 1959) After not getting a favorable response from Ruth, Walter says ( ). Walter uses the phrase “Eat your eggs.” as fuel to express how women keep men from their dreams, and that women need to support their husbands, especially in their culture. During the 1950’s, being a supporting housewife was important to a household and they discuss this in the play. (Chandler 2016) Race is another big topic the play focuses on. A lot of the play focuses on the social and economic differences between blacks and whites. One of the most overt messages pertaining to this topic would be Mr. Lindner, a representative of the American community life in Clybourne Park. The Youngers are set to move into a house in that community, and Lindner is sent to try to convince them to not move. He and the rest of the community think that violence might erupt among their peaceful and all-white community, and they want to pay them off, with a large sum of money, to ensure they do not move. (Hansberry 1959) The Younger family rejects the offer outright, demonstrating their defiance towards the discrimination they are being shown. Ruth Younger is the most independent character in this play. She is the glue that holds the family together. She is not dependent on others to make her own decisions, and is obviously trying to keep her family together. When Ruth decides she does not want to have a baby, she does not consult with any of her family members. This is a huge decision for any woman to make, and it takes a lot of strength for a mother to decide such a thing. Ruth is calm and sometimes sensible, and all of the characters have a special connection with her, and in some way depend on her. The character most trapped by their circumstances would be Walter Lee. He is trapped by his own mind. He has dreams that he cannot achieve, considering his circumstance. This eats away at Walter, making him angry at the situation he is in. Walter wants money so he can afford things for his family, and often times throughout the play is haunted by not being able to give his son nice things , “and all I got to give him [Travis] is stories about how rich white people live…”. Walter wants the best for his family, but is trapped by the oppressing circumstances that rule his life. Walter also happens to be the most selfish. When Mama gives him the money to use on his liquor store, he uses Beneatha’s college money also, and does not apologize for losing it. He used money that was not his, for his own personal reasons. Hansberry wrote this play to portray the realistic lives that African American people live, and the discrimination they faced in the 1950’s. This time period was widely mocked, primarily as “the silent generation”, where no one had much to say. (Chandler 2016) Her play was revolutionary for its time period, as not only did it require an all-black cast, but it was realistic, and addressed realistic issues people of color had to face. She does a magnificent job of conveying the racial tension between blacks and whites. Unfortunately, she does not completely express her views on abortion in the play. She does introduce it, as another piece of conflict our main characters must overcome. Again, for this time period, addressing either of these topics was taboo, and Hansberry does an incredible job. This play was captivating, and highly entertaining. I enjoyed the way she portrayed each character as well rounded individuals and not one of them were a stereotype. I would highly recommend my friends read this play. If I could meet Hansberry I would want to know what spurred her to write a play like this in her time period.

Bibliography
Chandler, Kimberley. "1950's." HAIS, Houston. 18 Feb. 2016. Lecture.

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Random House, 1959. Print.

Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the
Advanced Placement Examination. New York, N.Y: Amsco School Publications, 2014. Print.

--------------------------------------------
[ 1 ]. “That’s it. There you are. Man say to his woman: I got me a dream. His woman say: Eat your eggs. Man say: I got to take hold of this here world baby! And a woman will say: Eat your eggs and go to work. Man say: I got to change my life, I’m choking to death, baby! And his woman say: Your eggs is getting cold!”

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