...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...
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...Walter Lee Younger and Self-Perception Theory Have you ever wonder why you act differently in any given time? There has being numerous studies that suggest people act the way they do because of their personality and attitude traits. In Walter Lee Younger’s case, money is everything and it can either change you or kill you. Self-perception theory focuses on people’s behavior and why they do things. Why we observe our behavior, and why we try to find the conclusion about who we are. In the book, “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter Younger main focus was to have a better life and to be richer. Walter Lee Younger’s main concern was money and he also compare himself to other men whom are rich. He quote, “See there, that just goes to show you what women understand about the world. Baby, don’t nothing happen for you in this world. ‘less you pay somebody off!” (1.1.81). The question here is what made Walter Younger believe that owning a store will make him happy. During my research, I came to conclusion that Walter Lee’s attitude is similar to the self-perception theory. If, for instance, that Walter got his store, his behavior will change and he will think of himself as a very successful man and anything is possible. However, when closely observing Walter Lee’s behavior, he feels a less of a man and all he wanted was to invest in a...
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...A raisin in the sun by Lorraine Hansberry shows the struggle of a colored families in trying to live the lives of the white people. A raisin in the sun was released in March 11, 1959 were there was extreme segregation going on between black and white communities. Black people were charged more even though their income was generally less. White communities were also much more educated giving black communities a disadvantage. In 1968 the fair housing act was released but white people were still finding loopholes around this. Similar to a raisin in the sun if a black person began to live in a white neighborhood it would cause a outbreak. Often during this time period there was lots of verbal and physical abuse brought onto to the black people. The scene in a raisin in the sun in which mama tells the family how she had spent the money is crucial because the play had revolved around the money, the money will also be crucial to the advancement of the play and the difficulties that the Younger family will encounter. The scene in which moma reveals of her spending of the money (pg.89-96) is important to the play because the whole play was...
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...At the end of Act 2 Scene 1 Mama told Travis that she bought a house. This causes Walter to become silent and sad. Mama tries to justify what she had done was for the good of the family. It states, “ I just seen my family falling apart today… when it gets like that in life - you just got to something different…” (Hansberry 94). This means, that Mama wanted take initiative to change her family's life for the good. When Walter heard this new he went into a state of isolation. Walter is hurt by this action Mama had done, because it had crushed his dream of running a liquor store. It states, “ So you butcher up a dreams of mine…” (Hansberry 95). This means, Mama didn’t account for Walter’s dream which caused him to become sad. This action shows...
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...TO YOUNG, GIFTED, & BLACK Lorraine Hansberry Introduction When we think of role models, we think of people we call mom, dad, auntie, uncle, teacher, counselor or it could even be a politician or a celebrity or somebody of that sort, but somehow they become are role models. The dictionaries definition of a role model is a person imitated by others, but my definition of a role model is somebody you admire and look up to, learn from their mistakes, watch as they become successful, you see there downfalls, but there still become your role model. Years ago when I was in 7th grade it was black history month and we were having our annual black history month project. And again I was going to do something simple and just do Martin Luther King Jr., But my teacher assigned me a different black history activist. “Lorraine Hansberry” and I remember saying to myself “Who is Lorraine Hansberry??”… Later on that day when I arrived that day home I told my mom who my black history project was and we enjoyed doing the project with me. I learned so much about her. Not only was she an activist she also was a playwright, and an author. So when I received this...
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...A Raisin Review Kenneth Hawthorne English/125 3/15/2016 University of Phoenix A Raisin Review “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or faster like a sore and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode”. (Langston Hughes, Harlem) The author Lorraine Hansberry was born May 19, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. Lorraine Hansberry's writing style is autobiographical, and was the first black playwright to create realistic black characters for the stage. Leanne Hansberry's play a raisin in the sun received multiple most notably the (New York drama critics Circle award for the best player of the year) she was the youngest playwright, fifth woman and first black woman to win this award. Although Lorraine Hansberry died at the age of 35 cancers 1965, her depiction of the 1950s black family in the south side of Chicago is something that will last forever in the hearts and minds of readers forever. You could say that Lorraine Hansberry made an autobiographical story about all families dealing with death, money, pregnancy, race, and ideals. However, this play was not just about black-and-white, it was introspective look into the black community. The play shows how the black community views itself in 1950's Chicago and that had to be difficult. In the 1950s and early 60s, there was no room to be fake and imaginary, you had to give the people an authentic...
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...A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is the first broadway play written by a black woman. The play is about the dreams of Younger family, a black family who lives in south side of Chicago and the obstacles of making their dreams come true during the Segregation era. The title of Hansberry's play comes from a line of a Langston Hughes poem "Harlem". In his poem, Hughes asks the audience what will happen if we defer or lost our dream. “ Will it dry? Will it rot? Will it fester? Will it sag? Or will it explode?” With her play A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry tries to answer Hughes' questions in his poem. After reading Langston Hughes' biography, we know that Langston Hughes works very hard to reach his success. He grabs every opportunity...
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...“HEY” (Loud shout). Wasn’t that effective in seizing your attention? The opening scene in the play A Raisin in the Sun was somewhat analogous to that. This paperback allows us to gaze into a the typical black family in Chicago sometime after World War II allowing us to behold the toils that they went through just to consummate their dreams. This maelstrom of a play inscribed by Lorraine Hansberry who captivatingly used the literary techniques such as characterization which as a result allowed us to clearly gain insight on the characters mentality and to form a bond with them. Another key point is her use of symbolism which enchantingly divulges to the readers each Youngers perspective dreams. It is also imperative to grasp her use of imagery that cogently portrayed to us their caste of living. By the same token we must not be negligent of her use of contrast which subsequently shows the variance in the emotions of Walter and Ruth, we must also diagnose Walter lack of empathy for Ruth’s feelings in the story. To begin, the first scene also has a great amount of characterization. In this opening scene of the play we see that Hansberry has carefully outlined the description for each of the main characters (the Youngers) as a way to properly introduce each character into the play. She opens the play with the description of Ruth (the pessimist of the family) who Hansberry states that though in her early thirties due to numerous disappointments in life appears quite older...
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...“A Raisin in the Sun” What happens to a dream deferred? In the poem written by Langston Hughes detects what could happen to dreams that are not pursued or maybe even dreams that don’t come true. In the play A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry which also discuss dreams and how they can change throughout time. Both Langston Hughes and Lorraine Hansberry write about the effect of dreams and pursuing happiness. Neither of the two directly spells out racism but by reading the two together they are talking about the dreams of African Americans and how their dreams are harder to achieve and sometimes they just shrivel up like a raisin in the sun or maybe it just sags like a heavy load Hughes writes. The realities of dreams during this era in time for African Americans were slim. In Hansberry’s play we know that blacks are not equal to the whites. The main theme in both pieces of work is about the dreams and ambitions that everyone possesses and to be able to overcome society’s views and live a life that you want for yourself, regardless of what anyone else says or does. Broken dreams can be extremely hard for anyone but more so if you are already expected to fail. A Raisin in the Sun becomes about dreams as the main characters try to overcome obstacles in their own lives to achieve their dreams. The title of the play is perfect because of all the dreams and failures that are mixed throughout the play will the Youngers dreams shrivel up “like a raisin...
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...Outline Thesis Statement: One of the major themes of "A Raisin in the Sun" is the devaluation of capitalism as a measure for success and its replacement by family pride. I. Walter Lee is obsessed with obtaining money from the very beginning of the play. His very happiness depends on success, and he measures this in wealth. 1. He longs to be successful. His speech at the end of Act II, Scene 2 beginning "You wouldn’t understand yet, son, but your daddy’s gonna make [...] a business transaction that’s going to change our lives [...] You just name it, son, and I'll hand you the world!" (Hansberry, 96) 2. Money is the only means of being successful or obtaining success. When asked why he cares so much about money, Walter screams, "Because it is life, Mama!" (Hansberry, 64) II. Mama encourages him to take her place as head of the family, despite disagreeing with his lust for wealth. 1. Mama tries to convince him that money is not the solution to Walter's crisis of purpose in a speech: "Something has changed. You something new, boy. [...] You ain't satisfied or proud of nothing we done. You my children - but how different we done become." (Hansberry 62) 2. Still she trusts him with the money in order to further his pride and encourage his familial responsibility. "I'm telling you to be head of this family from now on like you supposed to be." (Hansberry, 94) III. After the money is all but depleted, Walter stands up for himself and his family and spurns money in favor...
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...A Raisin in the Sun By: Daniel Alejandro Mendivil Ahuatzin 4th hour Racism is a major issue that has affected the United States since its discovery. Racism is the hatred by a person of one race pointed at a person of another race. The United States has grown up to improve as a whole but this process is a long way away from completion. Some citizens still believe that African-Americans are inferior to Caucasians and that they should be slaves. In the 1950s, whites and blacks were segregated to a point that they could not go to the same schools or even use the same bathrooms. Chief Justice Earl Warren abolished the segregation of schools in May of 1954. The desegregation of schools has helped people of all races grow up together in a non-hostile environment where they can develop relationships with people of other races. Throughout the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry criticizes the racial and discriminatory climate of America in the 1950s and early 60s. It becomes obvious to the reader that the racial tension Hansberry experienced growing up reflected on the way her literature is written. Moss and Wilson state that, “Lorraine Hansberry’s South Side childhood, particularly her father’s battle to move into a white neighborhood, provided the background for the events in the play” (314). Hansberry experienced many of the situations she placed the Younger family at first hand. Hansberry’s father, Carl Hansberry, was put in a similar circumstance when he moved...
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...A Raisin In The Sun By Kareem Hamze A Raisin In The Sun Final Edit English 132-52 Joseph Doherty November 19th 2013 Kareem Hamze Joseph Doherty November 19 2013 Raisin in the Sun Imagine living in a world where you and your family are looked down upon. Imagine living in a world where you were treated different because of the color of your skin. Imagine living in a world where you were forced to watch the white man is more dominate than you. Well, Walter Younger and his family lived that life. A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a story about an African American family who lives in a time where racial discrimination was in major effect, it made life a living hell for black families. She explains this though the life of Walter Younger and his family. First, White and Blacks were segregated. Due to the racial discrimination, Walter and his family were not the richest people. Jobs available to African Americans were limited. Walter He worked as a chauffeur. Lorrain Hansberry grew up around the time when racial discrimination was very affective. She gives an idea of what she had been through. She does so by giving Walter this poor trait. A job that one would take only if it was your very last option. Mama, Walter’s mother, is expected to get a big check in the mail from her husband’s life insurance. With this money, she plans on buying a new house. She wants a house in a white neighborhood. At first it seemed risky, but in reality, it was a huge step...
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...Both the novel A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech show simplistic concepts of discrimination that represent the disadvantages of life that the African American race faced. A Raisin in the Sun shows many examples of discrimination that make life harder for the Youngers and other black families at the time. Karl Linders is a man who lives in a community that the Youngers were planning to move in to. When Mr. Linders showed up at the Youngers door he basically asked them to reconsider moving into the house because they were black and he, along with the rest of the community did not want black people living with them. Mr. Linders says to the Youngers “But you got to admit that a man right or wrong has the right to want to have a neighborhood he lives in a certain way. And that moment the overwhelming majority of our people out there feel that people get along better, take more of a common interest in the life of the community, when they share a common background.” (Hansberry 118)....
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...difficult for individuals, as well as families, as unremitting rejection from society left many in poverty. Subordination of minorities in American generated a strenuous struggle by both African-Americans and numerous white Americans advocates who endorse the termination of racism and encourage egalitarianism. The awe-inspiring production A Raisin in the Sun became renowned as a historical reenactment of a handful of people most personal, influential, monumental, life altering moments in life that occur within their home. The play epitomizes real life’s situations about overcoming obstacles, defining one’s distinctive way of life, and handling idiosyncratic conditions at home in a reconstruction of the fictitious Younger family who animate life in 1950s America, moreover Chicago. The play was created by an African-American writer Lorraine Hansberry in 1959 who advocated for human rights which consists of racial minorities and women. In the day to day reality of the Younger’s situation, Mama, Beneatha, Ruth and Walter are able to come together in harmony realizing that together they are stronger than they are separately. The moral in A Raisin in the Sun, publicized through the Younger family, epitomizes the magnanimous gesture of gratitude and devotion to always love your family, the people you are already given in life to be a companion. The characters in the story have very different personalities which lead to a family dynamic that evolves into a common acceptance by the end....
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...Symbolism is when the author uses a character or an object to add a deeper understanding of the story. Even a tedious work of literature can be roused when symbols are applied. The 1959s play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry comes from the poem “Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes. The Younger’s are an impoverished family who lives on the Southside of Chicago during the time of World War II and escapes poverty through the $10,000 insurance check followed by Big Walter’s death. Considering the poem what Langston Hughes wrote about, the dream discussed is most likely to differ due to the American Dream of success and wealth. Mama’s plant, the eggs, and the apartment represent symbols in the book that represents the struggle of achieving...
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