Symbolism In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

This character is a static and a round character. She is the mother of Walter and Beneatha. All she’s ever wanted was a new home to pass down to Travis one day and a garden. Mama has the most responsibility, she struggles to do the right thing for each of the five members of the family. With this much pressure she wants to support the idea that Walter Lee has of investing in a liquor store, but it’s a selfish act because it wouldn’t be for the family and also considering the fact that they aren’t business people. Throughout this play Mama stays strong and that’s what makes her a static character. What makes her a round character was the moment she told Ruth that her children frighten her, this is contradicting because she dedicates her life to her children and she also struggles to instill her values to them.

Symbols can be; images, signs, colors, sounds, shapes, anything. It is like how blue can stand for sadness, and how the sun can stand for happiness. Symbolism is an object or an idea that has a representation beyond the literal meaning of the object. The functions of symbols are to add meaning to the text and underline some subtle point the author is making, also to give the reader a clue about the mood of the story and what will happen. The symbols Lorraine Hansberry used in A Raisin in the Sun are the light, plant, and the window. All three symbols; the light, the plant, and the window, have to go together for the Youngers to reach their dream.

Lorraine Hansberry’s first and most obvious symbol used in her play, is Mama’s plant. Mama’s plant is really old and it lacks very much of what it needs to maintain healthy and stay alive. The plant symbolizes several things. One of the things it represents is Mama’s care for her family. Just like Mama -cares for her plant even though it is old and lacks nourishment. She still takes car^&e of it, waters it, and gives it the sunlight it can get. This represents Mama’s care for her family because her family is falling apart but she still cares for them, gives them a roof to live under, and she has hope that things will get better. Another thing that Mama’s plant represents is Mama’s dream. Mama has a dream of someday having her own garden and a house of her own. Mama’s quote in Act I Scene I, “Well, i always wanted me a garden like i used to see sometimes at the back of houses down home.

Mama’s plant is the one symbol, in the story with the most impactful meaning, especially being the impact and correlation it perceives with mama herself. In the story mama always takes care of the plant and frequently refers to compare

All through the play A Raisin in the Sun,  multiple sorts of symbolism are clearly demonstrated throughout the play. Hansberry makes a great showing with regards to of enabling these images to be seen, similar to a specific plant object (Mother's plant) or a general item (cash). She now and then even uses symbolism through individuals (Beneatha) to help the reader understand the points that Hansberry is trying to get across. She is smart in her utilization of symbolism because she can get a sentiment the day and age in which they are in, from specific objects that represent something different. Utilizing symbolism is vital because it enables the peruser to get a more detail feeling of the issue,or occasion that is occurring.

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.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a play that displays housing discrimination in Chicago during the 1950s. Housing discrimination was partially an effect of the Great Migration. This was an event during the 1950s that resulted in about six million African Americans “migrating” from the south to the north, Midwest, and west regions of the United States. This caused the population of black people in major northern cities to increase rapidly. They are then only able to live in certain neighborhoods, which keeps their communities segregated.

I have an internal conflict right now, and will probably last for the next 3 years. I do not know what I want to be when I grow up. People say you have time left, but three year is going to go by really fast. I feel like I am not going to know what I want to by the time I graduate. Your sophomore year in high school is picking out a career, so I am worried.

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

In the play, A Raisin In The Sun, Mother tries to keep everything under control because she believes in her children and their dreams, yet understands that they still need to learn and strengthen their value's as they begin to realize their own aspirations. She is the head of the family around whom the conflicts arise and are resolved.

   “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.

   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.

	In the play A Raisin in the Sun, the playwright Lorraine Hansberry depicts the life of an impoverished African American family living on the south side of Chicago. The Youngers, living in a small apartment and having dreams larger than the world in which the live, often use verbal abuse as a way to vent their problems. Many times, this verbal abuse leads to unnecessary conflict within the family. The most frequently depicted conflict is that between Walter and his sister Beneatha. Walter wants nothing more than to be a wealthy entrepreneur that can provide for his family, while Beneatha plans to go to medical school and become a doctor. Both characters are opposed to the others’ dreams. This

There are several themes present in A Raisin in the Sun. The subjects of hope, dreams, and values are all recurring motifs throughout the play’s entirety. Despite the repressive conditions faced by the Younger family due to the racist and sexist societal views of the sixties, they still maintain a degree of hope throughout their ordeal. They hold onto the hope that, in the face of their circumstances, things will get better and they will be able to achieve their dreams. The symbolism used in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun helps emphasize the themes and tone of the play.