Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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.

In A Raisin in the Sun, the family is symbolized by the plant for how the mother takes care of both, and the author uses various other literary devices. Lorraine Hansberry, the author, writes about the Younger Family and their issues about money, death, equality and more. Instead of writing it as a normal book, in paragraph form, she writes it in dialogue. There are many uses of setting, imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism used throughout the story.

There is no doubt that Lorraine Hansberry uses her play, A Raisin in the Sun, as a platform to give her opinions and observations on the black community and of the racism they faced in the mid-1900s. Her play is filled with commentary

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.

According to a 2017 publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter, black men in America earn 80% of what white men earn (Daley, Bart, Joseph). This illuminates the wage disparity and the notion that America is racially biased in terms of compensation. Power is often determined by the amount of money one has. How power is determined by race and skin color is a central theme in both A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is also exemplified in US history, as shown in the documentary, American Dilemma. These sources show that the power of colored people is extremely diminished by their lack of access to good jobs and therefore money.

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

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.

Raisin in the Sun when racism was everywhere and African Americans were still maids and still worked for the white people. Every African americans were struggling to maintain their family other than if you go to school which involves money. Walter is someone who cares more about money then his own family. When Walters father died the family ended up get insurance money and Walter wanted to take the money for himself. When Walter thought about the money he goes overboard and treats his family bad and loses his morals. Throughout the play Walter cares more about money and doesn't have morals because he went against his family for the sake of having money, he was selfish against his family because they ¨don't understand¨ him, and he doesnt show love towards they people that care for him.

In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry depicts the story of Walter Lee and the rest of the Younger’s, a family struggling to make a living in Chicago in the 1950’s. Walter Lee Younger dreams to one day open a liquor store in order to provide for his family, and does whatever it takes to do so, which often includes hurting his family and putting their lives at risk through dishonest acts. Walter Lee’s dream to open a liquor store fails because of his lack of preparation, and he loses his sight of the importance of providing for his family because of his desire to open the liquor store, no matter the consequences it will potentially have on his family.

Dreams can sometimes be very to accomplish but as long as you follow them with much support from your friends and family you’ll be perfectly fine. The Raisin in the Sun is a wonderful, touching story by Lorraine Hansberry. The theme I chose was “the importance of family.” Importance of family is extremely important because it’s what makes you yourself. At the beginning of the story the family was struggling to get things done, they were desperate for relief and guidance. As the story got deeper the family were waiting for a check of 10,000 dollars they were receiving from the death of Mama’s husband. Towards the end of the story things got a bit bumpy due to all the racial discrimination and irresponsibility but they still figured a way.

Inequality and racism are issues that have plagued our society since its beginning. From that point forward there has been discrimination and animosity towards a whole race of people. The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry explores the consequences of this systematic oppression on the family dynamic. Reading the novel was an edifying experience due to its well-developed plot, compelling characters, and relatability.

A Raisin in The Sun, a drama by Lorraine Hansberry was produced on stage in 1959. The drama describes an black family, in the 1950’s on the Southside of Chicago, who have complications with each other, but pull through it successfully. The family consists of, Mama, the grandma, who’s name is Lena, Ruth, the mother, Walter Lee, the father, Beneath, the daughter of Mama, sister of Walter, and aunt of Travis; and Travis, the son of Walter Lee and Ruth Younger. Over the courses of the play, Beneatha and Mama, and Mama and Walter experience conflict, yet by the end of the play the family has been able to cross their differences and are able to support one another in a common cause, which is to pass by racial judgement.

The play/movie A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is about a poor African American family living in an apartment in Chicago. Mama and her grown children Walter and Beneatha as well as Walter’s wife, Ruth, and their son, Travis, have all lived in that small apartment for a while. After Mama’s husband, Mr. Younger, died a few years back a check of $10,000 was delivered to Mama as a life insurance check. The family is un-deciding of what to do with the money, for everyone wants something different. Walter is determined to use the money as an investment in a liquor store with his friend Willy Harris. Ruth seems to be on Walter’s side, she thinks that if Mama gives him some of the money he might recover his happiness and confidence. However,

Why is the family support so important to make the right decisions ? no matter how bad people do things, how many mistakes they make or how little they deserve their families support, families will be always there to forgive them and give them as many second chances as they need. That is what Lorraine Hansberry wants to show in her book “Raisin in the sun “, how family support make people change their minds just being by their side.