Prejudice In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Another theme and issue that arrives from the play A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, is racism. During the 1950’s blacks and whites were segregated. The house the Younger’s purchased was in the Clybourne Park neighborhood, an all white neighborhood. When Lena told the family they were moving to Clybourne Park they stood with amazement. “Mama, there ain’t no colored people in Clybourne Park” (p.734). The family heard of other colored families’ houses being set on fire in this neighborhood, they were concerned that the same thing would happen to them.

Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun,” was a radically new representation of black life, resolutely authentic, fiercely unsentimental, and unflinching in its vision of what happens to people whose dreams are constantly deferred.

Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, centers on an African American family in the late 1950s. Hansberry directs her work towards specifically the struggles faced by African Americans during the late 1950s. Through the dialogue and actions of her characters, she encourages not only a sense of pride in heritage, but a national and self-pride in African Americans as well.

Lindner, a white person and a representative of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association delineates the racial prejudice possessed by the white people of his community through his actions. He uses the non-violent tactics persuading the Younger family in a polite way so they do not move to his society of white people only. As he starts explaining about the purpose of the association, he uses the language style which could be interpreted in two ways so that he does not sound rude to the family, since he wants them to agree to his terms. He clearly states that the association exists to solve “special community problems” which is indeed termed for Younger’s move into the Clybourne society, which is a symbol of racial hatred,however, keeping it confusing for the family. In addition, he uses “brotherhood” as rather than coming to the straight point of not wanting the Younger family to move into the Clybourne society, he states, “Most of the trouble exists because people just don’t sit down and talk to each other” (116). He does not openly states his clear intension but builds upon his talk point by point convincing the Younger family to an extent that he is just thinking about both the communities. After all the convincing, double meaning statements, he lays down the intension of the white people living in his community about not wanting a colored family to live with them and further, offers them the money gathered by the collective effort of the society to not move into the society, which is even more than the money mama had paid to buy the house, and calls it a “financial gain” to the family. This statement clearly shows how Mr. Lindner was only concerned about the white people of his community and not the Younger family’s

The story of this play is simple and the majority of African-Americans faced such issues in the 1950’s, living on the south side of Chicago, struggles with poverty, dignity and dreams of a better life. Wanting better for your children and trying to fit in, while maintaining family values. A Raisin in the Sun is an excellent example of the relationship between family values and conflict. In this play it portrays: values and purpose of dreams, the need to fight for racial discrimination and the importance of family.

Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about segregation, triumph, and coping with personal tragedy. Set in Southside Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the individual dreams of the Younger family and their personal achievement. The Younger's are an African American family besieged by poverty, personal desires, and the ultimate struggle against the hateful ugliness of racism. Lena Younger, Mama, is the protagonist of the story and the eldest Younger. She dreams of many freedoms, freedom to garden, freedom to raise a societal-viewed equal family, and freedom to live liberated of segregation. Next in succession is Beneatha Younger, Mama's daughter, assimilationist, and one who dreams of aiding people by breaking down

Though there was a heightened sense of tension over civil rights in the late 1950s when A Raisin in the Sun was written, racial inequality is still a problem today. It affects minorities of every age and dynamic, in more ways than one. Though nowadays it may go unnoticed, race in every aspect alters the way African-Americans think, behave, and react as human beings. This is shown in many ways in the play as we watch the characters interact. We see big ideas, failures, and family values through the eyes of a disadvantaged group during an unfortunate time in history. As Martin Luther King said, Blacks are “...harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what

African-Americans have experienced racism since the 1600s and throughout American history. However, not many books have been able to display the ethnic ignorance that white people have towards blacks. One of the more successful stories is A Raisin in the Sun shares a compelling story about an African-American family during the 1900s and offers many themes about social class and race. In A Raisin in the Sun, a negative legacy is left on modern drama due to the many examples of poverty and the message of money in the novel; though some people may believe that the play was an accurate depiction of the African-American lifestyle and their culture, they are wrong to believe this impractical belief because it leads to many white people assuming

In the book “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, there were characters whose dreams were stated, some of which were shattered by greed and misfortune and others which would eventually come to be true. The first dream that came about was Walter’s dream of one day owning and maintaining a liquor store. He would do anything to attempt to get his dream to come true, but his mama wanted anything but that to happen. His mama had a dream of her own though, she dreamed of one day owning her own house, where her whole family could stay comfortably. She dreamed this because in the apartment that she resided in was too small, and dumpy, as Ruth called it. Her grandson Travis had to sleep on the couch, and all

“Our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities” – Mr. Linder Pg.100. In the quote Mr. Linder is expressing his organizations dislike of Blacks; like most of people in the 50’s, Mr. Linder was degrading a group of people on exterior appearances. In the play you can see hints of racism and gender discrimination from Walter when he asked Beneatha why she isn’t a nurse or maid instead of striving to become a doctor. Racism has been a long hard for Black community and other minority groups in the world. A Raisin in the Sun never gives the slightest hope of racist views ever being lifted. Over time the stain of

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.

Hansberry includes one of the most significant juxtapositions concerning blacks and whites towards the end of the play when Mr. Linder goes to the Younger household. The mere presence Lindner creates a sense of racial prejudice, for he is there to convince the Youngers not to move to Clybourne Park. When talking to the Younger family, Lindner struggles with being straightforward. He tells the Youngers that he is a part of a welcoming committee, and that he is at their home to talk about “what the association calls-(He looks elsewhere)-uh-special community problems” (Hansberry 155). Hansberry’s use of dashes in Lindner’s dialogue shows how he is uncomfortable, and the fact that Lindner is avoiding eye contact with the Younger further emphasizes his incompetence. In addition, Lindner’s use of the word “problem” to describe black presence in a white neighborhood creates a derogatory tone. It connects to the idea many whites had back then, which was the blacks being an inferior race. Hansberry, however, intentionally includes a character like Lindner to prove her point that blacks assimilating towards American culture will only diminish their status even further. When critics read the play, they often wonder about its universality because they

A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberry's play "A Raisin in the Sun" portrays the everyday life of black people in a way that everyone can understand and discuss the domination that black people continuously felt even though steps had been taken towards civil rights. According to Corley, Hansberry shared the aims for this play with her husband. "Hansberry told her husband she wanted to write a social drama about blacks that was good art. Instead of stereotyped characters that would bear no resemblance to actual people, she invented a situation that was sometimes painfully realistic. The plot revolves around what her characters do give the opportunity to escape their cramped surroundings" (Corley).

The play depicts the feelings and thoughts of the people of their time. Their feelings are different then what we see today in our lives. The family had to deal with poverty and racism. Not having enough money and always being put down because of the color of their skin held them back from having a lot of self-respect and dignity. I think that Mama was the one who had the most pride and held the family together.

Lindner tells the younger family “I want you to believe me when I tell you that race prejudice simply doesn’t enter into it. It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities” (2.3.65).