Fatmata Bangura Professor Tara Grace ENG 112 December 11, 2017 Drama Essay A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry In the playwright A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is about a poor African-American family named the Younger. This family live in a poor one bedroom apartment in the Southside of Chicago. In the play this family suffer and struggle a lot and they were always praying and wish to live in a very big house of their own. In the beginning of the play this family knows that they going to get Walter Lee Sr insurance worth 10,000 dollars that he left behind after his death for Lena ( mama). In the play this family was waiting on the check so that they share it to themselves. In the playwright Walter Lee wants to open his own type of business which is liquor store, in the other hand Lena ( mama) has always wanted to buy a big nice house with a backyard where her grandson Travis can been playing everyday. The three characters that are in the playwright are Walter Lee Younger Junior, Lena Younger (mama), and Ruth Younger this are three characters.
William Martinez Ms. Anderson English III – 5th Period 5th December 2017 Money and Mortality “A Raisin In The Sun” is a play in which Lorraine Hansberry, the author, shows on how money can have a major effect on many people’s lives. Walter, the main character, experiences on how the theme Money and Mortality has affected his own life. In the play “A Raisin In The Sun” Lorraine Hansberry uses certain characters to show the theme Money and Mortality, such as Walter, Beneatha and Mama.
Character Analysis “ 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 drama A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, shows the life of the Youngers, an African-American family living on the Southside of Chicago in the 1950s. In the beginning, the Youngers are about to receive an insurance check for $10,000. This money comes from the deceased Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy. Each of the adult members of the family has an idea as to what he or she would like to do with this money. Mama, wants to buy a house to fulfill a dream she shared with her husband. Mama’s son, Walter Lee, would rather use the money to invest in a liquor store with his friends. He believes that the investment will solve the family’s financial problems forever. Beneatha, Walter’s sister and Mama’s daughter, wants to use the money for her medical school tuition. Ruth, Walter’s wife, discovers that she is pregnant, but
The play by Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun, presents an African-American family living in poverty in the 1950’s. The family receives ten thousand dollars from deceased Mr. Younger’s insurance; the money is supposed to be distributed in buying a house, Beneatha’s education, and Walter’s liquor store investment. However, Walter invests wrongly and loses more than half of the money, forcing Beneatha to consider moving to Africa to pursue an education. Beneatha Younger’s struggle with segregation while pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor demonstrates that education can be obtained with determination and discipline.
“No amount of money will make you happy if you're not happy about yourself,” a self explanatory quote that explains money’s not truly people's happiness. Everyone thinks that if you're wealthy then it will solve all of your problems and you will live a very happy life. However, is not actually true. In a Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, is about an African American family in the 1950s, who live in poverty, receive a check for 10,000 from Life Insurance. The check that could possibly change everyone's lives, was given after the death of Mr. Younger. Lena Younger, who everyone calls Mama, has two kids named Walter and Beneatha. Walter is married to Ruth Younger and they both have a child named travis. Walter Younger, a greedy,
Economic and societal poverty are the key forms of poverty highlighted in the three-act play, A Raisin in the Sun. Lorraine Hansberry, the playwright, discusses the hardships of African-Americans attempting to emerge in society in the 1950’s. The play is staged in ways where the audience can grasp the trifles of an African-American family continuously experiencing setbacks whilst attempting to achieve their notion of the “American Dream”. To Walter Lee Younger, his idea of the “American Dream” is that anything is possible for those who have money. Unfortunately, there is a minor problem: Walter Lee Younger is a working-class African-American man who struggles to make ends meet in the Southside of Chicago, Illinois. The family undergoes
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.
A Raisin in the Sun: The American Dream A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, depicts the struggles of an African American family in the 1950s. The Youngers are a poor African American family of five living in a run-down, one-bedroom apartment. Mama, or more formally known as Lena, is the head of the family who lives with her two children. Her son, Walter, is married with a child who both live with them. Her daughter, Beneatha, dreams of pursuing medicine instead of a husband. Soon, an opportunity to escape poverty arises in the form of a $10,000 life insurance check from the patriarch of the family. From buying a house, paying for medical school, and investing in a business, each member of the family has a different plan for the money. When Walter discovers his wife is pregnant and wants an abortion, he says nothing to change her mind. With this, Lena decides to use some of the money for a down payment on a house and gives the remainder to Walter to take to the bank. Walter is supposed to deposit some of the money to pay for Beneatha’s medical school but instead, Walter gives all the money away. Without the excess funds, the Youngers rely on the strength of family and dreams. The American Dream is embodied in the lives of Lena and Beneatha Younger in A Raisin in the Sun.
Essay 3: Suggested Topics 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.
In the drama, A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry sheds light on the hardships a struggling black family faces. As the long awaited insurance check arrives, the family debates on how to spend the money. Walter Lee exhibits frustration over his job and
Raisin in The Sun Theme Essay During the 1900s many black families barely had enough money to pay for the basic necessities needed to live. At times some families would receive a significant sum of money, something they were not used to getting. Deciding on how to spend this money is what caused problems among some families. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, she argues that there are times when in a state of financial instability and where money is a necessity to completing one’s dream that some family members choose to put their dreams over others when suddenly given the opportunity. After Mama’s husband died she was bound to receive an insurance check that would be used by the Younger family. Before even receiving the
In A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is trying to achieve the American Dream, which is “the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American”(cite dictionary.com). The Youngers are a black family living in a poor part of Chicago. They inherit ten thousand dollars because Mama’s husband died. Mama is the matriarch of the Younger family. Each family member has their own idea about how to use this money to fulfill their dreams, and the play uses the decisions of the family members and other characters to show the reader that people’s actions are not always motivated by what they appear to be. Mama wants to use the money to buy a house in a white neighborhood, because she thinks it is a better environment for her family than their current living conditions and will benefit her family. Although there are a number of people in A Raisin in the Sun who appear too want to help the Younger family, Mama shows through her decision to buy the house that she is the only person that is looking out for the best interests of her family.
When it is taken into account the hardships people have had to live through because of money and its value, it is easy to assume that a possession of that wealth would solve the issues faced. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, money is seen as the way out of the tunnel the Younger family has been stuck in for so long. The arrival of a ten thousand dollar life insurance check spins the family upside down as they try to figure out how to use the money to better themselves, individually and as a family. The only dominating male figure in the family, Walter Jr., is set on making his family’s life better with the money by using it to hopefully make more money. Walter has seen what his family has gone through as a result of their socioeconomic status and he wants more than
Money has different meaning for different level of people. Some see money as food, shelter or a roof on their top, however it means pleasure and enjoyment for wealthy group of society. Money has an essential role in shaping societies, it enables the economy to grow and helps people to have better health and education. Furthermore, money has direct relation to inequality. Inequality acers when the wealth is unevenly distributed within the society, in other words the unequal distribution of resources among the people, such as money, education, time and so on. The relationship between money and inequality could be further explained from the findings of Michael Sandel’s argument, money in the form of debt in china, distribution, exchange and consumption of coffee.