Lorraine Hansberry 's A Raisin

The play A Raisin in the Sun was a fantastic book that had a lot of life lessons within. A Raisin in the Sun was written by Lorraine Hansberry. Lorraine Hansberry was born on May 19, 1930, and grew up in Chicago’s south side just like the characters in the play. This play was first produced on Broadway in 1959, and its success made Hansberry the first African American playwright to win the Best Play of the Year Award from the New York Drama Critics. This play falls under the genre of a dramatic tragedy. The name of the play came from a line for the poem called Harlem or Dream Deferred, written by Langston Hughes. In the poem Hughes asks, “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”. The theme for this unit is The Realization and Disillusionment of the American Dream. Rafael Cruz stated, “ Only in America can someone start with nothing and achieve the American Dream. That is the greatness of this country”. In the play the Youngers became disillusioned with the American Dream.

“Mama-sometimes when I’m downtown and I pass them cool quiet looking restaurants where them white boys are sitting back and talking bout things…sitting there turning deals worth millions of dollars…sometimes I see guys don’t look much older than me’’- (1.2.226). A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry was published in 1959, develops the plot of an African American family facing a war against racism in the slums of Chicago.

Broward College, Central Campus Theater in building 6, on Sunday, the 1st of November. The play was performed by Broward College students. The type of stage was Proscenium stage with extended apron. I thought it was a little bit small, but it did not show as a problem. The pre-show was dark and a feel of suspense. I felt excited to see how everything would play out. The play takes place down south of Chicago in the 1950’s.

Being black in America means to exist while subconsciously striving to reach out and own that imaginary white picket fence. You know, that nice house nested inside that white picket fence in that wonderful neighborhood with the perfectly cut grass on top of that sunny hill along with the perfectly paved roads leading up to it. African Americans see it all the time in televisions, magazines and newspaper ads. As poor blacks invest their life’s work in trying and subsequently failing to achieve this imaginary dream, they end up devouring any sense propriety remaining in their life; the play A Raisin in The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry exemplifies this tragedy.

In Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” (1959), she reveals the life of the Youngers family. In doing so, there surfaces a detrimental ideology that destroys the family financially and in their overall happiness. In Act II Scene I, Walter, the father figure of the family, says, “Why? You want to know why? 'Cause we all tied up in a race of people that don 't know how to do nothing but moan, pray and have babies!” (Hansberry 532). By way of explanation, the family and much of the African-American community for the 1960’s, is built upon a loose ideology that is a brutal cycle that infects the lives of those who inhabit the area; tired of all the commotion from the Caucasians who, to them, miraculously achieve a life of ruling and

Acts I and II in the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, mostly consisted of the Younger family discussing their problems of how they are not happy with the way they are living, along with what Lena should do with the insurance check she is receiving in the mail from the death of her husband. Walter, Lena’s son, believes Lena will give all the money to him so he can start business selling liquor with two of his friends. Walter says to his wife, Ruth, “You see, this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment on the place be ‘bout thirty thousand, see. That be ten thousand each. ”(984).

It is common knowledge that money doesn’t buy happiness or does it ? The classic play, “A Raisin in the Sun”, by Lorraine Hansberry seems to analyze this idea. The play tells a story of the Youngers, a poor African American family, who are awaiting the arrival of a ten thousand insurance check from their Dad because he passed away. This check arouses great tension and conflict within the family. Each character has a different idea of what to do with the insurance money as well as different views on the use and importance of money in general. Hansberry used everyday objects to symbolize the Youngers struggle to deal with racism and oppression in their everyday lives, as well as to exemplify their dreams. Mama sees money as a way to help her

Lorraine Hansberry in “A Raisin in the Sun” utilizes Walter Lee Younger to personify one’s desire to lead a life of poise and dignity, through his disapproval of indebted servitude. When Mama attempts to subside Walter’s thoughts of unappreciation, following his expression of frustration, Walter assertively debates, illustrating his yearning for a dignifying lifestyle.

Has money ever been so important to you that you forget about family values? In A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, the mother and her son Walter argue over money and religion. The source of their conflict is the $10,000 that they received from their father’s life insurance. Walter and 2 of his partners attempt to open a liquor store, however Mama is an honest Christian woman and she believes that investing in a liquor store is not right, whereas Walter believes that it could change their lives if their store succeeds.

In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, Lena Younger (Mama) is the steady and cohesive influence in a family beset by internal and external turmoil. Mama fights to uphold ethical standards that her children do not always share. Although the younger generation does not initially espouse Lena’s standards, in the end, they find a greater appreciation for the dignity of her values. Mama’s emphatic proclamation that “we a people who give children life” encapsulates her entire belief system (Hansberry 1861). The theme of life forms the foundation of Mama’s values, and it guides her interactions with all members of her family. It sheds light on what Hansberry herself states about A Raisin in the Sun---that the Youngers represent “people

When people think American a few words that come to mind is freedom, opportunity, and justice, these things are what make the American dream that many strive for. In the play, Raisin in the sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, Invisible Life by Lynn Harris, and Quicksand by Nella Larson are all able to illustrate what the American dream looks like. These novels show how the dream is something different for everyone, but it also shows how hard it is to achieve especially for the black class.

Each member of the Younger family had their own distinct dream, but one thing they had in common was their lack of money. Their lack of income is the greatest factor stopping them from achieving their dreams. First there is Mama who dreams of moving her family into a white neighborhood with a big yard for her to garden and her children to play. She has had this dream since her and Big Walter first moved in to the apartment they currently live in. Despite the family’s hard work over the years they cannot afford the new house. The rest of this family also share this same dream, but the one it affects the most is Mama since she has had it the longest. The next dream is Walter Lee’s. Where he wants to own his own business and become rich. His main

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun can be deliberated as a milestone in American art because it speaks on so many concerns vital during the 1950s in the United States. The 1950s are commonly ridiculed as an era of complacency and conformity, embodied by the growth of money-making culture and suburbia. Underneath the economic victory that followed America in the years after World War II brewed a rising racial tension. The stereotype of 1950s America as a land of black’s satisfied with their lesser status resulted in an upsurge of social anger that would find a voice in Hansberry’s masterpiece. However, the significance was somewhat lost and skewed by the White Americans as so thoroughly described in Robin Bernstein’s article. “Inventing the Fishbowl: White Supremacy and the Critical Reception of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun” is written by Bernstein who is a professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard. Bernstein wrote an exceptional article in which every piece of evidence brought forth, such as the mention of prejudiced views of the audience, constructing African American culture to a point of comprehension and lastly disregarding Hansberry’s opinions on class and politics reveals every bit of truth behind her argument. She states that White Americans fail to recognize that A Raisin in the Sun could have both general and specific applications because individuals of the majority need to produce a paradoxical illusion called the fishbowl.

In the featured article How to Read Literature like a Professor in the Chapter “INTRODUCTION: How’d He Do That?” The author Thomas C. Foster Starts discussing Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun (1959) and giving a suggestion that Mr. Lindner is the devil. The author is trying to make us read and look at the story from a different angle and to connect to different texts. For example the author explains how in the old western culture there were many stories about bargains with the Devil where "The hero is offered something he desperately wants... And all he has to give up is his soul", the author wants us to connect this to the book and realize that “The bargain with the devil” is the same as the offer

Dreams are the visions that have created hope for people since the beginning of time. Sometimes they come true, and sometimes they don’t but there is always that end result in the back of everyone’s mind. In “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is a rather poor family living in Chicago’s Southside in a cramped apartment that has a community shower. Almost every member of the family has a dream in which they wish to pursue and most of their dreams revolve around the money they are going to receive from their late father/ husband. But, in the end, some of the characters in the story realize that their dreams may not be exactly what they need in order to better themselves or their family. The screenplay