Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun Essay

       Ruth, Walter's wife, was pregnant when her husband was in a great despair. Although Walter lost the money and also her dream, Ruth forgave him and encouraged him to start everything over. Ruth, whose dream was to be wealthy and to have a fine family, calmly accepted the fact that her dream was only a dream. To her, it was a consolation that her husband had come back to reality after his unsuccessful dream.

In Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” he discusses the idea of unfulfilled dreams and their plausible outcomes using symbolism and imagery. He initially describes a “deferred” dream as a sun-dried raisin, depicting the dream originally as a fresh grape that now has dried up and “turned black” (Jemie 63). This idea provides Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun with its basic foundation, for it is a play about a house full of unfulfilled dreams. As the poem goes on, Hughes depicts the idea of a deferred dream as something rotten or gone bad. According to Onwuchekwa Jemie, this may be an allusion to the American Dream and its empty promises (Jemie 64).

In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, one of the most important themes is the American Dream. Many of the characters in this play have hopes and aspirations; they all strive towards their goals throughout the play. However, many of the characters in the play have different dreams that clash with each other. Problems seem to arise when different people’s dreams conflict with one another; such as Walter’s versus Bennie’s, George’s versus Asagai’s, and the Clybourne Park versus the Younger’s.

In life many people believe that their dreams don’t work out because of either their ability to not complete it or they get distracted with other things that are happening to them at the time. This is shown to happen to many people in history and even characters in books, because they want people to learn how to push through to complete their dreams. In the book “A Raisin in The Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, the characters Walter and Beneatha believe that their dreams should be completed overnight or someone else in their family has the answers for them, this eventually leads to them struggling to complete their dreams because of their decisions.

   “Why do some people persist despite insurmountable obstacles, while others give up quickly or never bother to try” (Gunton 118)? A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, is a commentary on life and our struggle to comprehend and control it. The last scene in the play between Asagai and Beneatha contrasts two contemporary views on why we keep on trying to change the future, and reaches the conclusion that, far from being a means to an end, the real meaning of life is the struggle. Whether we succeed or not, our lives are purposeful only if we have tried to make the world a better place for ourselves and others- only, in other words, if we follow our dreams.

Lorraine Hansberry’s novel, A Raisin in the Sun, revolves around a middle-class African-American family, struggling during World War II. By reading about the Younger’s true to life experiences, one learns many important life lessons. One of the aforementioned would be that a person should always put family’s needs before their own. There are many examples of this throughout the novel. Just a few of these would be the example of Ruth and her unborn baby, Walter regaining the respect of his family, and Mama and her unselfish ways.

Walter is furious with Mama for "butchering up his dream" (Hansberry) and when she entrusts him with the money leftover from the down payment, he is irresponsible and losses it. The white residents of Clybourne Park also attempt to defer the dream. Mr. Lindner, a representative of the residents, even offers to buy back their house for more money than they put down. Tempting, but no thanks! Her dream of home ownership seems to be dead until Mama, Ruth, Beneatha and Walter cooperate to achieve to goal. The goal even shifts slight to encompass standing up for themselves by moving into an all-white neighborhood. Even Walter does his part by refusing Mr. Lindner's offer of money.

   We can learn a great deal by observing a given moment in history. The politics, fashion, and religion of a given society reveal the inner workings of the individuals that combine to make the society functional. While every society is different and unique, there are universal themes that apply to every society; the need to eat and sleep as well as the concept of "family" exist in all societies. In Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun," we are witness to the common drama that occurs within a family set in a specific historical period.

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

The Women's Movement was growing strong during this period of the story. Throughout the play, Lorraine uses the characters as a way to follow the struggles and harshness of an African American family's yearning to realize the American Dream. Along this hard road comes the importance of togetherness and family harmony, which Mama is finally able to instill upon Walter. The house enables them to fulfill their father's hard work and determination. Which is the “American Dream”. They achieved his "American Dream" even after his death. The characters of Mama, Walter, and Beneatha all have their differences, but in the end, unity prevails in the family, and the struggles faced by the family are nothing if they only work together and understand each one's wants and

In the end of the play, the Younger family moved out of their cramp and infested apartment into a nice house, fulfilling Ruth's life-long goal. Moreover, Ruth continues to live her dream and "lets it explode", as Langston Hughes said, and decides to keep her baby and continue her journey to achieve a happy family. For instance, Ruth said to Mama after hearing the big news, " So you went and did it [bought a house] PRAISE GOD! Please, honey- let me be glad… Oh, Walter, a home, a home.” (Act II, Scene i, pg.92) judging by Ruth’s reaction she feels liberated and she believes that with this new move it could bring happiness to her marriage and let everyone out of their misery. In addition, Ruth expresses her uplifting by shouting “goodbye to these

On the other hand, Walter’s wife Ruth is humble and unpretentious. On the play she shows no remarks to anyone. She constantly struggles with her marriage due to poverty. Even thru all her ups and downs she has in her marriage she continues to be strong. Despite the mistreatments with Walter she continues to show true love for her family. Ruth is pregnant and she goes to gynecologist to abort her unborn child. She does not want to cause any affliction to the family. She does share a dream with Mama is getting out of the

Honestly, dreams can sometimes suck. Many people have different dreams in their lifetime but most of them either fail or give up. Dreams can consistently be shoved aside, but if you strive enough, you might just accomplish your dream. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, she shows the struggles of the Younger family. The four main characters of the Younger family, Lena, Ruth, Beneatha (aka Bennie), along with Walter Lee Jr., all have dreams of their own. Each character's dream is deferred in a different way. Hansberry shows how the characters’ work and try to achieve their goal. Hansberry's play also relates to the poem “A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes. All of the characters dreams relate closely to one of the lines from Hughes’ poem.

Many people have various dreams in their lifetime but most of them either fail or give up. Dreams can consistently be shoved aside, but if you strive enough, you might just accomplish your dream. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, she shows how the Younger family is struggling with poverty and are being . The four main characters in the play, Lena, Ruth, Beneatha, along with Walter Lee Jr., all have dreams of their own. Each character's dream is deferred in a different way. Hansberry shows how the characters’ work and try to achieve their goal. Hansberry's play also relates to the poem “A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes. All of the characters dreams relate closely to one of the lines from Hughes’ poem.

The drama “A Raisin in the sun” was release February 25, 2008; written by Lorraine Hansberry as a play and directed by Kenny Leon as a movie. The film main character are Walter Younger Jr (Sean Combs) anaa Lathan (Beneatha Younger), Audra Mcdonald (Ruth Younger), Phylicia Rashad (lena Younger), Justin Martin (Travis Younger) Bill Nunn (bobo), David Oyelowo (Josepj Asagai), Ron Jones (willy harris), Sean Patrick Thomas (George Murchison), and John Stamos (carl Linder). As a dreamer and goal persistent individuals as myself; Walter Younger Jr and his family find themselves struggling with their dreams to make them a reality. As a movie based in the 1950’s “A Raisin in the Sun” shows the life of an average family that struggle with poverty, racism and more. Even while going through hardship, and struggle remembering to focus on your dreams to succeed success.