A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry Essay

Each individual has there own set of ideals and values that motivate them towards specific and non-specific goals, and luckily for everyone, the goals themselves can be molded to these values. Values can be influenced by a plethora of factors, from environment to predispositions, and can range from relationships to materialism. Values and goals may represent a person, or a person may represent the values and demonstrate the context that formed these values. Family, pride, education, finances, and identity ideals are all present in the “Raisin in the Sun”, and the characterizations that take place in the realistic play expose these ideals. A “Raisin in the Sun” uses a mid to late twentieth century African American family to portray each character

In Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun a number of social issues are both explicitly and subtly exemplified through out the characters experiences and relationships. Living in a cramped Chicago apartment, the Youngers’ display both influential goals and conflicting restraints. Beneatha Youngers is a controversial character; she complicates society’s typical gender roles, introduces the wrestle between assimilation and ancestry of African-Americans, but specifically serves as a paradigm for her generation in the play.

Another theme and issue that arrives from the play A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, is racism. During the 1950’s blacks and whites were segregated. The house the Younger’s purchased was in the Clybourne Park neighborhood, an all white neighborhood. When Lena told the family they were moving to Clybourne Park they stood with amazement. “Mama, there ain’t no colored people in Clybourne Park” (p.734). The family heard of other colored families’ houses being set on fire in this neighborhood, they were concerned that the same thing would happen to them.

A Raisin in the Sun skillfully exemplifies many aspects of ‘black’ culture, especially how different ‘black archetypes’ may make different decisions based on how they see race and themselves within a culture. This is impertinent as a plot device in the play, and in the culture itself which the play is expressing. Black men at the time were forced to consider themselves into a certain way both for themselves and their families, and this play show’s how that unnecessary consideration can affect their decision making and overall desires. There are three ‘black man’ archetypes given in the play; Walter, George Murchison, and Asagai, and they are all similar in the fact that they are black men, but differ in how they believe black men should act, especially when it comes to family and heritage.

Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun,” was a radically new representation of black life, resolutely authentic, fiercely unsentimental, and unflinching in its vision of what happens to people whose dreams are constantly deferred.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry features a set of characters that are not only complex in every way, but also vastly important to bringing out the intricacies of the play. One example of this is the contrast of George Murchison and Joseph Asagai. These two foil characters have similar roles in the plot; they are both non-white men of around the same age with the same amount of education. The two men also play a role in the life of Beneatha Younger as possible love interests. However, despite their similarities, their most important aspects are what set them apart from one another and highlight the most profound themes of the play.

Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun opened in a New York theater March 11, 1951. This play, although based on Hansberry’s own life and personal experiences was also inspired by Langston Hughes’s poem “Harlem”. Hansberry used this play to tell the story of a 1950’s African American family trying to better themselves. She also used this play to shine a light on the issue of racism that were prominent during this time frame. This highly successful play “ran for 530 performances and was nominated for the 1960 Tony Award for best play”, and has had several adaptations made in its honor(Aurora). Despite the fact that these adaptations were made to equal the original play there are many differences between them and their predecessor.

    Lorraine Hansberry faced many obstacles in her life which has made her  write this book A “Raisin in the Sun.” As said in Blooms Literature “She was the youngest of four children whose parents were well-educated, middle-class activists centrally engaged in the fight against racial discrimination. Early figures in the Civil Rights movement.” In the book “A Raisin in the Sun,” the first play written by an African American she made through experiences of  black people who live on Chicago’s South Side, Hansberry used members of her family as inspiration for her characters. Lorraine Hansberry life had comparisons in this book dealing with poverty

“ A Raisin in the Sun” is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry about the life of an African American family during the era of segregation. The play starts off with the Younger family receiving a 10,000 dollar check from Mr. Younger’s insurance policy. The family argues over what they are going to do with it. Mama wants to buy a house with it, Walter wants to invest in a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to use the money to go to medical school. The contrast of the characters’ personalities fuels the conflict and drives the story forward. Beneatha is a young college student and the sister of Walter. She has a dream of becoming a doctor. Beneatha is a dynamic character who is easily influenced by her family and the people

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.

Mama attempts to reference back to Big Walter in certain situations to use him as an example to show her family the true meanings of sacrifice and unification within a family. The Raisin in the Sun refers back to Big Walter and how he labored so hard for his family all the time. He put his dreams aside, which ended up drying up like “A Raisin in the Sun” (M’baye 171). Mama says, “Yes, [he was] a fine man- just couldn’t never catch up with his dreams that’s all” (Hansberry 30). Mama refers back to Big Walter as an example for her family to see because Big Walter worked his but off for the important things in life like family. He had dreams like everybody does, but he did not ever get so caught up that he lost track of his priorities. He labored day and night for his family to have everything they needed. That is the example Mama tries to use to talk to her children about family. Big Walter did whatever he had to do to supply for his family whether that meant working a few extra hours or even a few extra days. Every once and a while he may have worked an extra job just to provide the

In the 1920’s, many African-American families had left the southern states and migrated north to Chicago’s South Side in search of the “American Dream”, dreaming of freedom, equality, and the opportunity that was supposed to be available to every American. This “American Dream” was sought by many African Americans in the U.S. Written by Lorraine Hansberry and produced in 1959, The play: A Raisin in the Sun, gave readers a strong meaning about the values of dreams and the struggles in fulfilling them. Unlike other plays that contain one main character, A Raisin in the Sun consisted of having two main characters: Walter and Mama. The audience may find that one of the main characters from the play,

Has your family ever had a really bad arguments? Well in the Younger’s family that’s nothing new in the play A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry. Walter Lee the so called man of the house is an very selfish/arrogant person. Walter Lee is an husband, father, brother ,and someone car driver. In my onion I think Walter Lee only cares about his dreams and not other people’s dreams.

Lorraine Hansberry, a female playwright and black activist, spent almost all of her life dealing with American racism, poverty, and lack of social mobility. As a person who witnessed the daily struggles of African Americans, Hansberry wanted to expose the hypocrisy in the idea that America was the land of equal opportunity. As a result, in 1959, Hansberry wrote the play, A Raisin in the Sun, which details the Youngers, an African American family, who experienced racism, poverty, and the lack of social mobility during the 1950s in Chicago’s Southside. Throughout the play, the Younger family members try to make their respective dreams come true and try to deal with the problems that surround them. However, the process of one family member achieving his or her own dream stifles another family member’s respective dream. Hansberry uses the Younger family characters to argue that America is not a land of equal opportunity due to racism, poverty, and the lack of social mobility and to make American society aware of the disadvantages that African Americans are faced with.

In the play A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry, a story about an African American family living in Chicago. The book illustrates what the daily problems of an average black family had to deal with while living in America in the 1950s and their struggle of overcoming obstacles to reach their “dream”. Hansberry use this novel to address topics such as racism, racial inequality, and racial discrimination. In 1954, many people during that time supported segregation. People perceived whites and blacks completely different and people wanted them to be separate. Everywhere in the south had “whites only” or “colored”, and many wanted to keep it that way. History will always repeat itself and people are not