Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

One of the reasons they were “trapped” in neighborhoods was redlining. Bradford Hunt’s article reads, “Redlining is the practice of arbitrarily denying or limiting financial services to specific neighborhoods, generally because its residents are people of color or are poor.” The HOLC, Home Owner’s Loan Corporation, “color-coded” maps of the cities show the African American neighborhoods and white neighborhoods. This outline gave the redlined areas the impression of being an investment and insurance risky.

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

The struggles of being African American have been very evident throughout history. To present day many African Americans (commonly referred to as "black") endure injustice and inequality. As many racial protests and movies have been made to depict such hardships, so have books. The controversial topics of racism and gender roles are spread throughout A Raisin in the Sun. Lorraine Hansberry lived through such a time where racial and gender discrimination was at its highest point; which she portrays in her book. As the Younger family eventually developed into a family so do the gender issues. My goal in this paper is to identify gender injustice as it has been dominantly illustrated, whether that be where the women stand or what the men should be doing as opposed to the women having higher power.

The Equal Protection Clause and the Fair Housing Act made building an unfair amount of low-income homes in poor, segregated, or integrated neighborhoods illegal (Orfield 429). These acts made it illegal, but the Youngers still received discriminatory treatment by being one of the many families placed in a distasteful underprivileged apartment complex for blacks. While exclusionary zoning is a violation of the Fair Housing Act if it is discriminatory or has racially unequal impact, it remained common in predominately white suburbs and intensified both racial and social stratification (Orfield 430). This is shown in A Raisin in the Sun by the jobs Ruth and Walter held versus the assumed jobs of the “hardworking and honest” white residents of Clybourne Park (Hansberry 972). The Housing Act of 1949 was amended in 1954 and it broadened the 1949 slum clearance and urban development program, by which provisions were made for families that had moved due to demolition (McGrew 25). By these acts, it is assumed that the ghettos formed by zoning, like the apartment where the Youngers lived, were affected in a positive way and the families received new homes. The Federal Fair Housing Act was one of the most racially practical solutions to the issues with racial segregation. It was supposed to help get

Money is a major struggle for some families in the 1950’s. Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin In The Sun, shows that in multiple ways. The father in the family, Walter Lee Sr. passed away, and all the family has to look forward to is the life insurance check of ten-thousand dollars. The younger family is Mama, Walter , Beneatha , and Ruth. Ruth is married to Walter and they have a son named Travis. Another thing that causes major problems is the fact that Ruth is pregnant. This causes more problems because there is barely enough room in the house to begin with.

In the novel, A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry , shows the reader how society was viewed back then in the 1950s .It was tough for african american lives. An African american family living on the southside of Chicago in the 1950s. The play opens from receiving a 10,000 thousand dollar insurance check to do whatever they want with it. Living with five people in a tiny- one bedroom apartment puts the environment pressures high. The book portrays the idea of a dream within all the African american characters shown differently and the different struggles they have to live with in a world of racism, social standards/higher expectations, and regret fullness. Walter Lee Younger, the man of the house, truly encapsulates the American

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.

A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, this play also comes in a series of movies. In the movie version of A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Leon Kenny, there are many similarities and differences from the play. In the play, for example, a difference is that Mama talks about the check with Walter in their apartment, but in the movie they talk in a diner after Mama finds Walter in a bar. Another difference is that Travis was in the play a lot, but in the movie he was hardly included. A similarity, however, is that Mama gives her same speech about how loving someone when they are down is the best thing you can do for them. The movie version was set in the time period of the Civil Rights Movement, and the play was not set in that time period. While both versions of A Raisin in the Sun address the similarities and differences, the differences exceed the similarities, hence a teacher must show the movie and the play so the students can understand the significance of both.

When Mama goes out to buy a house with the check she got, she buys a house in a white neighborhood. When other members of the Younger family ask why she bought a house there, she says, “Them houses they put up for colored in them areas way out all seem to cost twice as much as other houses” (Hansberry 1326). This shows that the white people are controlling so much that they are controlling the prices of houses that are available for the African Americans. The sad but realistic prices of the houses for the African Americans proves that racism is blocking the African Americans, including the Younger family from achieving their long wanting dream of their own house.

In Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun, Mama's plant is an important symbol that represents her endless love and care for her family, and her dream for them. During her conversation with Ruth in Scene 1 Act 1, Mama walks over to her plant on the windowsill, sprinkles some water on it, and says, "They spirited all right, my children. Got to admit they got spirit --Bennie and Walter. Like this little old plant that ain't never had enough sunshine or nothing --and look at it...."(52). The way she compares her plant, that never had enough sunlight, to her kids demonstrates her pride and love for her children. Though they never had all the resources and opportunities to flourish, Beneatha and Walter

A Raisin in the Sun portrays many valuable lessons. Written by Lorraine Hansberry, in A Raisin in the Sun, a black family is trying to gain acceptance in the world. Way too many people focus on the material things, instead of just loving the people around them. The characters each pursue their own individual dream, but by the end put their individual dreams aside to pursue a collective dream that they recognise is vital for their unity and survival as a family.

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

In Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter Lee Younger is a married father working as a chauffeur in segregation-rich America, driving for people several times richer than him. The play follows the life of Walter Lee and his role in the Younger family as they reach a climax of a listless, bitter time within their cramped household, with a grandmother, a student, a father, a mother, and a son residing. Following the death of the grandmother’s (Mama’s) spouse, the poor family receives a check for ten thousand dollars. What happens to the money stirs a controversy within the household, and disagreements begin to lead to conflict between family members. Many mistakes are made along the way, including many on the account of Walter

During the time of the book was made their were plenty of racism going around. It would take 9 years for the civil rights movement to end. Many African-Americans would still be treated not as humans. Many black families have to put up with poverty and discrimination. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is about a small African-American family living in Chicago trying to make ends meet while the family receives a large sum of money from their father’s insurance money. The family still try invest the money in a way it could help all of them. Walter cares for profits and business ideas to begin making money like big CEO’s. Walter’s ego and selfish desire to help the Younger family disrupts the family bond they have by his bad morals on life like his view on his responsibility as a father, alcohol consumption, and poor decisions of his ideas.

Every family has their own problems right? Well, in the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry so does this family named the Younger family. They are black family and live in a house that was not fit for five people to live there. They were also a black family and they lived in a time when blacks were not liked. There is a certain Younger, whose name is Walter.