Pride In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Harsh situations are not always meant to cause disappointment, sometimes they’re meant to make people stronger. In A Raisin in the Sun which is a play composed by Lorraine Hansberry, concentrates on a family that faces situations, consequently by racial discrimination and economic complications. Despite the financial and racial issues the family faces, the Younger family will persevere.

While Walter is arguing his wife Ruth about her ignorance to his business plans and dream, he says out of frustration, “I’m thirty-five years old; I been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room-and all I got to give him is stories about how rich white people live…”(34). Characterization is utilized to represent the shame Walter associates himself with, ‘I’m thirty-five years old’ is a statement he makes important by the fact that Walter thinks he should be a more successful man. He explains his disappointment regarding his biggest statements about life which unfortunately negatively reflect his pride. Walter is attempting to start a business in order for his family to be proud of him, despite many odds against him in society, but with the state he is in, his own family does not believe in him. When Walter attempts to make a deal with Lindner, selling the new house his family bought, Mama has to remind him how little he is embracing his ancestors struggle, so he says, “And we have decided to move into our house because my father-my father-he earned it for is brick by brick. We don’t want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors. And that’s all we got to say about that. We don’t want your money”(148). Imagery is

Not only was racial segregation in the city of Chicago, Illinois very evident during the 1950s but also today in modern America. Lorraine Hansberry’s 1966 novel A Raisin in the Sun is full of the inequality that African-Americans faced in Chicago. The Younger family lives in a poor, black neighborhood, in a small apartment where Ruth and Walter’s son is even forced to sleep on the couch. When Walter Sr. passed, Mama got money and was

Since its first paragraphs, the “A Raisin in the Sun” focuses on a fundamental issue – poverty and how it’s related to race. Hansberry is drawing the portrait of a stereotypical situation, in the mid-20th century, when racial discrimination was linked to lack of money and vice versa. The plays spins around a check of $10000 from the insurance company, granted for the death of Mama’s husband. The story goes with discussing the investment choices about that sum of money. The main male character, Walter Younger, Mama’s son, is presented as man who is eager

In Lorraine Hansberry’s work A Raisin in the Sun the struggles of living in a segregated and discriminatory America are examined through the daily struggles of the Younger family. The play is set on the Southside of Chicago sometime between WWII and the 1950’s. The two characters that most develop the plot are Ruth and Mama. They develop the plot because they both have to deal with Walter’s undisciplined

As you begin to compare the time period in which A Raisin in the Sun was written, the 1950s, and now, you can find many similarities and differences regarding racial equality in the Chicagoland, even more specifically the south side. The Younger family, deriving from the African American descent, in Lorraine Hansberry’s play, has trouble finding happiness when they are surrounded by successful white people, while they are stuck living in a two bedroom apartment and struggle to make ends meet. In the 1950s, it was much harder for African Americans to find jobs where they could make a substantial living to provide for their families, but in today’s society the opportunities for the black race have improved immensely, although a problem with their pay grade still persists. On the other hand, the two time periods are similar in the respect that the environment on the Southside of Chicago today is very similar to what it was like almost 60 years ago. Additionally, just like in the play, police force continues to be an issue, whether that be because they favor a certain race, or police brutality; shooting people with the wrong intentions. More problems that exist today include, gang violence, protests, and segregated schools in the poorer black communities. While the Chicagoland continues to struggle with problems regarding racial equality, they have made many improvements such as the development of organizations to keep children off of the streets and out of trouble as well as

But their struggle helps them to succeed together as a family. Beneatha wants to be a doctor. Although Mama and Beneatha have in age gap they both understand each other well,“….God willing, you’ll be a doctor”(Mckissack 89) Mama lets Beneatha know that she accepts her choice of becoming a doctor no matter the obstacles for an African-American woman. When hope comes into play for the family they all want to provide for the family, and help better the family. Walter hoped to open a liquor store to provide for his family and Ruth would’ve liked to be a house wife to raise her kids. The younger family had a lot of decisions to make as far as their hopes and dreams, but at the end of the play the author never explains what the outcome of their new dream was going to be like in their future

The Younger family which Hansberry focuses on is a black family struggling with poverty, yet dreaming of possessing a lifestyle far more promising. This covers two of the main themes of the film which I believe are the concepts of dreams and money. Walter Younger, who is Lena’s only son serves both as an antagonist and protagonist in the film due to his

Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun provides an in-depth look at the extreme social and political struggles of the newly emerging black community. A Raisin in the Sun was written during a time when poverty, racism, and hidden bias still greatly affected the position of a black family. Hansberry deeply explores the real life emotional and social struggle through the characters in the play and the unintentional desire to assimilate into what was predominantly a white culture while preserving the heritage of the African American race. Each character faces a different socio-political aspect of the black community. Though the play takes place in Chicago, which was more accepting of the difference in race, the communities and working class were

In the Lorraine Hansberry play A Raisin in the Sun she brings to light the life as an African American in a metropolitan area in the nineteen-fifties and sixties. At the time, her play brought insight to the African American plead for freedom to move up in their communities and to have equal opportunity to have their own American dream. Her understanding of African American family was really shown in this play with the formation of the family who was struggling with the loss of the father of the house, but she also showed how opportunity can come from anywhere and the pursuit of each family members dreams can provide opportunity for a better life, better known as the American dream. The play “A Raisin in the Sun” carries a lot of historical framework in the room of an African American household and the trials that African American families faced. Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” shows how the Youngers American dream of being a middle-class family was earned through finding their identity as a family, battling housing discrimination, and capitalizing on opportunities, to depict the trial and tribulations African Americans went through in Chicago in the 1950’s.

A Raisin in the Sun predicts the issues that were going to take place during the 1960s. During this time, the separation between Blacks and Whites was still legal in South. At this time, the plays about the woman and especially black women were very infrequent. This story tells the readers the truth about how the black community was ignored. Lorraine Hansberry received a lot of success from this play because the ideas used in this play are very crucial in the structure of the play. This story is about a big family which is struggling with their financial situation. The main characters of the story are Mama, Ruth, Walter, and Beneatha. Each of them has their own different dream like being rich, helping society, keeping the family connected but at the end, they serve the same purpose of being together.

Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” follows a struggling African-American family during the middle of the twentieth century. Set in Chicago’s southside, the play describes many of the problems faced by the family over money and racial discrimination. In the play, the characters battle against their unfavorable economic and social status as well as their conflicting opinions about what is best for the entire family.

‘Raisin in the Sun’ by Lorraine Hansberry has demonstrated its efficacy in illustrating the plight of African Americans living in the 1950s through the roles of characters illustrated in the play. The play is about the life of an African American family known as the Youngers, who live in Chicago. The family's anticipation and receiving of a $10,000 check makes each of the family members to develop dreams and goals associated with how each one of them would utilize their father's insurance money.

In the Raisin of the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, it is quite obvious to understand the struggles a small, African American family, living in poverty would be going through. During the 1960s, racism was still the struggling factor for many races that were not white, leaving them with not as many opportunities’ as other families would have. In Chicago, the Younger family was one of the following African American Families living in poverty.In a small rundown apartment, but in fact was well taken care of, with only their hopes to get them through. It was not until an important check from the father that had passed away that would determine their fate and fortune. With the use of symbolism, characterization, and tone, the author portrays more than just opportunities are too good to be true.

Walter Lee Younger was a chauffeur for a rich white man and was completely dissatisfied with himself as he could barely provide for his family. He was striving to be a businessman, who dreamed of investing in a liquor store, with his friend, Willy Harris, to finally be his own boss and earn the opportunity provide for his family Constantly having to accommodate to his boss made him feel like less of a man, he sacrificed his pride and his dream of being a successful businessman in order to provide for his family Walter was not happy with himself and how he cared for his family, as he said to his wife,