A Raisin In The Sun Analysis

The era during which a drama is written can altogether change or exemplify certain motives, that if written in another time, would not only be misread but could also possibly be entirely unrecognized. It is during the era of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, that two prominent dramatists, Amiri Baraka and Lorraine Hansberry, sought the perfect opportunity to create plays that brought forth, with earnestness and directness, the great trials faced daily by African-Americans throughout the United States. Through their two protagonist's interactions with a representation of the white race of that time, Walter Lee's handling Mr. Lindner in A Raisin In the Sun, and the oppression of Clay caused by Lula in The Dutchman, the very the

Life for blacks during the 1950s was difficult. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led protest and marches to promoted an end to segregation. Colored people did not have the the same civil rights as whites did. There were seperate water fountains, seperate bathrooms, and separate sections of dining for blacks, which were not in proper conditions to live in. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun the characters Mama, Walter, and Beneatha strive to achieve their dreams while facing the hardships of housing regulations, racial discrimination, and freedom to an education.

Harsh situations are not always meant to cause disappointment, sometimes they’re meant to make people stronger. In A Raisin in the Sun which is a play composed by Lorraine Hansberry, concentrates on a family that faces situations, consequently by racial discrimination and economic complications. Despite the financial and racial issues the family faces, the Younger family will persevere.

Welcome to the Windham High school drama club revival of A Raisin in the Sun!

What is the meaning of money for you? For some people money means the world to them and even where the only place they can find happiness. However, for others money doesn’t mean anything to them; those people can live just with what they have and still be happy. According to “A Raisin in the Sun” written by Lorraine Hansberry demonstrates some of the conflicts people of color had in the late 1950’s when the subject involved money. Walter, one of the main characters of the play and also the only grown man of the family had the most problems with money, but at the same time he just wanted the best for his family. Beneatha, Walter’s sister, wanted to prove that a black woman could be a doctor not just a nurse to the racist society they were living in. Mama, the mother of Walter and Beneatha. Always trying to do the right thing for her family. All Mama wanted was a successfully family in a perfect house.

In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the story is set in 1950s Southside Chicago, in a red-lined neighborhood. Although the majority of the story is set within the scope of the neighborhood, the perceptions of the world held by the inhabitants of that neighborhood vary greatly. Mama and Beneatha, two quintessential members of the Younger family and cohabitors of this neighborhood, have vastly disparate perceptions of the world, likely because of the discrepancies, fueled by changing times, in what they each consider to be the baseline of society , from which they wish to improve.

In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry the Younger family are presented with a dilemma. The dilemma being should the Younger family stick with their pride and move into the Clybourne Park development refusing the money from the Clybourne Park association to convince the Younger family not to move into the predominantly white neighborhood. However a character named Walter Younger blew a lot of the insurance money given to the Youngers by the late father to Walter adding a another layer of complexity to the already morally complex dilemma. The Younger family should still stick with their pride and move into Clybourne Park to show they are humans too with equal inalienable rights, despite the recent economic set back the family

In the Southside of Chicago in the 1950’s, the Youngers are a typical poverty stricken family that works hard to be able to rise out of poverty. Each family member has a different dream of being able to reach this goal. Mama has the dream of owning her own house, Walter wants to be able to open a liquor store, Beneatha wants to go to school to become a doctor, and Ruth wants to move out of their current apartment. In the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry shows the effect of a deferred dream in Walter Lee’s character.

The second quote, made by Mama, was made when she was discussing the high price of the colored houses in another neighborhood. She stated, “Them houses they put up for colored [people] in them areas way out all seem to cost twice as much as other houses/I did the best I could (2.i). Hansberry gave an example of enforced racism when Mama was looking for housing in Chicago. The circumstances made it almost impossible for African American to leave the slums.

A delayed dream can be tough or sweet at the moment, but can overall benefit one in some way. In the play, Raisin in the Sun the Younger’s family is seen with various dreams being handled in different ways. The opening scene starts off with a poem by Hughes Langston called Harlem which brings out the certain problems the family faces with dreams. This poem relates to the characters dream in such cases, Walter relating to the line of festering like a sore, Mama relating to the line raisin in the sun, and Beneatha relating to the line crust and sugar over.

Raisin in the Sun is a play on Broadway that tells about a tragedy faced by an African American. The play is about Youngers family that lives in the ghetto and one that is at crossroads following the death of Younger’s father. Mother Lena Younger and her children reside in a cramped apartment in a poverty-stricken district in Chicago. Her grown-up children include Water Lee and Beneatha. The life insurance that matured following the death of Lena’s husband earns the family ten thousand dollars, and everybody is eagerly waiting for the full payment. The question that the entire family is faced with is whether the money should be invested in supporting studies of her daughter through the medical school, the business deal with the sons, or other dreams.

The poem A Dream Deferred can be best explained as thinking of what can happen to a dream. The author, Langston Hughes, wonders what happens to a dream that is not pursued. He asks, “Does it dry up, like a raisin in the sun?” That answers the question- why did Lorraine Hansberry pick the title of her award winning novel, A Raisin in the Sun. She chose this name because of the dreams the characters in her play have. Walter Lee Younger, one of the main protagonists, has a dream to buy a spot in a liquor store as a partner by using the money he received after his father, Walter Young, died. Walter Lee goes against his mother's desires and spends all the money, instead of giving half to his sister for her schooling. The money is then stolen by his business partner (Hansberry 128). Here, we see Walter Lee’s dream being crushed just like in the poem, when the author asks, “does it explode?” (Hughes).

Each people have to face different choice in their life, and no one can prediction the consequence of the choice they made. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the theme of making their own choice to achieve their dream without the opinion from family member can be clearly seen through the character of Mama, Walter and Beneatha.

A Raisin in the Sun was written by Lorraine Hansberry. Lorraine was born in Chicago, Illinois where both of her parents were active in the black community. When young, she had big time social injustice names like Jesse Owens and Duke Ellington come to her house. “Her parents contributed large sums of money to the NAACP and the Urban League.” Lorraine and her family moved to a white neighborhood in Chicago and was attacked by the neighbors. Although they were attacked, the Hansberry family stayed until the court ordered them to leave. This case made it to the Supreme Court as Hansberry vs Lee, ruling restrictive covenants illegal. Lorraine attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She broke the family tradition of going to a black college.

Many authors love to leave parts of their artwork up to the reader's imagination and let them interpret their own meanings and endings behind certain choices made in their piece. That is exactly what Lorraine Hansberry is doing by deciding to end A Raisin in the Sun on a cliffhanger. A Raisin in the Sun is ending with the Younger family beginning to move out of their old house and packing up to move to their newly bought house. The Youngers are moving to Clybourne Park, an all white neighborhood, and are trying to do better for themselves. However, previous to this event a representative from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association comes to their house and tries to stop them from moving there by attempting to pay them off. This encounter causes some readers to believe that the Youngers deciding to move to the neighborhood hints at a sad ending. Even though Hansberry leaves it on a cliffhanger, one can interpret it as a happy ending more so than a sad ending.