Lorraine Hansberry 's A Raisin

Many people go through different moralities in there life some that they believe can change their life for the better but don’t know the consequences. This ties in with issues involving money. Many people believe that money is the way to happiness and do what they can to get money even if it means to hurt your loved ones. In the play “Raisin in the Sun” Walter Lee Younger is man that lives in South Side Chicago and at point in life that he’s in, he wants to do something in his life and make a difference for colored people. The way he believes he can accomplish that is by opening a bar to make money for his family while believing money is the only source of happiness. Walters ideal morality was to make sure he got his hands on the insurance money so he could open up the bar even if it meant his family would suffer when things went wrong.

“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.

Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun features an African American family in the late 1950’s as they look forward to achieving their individual dreams in the era where racism and economic hardship among African Americans was the norm. While Hansberry doesn’t directly mention well-known events in the civil rights movement, she illustrates the realistic struggles an African American family would have faced during this time. In the introduction of the play, Robert Nemiroff illustrates several themes and issues that are addressed throughout Hansberry’s play. One of the subjects Nemiroff mentions is the “value systems of the black family”(Nemiroff, “Introduction,” 5-6). A main value that Hansberry illustrates throughout the play is the

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.

Lorraine Hansberry was a writer during the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement. She was the first woman, the first black person, and the youngest person to get a show on broadway with her hit A Raisin in the Sun. The name comes from Langston Hughes’ famous poem Harlem (Dream Deferred) where Lorraine got all of her inspiration from. Harlem is about what happens when you put off a dream for too long. In A Raisin in the Sun Hansberry uses the characters Walter, Beneatha, and Momma to show the consequences of deferring your dreams.

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 A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry utilizes the insurance check to symbolize the American Dream as the check provides the members of Younger family with the opportunity to achieve their aspirations. The concept of the check reveals Walter’s and Mama’s perceptions of themselves and of their lifestyle, and their responses to the check reveals their contrasting approaches for escaping their impoverished world; therefore, Walter’s and Mama’s characteristics and reaction to the arrival of the check ultimately emphasize the racist nature of society that restricts opportunities for advancement for African Americans in the 1960’s. Hansberry illuminates Mama’s power within the household as she makes all of the decisions regarding the insurance check. Additionally, Hansberry highlights her dignity and pride in her African American heritage as she intends to escape poverty through providing structure and decent, secure living for her family, which she intends to achieve through buying a house. In contrast, with the arrival of the check, Walter exposes his weak identity through disappointment and hatred for his job and his lifestyle. His desire to invest the insurance money in a liquor store presents his desperation for financial success and control over his destiny. Ultimately, Hansberry utilizes the check as a symbol for the American Dream for the Younger family; thus, with its arrival, Mama and Walter reveal their opposing identities in the household and different intentions

Lorraine Hansberry created the play "A Raisin in the Sun". A Raisin in the Sun recounts an anecdote about The Youngers who is a poor African American family living on the Southside of Chicago. A chance to escape from neediness comes as a $10,000 extra security watch that the female authority of the family (Lena/Mama) gets upon her significant other 's passing. Lena 's kids, Walter and Beneatha, each have plans with the cash. The most established child, Walter (a man of 35 with a spouse and a youthful child), wishes so anxiously to put resources into an alcohol store. The more youthful sister, Beneatha, presently an undergrad, needs to utilize the cash for therapeutic school. Lena has arranged too for the cash which is to purchase a house

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).

Travis Younger, Walter and Ruth’s young son is a unique character in the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry. He was identified as a spoiled child because his parents gave him whatever he wanted as they don’t want Travis to think they don’t have enough money but later, he becomes devoted. Towards the end, Travis becomes the symbol of the “future” for the Younger family because his future represents the possibility of ending the burdens of frustration that have accumulated over the generations.

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is a play about African American family living in Southside Chicago. A Raisin in the Sun portrays different ideas of the American dream through the Younger family members, and shows how these individuals struggle to achieve their personal dream in times of racism and social inequality. The character Walter Lee Younger dreams of becoming a successful businessman and providing more for his family.

People in different generations often have conflicting opinions. This is partly due to growing up in different times and learning different ideals. However, this difference is not always obvious. In “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, conflicting opinions is a common theme between characters. In spite of how the Younger family seems to have frequent conflicts, there is still a sense of family. It is within the family, however, that conflict seems to prosper most. Two characters who have frequently have conflicting opinions are Lena Younger and her daughter, Beneatha Younger. L. Younger and B. Younger are opposites of each other in their personal views on religion, gender roles, and family loyalty.

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

It is not usual for writers to agree on an opinion about a certain piece of writing, in this case we are referring to A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Lorraine Hansberry is a African-American author was born in Chicago Illinois during the 1930’s, an era where America had selected a new president, also known as the last years of the great depression. Lorraine Hansberry is also proven to be the granddaughter of a freed slave, however Hansberry’s father was a successful real estate broker, and her mother was a schoolteacher. Her parents contributed large sums of money to the NAACP and the Urban League.

Mama’s Life Views In the play A Raisin in the Sun By Lorraine Hansberry the Younger family has been through a lot. The family members, Walter and Ruth, Beneatha, Mama and Travis, go through a mess of family conflicts. Poverty is the breaking point for the family, and the family is fighting racial boundaries. With their father’s passing, an insurance check is on the way.