Inspired by the poem Harlem by Langston Hughes, A Raisin in The Sun is a playwright written by Lorraine Hansberry following the lives of individual members of a black family from the Southside of Chicago. An activist beyond her times, Hughes was a lesbian, activist, and a communist in 1950’s America, during the peak of the Red Scare (biography.com). Her revolutionary ideals are seen within her works, including this play, as every character deals with racism in one form or another, which is further exacerbated by the family’s poverty, as they try and decide what to do with the $10,000 life insurance check. Beneatha, a 20 years old medical student, is introduced within the play as a character with straightened hair; this is a metaphor of her internalized white-supremacy, and unconscious rejection of her natural features, in lieu of chasing after eurocentric beauty standards in an effort to be seen as beautiful and accepted by society. Hair straightening is a much more involved and painful process for textured hair in contrast to what someone with “caucasian” hair may experience when trying to straighten their hair (X, 44). It involves smearing a rancid smelling chemical onto one’s scalp, and tolerating it’s burning feeling until you can’t tolerate it anymore (X, 46). Midway through the play, however, Beneatha meets a student on campus, an African exchange student called Asagi. He comments on her hair, which leads her to a reflection of her actions, and results in her
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
Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, centers on an African American family in the late 1950s. Hansberry directs her work towards specifically the struggles faced by African Americans during the late 1950s. Through the dialogue and actions of her characters, she encourages not only a sense of pride in heritage, but a national and self-pride in African Americans as well.
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.
“Money is not the key to happiness,” no big pay amount would make much of a difference. As people in America everybody thinks you cannot afford to avoid the unhappiness of having to life, having plenty of cash does not make your any more enjoyable then what it is in the present. Happiness depends on how you feel towards your loved ones which in Lorraine Hansberry's Play, “A Raisin In the Sun” Walter's obsession with money often caused him to act unkindly to his loved ones. In the book Raisin in the Sun a family from the Southside of Chicago they lived in a small apartment trying to find a way out of the community they have lived in. The Younger family was dealing with living in a white dominant society dealing with poverty and prejudice acts. The Youngers’ try to ignore the obstacles and stay on their feet throughout the 1950s.
Nobody in the play is as influential on Beneatha as the people she dates. George is the first person she goes one a date with. He comes from a very wealthy African-American family he looks and dresses preppy. Her family loves him, but she is not serious about him. Beneatha says,”...I couldn’t ever
In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry many character have dreams. Beneatha’s to become a doctor, Mama’s to buy a house and Walter’s to own a liquor store. These dreams affect each character differently. In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry illustrates Walter Lee’s dream of owning a liquor store affects him negatively by causing him to constantly be thinking about money and causing him to make bad decisions, it also affects him positively, by teaching him an important life lesson.
The story of this play is simple and the majority of African-Americans faced such issues in the 1950’s, living on the south side of Chicago, struggles with poverty, dignity and dreams of a better life. Wanting better for your children and trying to fit in, while maintaining family values. A Raisin in the Sun is an excellent example of the relationship between family values and conflict. In this play it portrays: values and purpose of dreams, the need to fight for racial discrimination and the importance of family.
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about segregation, triumph, and coping with personal tragedy. Set in Southside Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the individual dreams of the Younger family and their personal achievement. The Younger's are an African American family besieged by poverty, personal desires, and the ultimate struggle against the hateful ugliness of racism. Lena Younger, Mama, is the protagonist of the story and the eldest Younger. She dreams of many freedoms, freedom to garden, freedom to raise a societal-viewed equal family, and freedom to live liberated of segregation. Next in succession is Beneatha Younger, Mama's daughter, assimilationist, and one who dreams of aiding people by breaking down
A Raisin in the Sun was written by Lorraine Hansberry and is a play about an African American family who are struggling in the 1950’s to keep the family together. Although the play is portrayed in the 50’s many issues like the economy, racism, and family dynamics the characters had to face; these issues are still issues in the 21st century.
In “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, George Murchison and Joseph Asagai both love Beneatha. Joseph loves and admires Beneatha the way she is, despite of all the disagreements between them. On the other hand, George loves Beneatha and wants to change Beneatha’s character in his own way, such as her hairstyle. In Beneatha’s point of view, Joseph is an “intellectual” because he “does [not] care [about appearance like] how houses look” (page 1489). Instead, he cares more about inside and deep surface of everything and tries to understand and help Beneatha. In contrast, Beneatha thinks that George is a “fool” and “shallow” because he is very materialistic and “snobbish” (page 1485). Furthermore, Beneatha tries to look “for [her] identity,”
A Raisin in the Sun was a play written in the late 1950’s analyzing the cruel effects of racism amongst the Younger family. The younger family suffers from racial discrimination within their living space, place of employment, and the housing industry. Racism has been going on for a very long time in the United States and will always continue to exist. Racism has not only led to political but also social issues. "A Raisin in the Sun confronted Whites for an acknowledgement that a black family could be fully human, 'just like us."(qtd. White fear.) The setting took place in the ghetto, south of Chicago where mainly African Americans settled. In this division, apartments and houses were overly priced, crowded and poorly maintained. Crime rates were extremely high and most families lived in poverty. Due to segregated housing, it was a daily struggle for black families who had hopes in leaving the ghetto for better lives.
Upon walking out of Krannert's production of "A Raisin in the Sun," an eerie silence drizzled about the audience as people murmured and slowly shuffled towards the exits. After witnessing such a powerful yet melancholy piece of theater work, words seemed inappropriate. For three hours, "A Raisin in the Sun" encompassed us with racial, economic, and social issues of the 1950s. Swirling portions of humor, disgrace, pride, and sadness into a smooth blend, the play developed many twists and turns that kept the audience and myself completely alert. Throughout the three acts I could feel the audience, as well as myself, totally devoting themselves to the play. But after taking a step back, the play proved to
A Raisin in the Sun is play by Lorraine Hansberry, based in the Southside of Chicago in the 1950’s, Civil Rights Era. The play describes the racial discrimination that African Americans face during this time period. The main characters in Hansberry’s play are Lena Younger, the leader of the Younger family’s household, Walter Lee Younger, the oldest son and his wife, Ruth, Beneatha Younger, the daughter who is career focused, and Joseph Asagai, who plays the role of Beneatha’s suitor. The play begins with the family anxiously waiting on an insurance check coming in the
A poor African-American family living in the streets of Chicago had the chance to live the life they’ve been dreaming of for years. but does the mental picture that they paint in their heads include racism, the fear of getting bombed out of their home and the feeling of being unwanted in a place the have worked so hard to get? The younger family received ten thousand dollars from their deceased father which they are using to buy a home in a white neighborhood. Mr. lindner whom is a representative of clybourne park offered the younger family a very large sum to stay away from clybourne park because of their skin tone and in addition to all that they are expecting a baby. Even though the younger family suffered through discrimination,