Theme Of Manhood In A Raisin In The Sun

In English drama, a domestic tragedy is defined as a tragedy in which the tragic protagonist is ordinary middle-class or lower class individuals. The definition I will use is the event of great suffering, destruction, and distress that occurs to the protagonist or tragic hero. A Raisin in the Sun falls under domestic tragedy with the status and circumstances that the poor African American family with the constant struggle versus social roles and white America. Throughout the play, the Younger family has many hardships and difficult decisions come up. Hamlet would not fall under a domestic tragedy with the family being of kingly ranks as well as their downfall and personal matters. In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Younger is a tragic

The play ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ by ‘Lorraine Hansberry’ is about a matriarchy, Lena Younger or known as “Mama” to her family the Youngers who are poverty stricken family. She is about to receive insurance money from her husband’s life insurance policy, which is rightfully hers. However each member of the Youngers family we come into contact with have a plan to use the money for themselves, each individual’s through-line plays a vital role in their dreams, thoughts and choices in the end. Throughout the play the family have experiences that money can’t buy happiness and the effects of racial prejudice emerge.

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.

The play A Raisin in the Sun illustrates the social and economic pressure that is placed on the Younger family, especially Beneatha who aspires to become a doctor at the time where not many women could even imagine such aspirations. The Younger family's daughter Beneatha is an outspoken intelligent member who raises the argument for the other side of the spectrum at all times. Beneatha is aspiring to become a doctor and has some hope that some of the money from her father's social insurance cheque would help go to her medical school. The pressure of being lower middle class severely affects the relationships of the Younger family as Walter, Beneatha's older brother shows no regard for his sister as he sees her as the only one in the house not

Lorraine Hansberry considered lines from two Hughes poems to title her play A Raisin in the Sun. Both Poems, “Mother to Son” and “Harlem,” connect to the play, however, Mother to Son is the better one because there is much more content talked about in this poem. The struggle the mother went through is crazy. The fact that she isn’t broken down and that she tries to support her child shows a lot.

In the book “A Raisin in the Sun”, love is defiantly a major key towards keeping the “Younger” family together as they go through thick and thin. Multiple times in the book, a character known as “Walter” apart of the Younger family screws up, whether it be, pursuing a silly addictive dream or investing family money, it never turned out well for Walter. Walter’s mom, Lena aka “mama” however, always loved Walter and although didn’t show it often, supported his drive to strive for greatness and greatly awarded him near the end of the book. Walter’s sister Beneatha however, was not impressed at his short comings and often called him out where he fell short by belittling him with insults but, that

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry features a set of characters that are not only complex in every way, but also vastly important to bringing out the intricacies of the play. One example of this is the contrast of George Murchison and Joseph Asagai. These two foil characters have similar roles in the plot; they are both non-white men of around the same age with the same amount of education. The two men also play a role in the life of Beneatha Younger as possible love interests. However, despite their similarities, their most important aspects are what set them apart from one another and highlight the most profound themes of the play.

Manhood is another important theme in the play, and recurs through Walter’s struggles with manhood. At the beginning, he delusively equates money with manhood and believes that wealth will

Just as any well composed story or film, in A Raisin in the Sun there are structural elements that strategically map the play. Moreover, I contend that the inciting incident would be the fact that the family was expecting a large life insurance check from the death of Mr. Walter Lee Younger, Sr. In the 1950s, $10,000 was a large amount of money, especially for working class African Americans. It was not surprising that everyone in the family had their own plans as to how they would have liked to spend the lump-sum amount of money. The crisis point of the plot, then, would be the fact that the Younger family was an African American working class family, struggling financially during a time of high racial prejudice—the civil rights era. The rising action would include Ruth getting pregnant with a second child, Mrs. Younger using some of the insurance money to make a down payment on a new house, Mrs. Younger giving Walter the remaining amount of the insurance check, and ultimately, Walter investing the money into a liquor store. The climax of the story would be when Walter found out that his business partner ran off with the insurance money, and consequently, the family loses over half the insurance money to the null investment. The falling action? Walter refused to accept Mr. Lindner’s offer to buy the family out of the new neighborhood, and the family finally moved into a new, spacious home in a new neighborhood.

As we know today, civil rights and stuff have been greatly improved since colonial times. For one, slavery is illegal, as well as segregation among schools and other public facilities. They can vote, their wages have improved, other stuff. In this patriarchal world, it can be believed that most of this stuff prob wouldn’t have happened, had it not been for people like MLK, Lena Horne, Maya Angelou, Lorraine Hansberry. Their powerful voices sparked a revolution throughout the United States, through their perseverance and stuff.

To begin with in chapter 5, on page 36, Walter says how Sugar Ray Robinson, and Joe Louis who walk or ride down the streets of Harlem. One day Walter decided to hang a boy with a couple of friends, and when the pastor walked into the basement he knew more about what their were doing than they did. Finally Walter realized he had a speech problem, and could not read to the class no more. So, one day he was reading a comic book, and his teacher threw it away and gave him a fairy tale book. That’s was when Walter realized he loved reading books.

A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry presents statuses of men and women in value along with their positions throughout the play. This is often seen with Walter, who uses manhood as an argument for dominance, for why his wife, Ruth, should support him more, why Mama should give him the insurance money from his late father, and why he needs a better career, referring to his aspiration of owning a liquor store. The play also represents various women: the traditional Mama, the supportive, yet timid Ruth, and the progressive Bennie, who are either praised or demeaned for their following or disobedience to feminine standards and stereotypes, almost like dogs. We see frustration with and belittling of women when wealthy George Murchison comes

raisin in the sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, who was one of the very first African American ever to have her play performed on Broadway, during the civil rights movement. The play takes place in an uncomfortable small two bedroom apartment which the Younger family stays in. Throughout the play the family faces money, as well as family problems, but when they receive a large check the oldest son lets it get the best of him. According to Frank Ardolino journal article of Hansberry’s a Raisin in the Sun the main theme of this play is personal growth, and economic opposition to the family. While I agree with Ardolino, although when reading the play something that caught my attention was one of the main character Walter who was focused mainly on money, but also the pride of being a man, and having pride for his family. The term being a man is something said and to be expected of young boys, and men on a regular basis especially in today’s society. In the play the youngest son Travis understands that he will soon become the man of the house when his father Walter is gone, in addition to becoming a man Mama the head of the house hold lets Travis listen in on what his father says and does in order to prepare him. Being for Nigeria the family has many different traditions and values from white families here in the United States. Being from a different country it is possible that the way they are choosing to raise Travis to become a man could be different form the way

As Austrian writer Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach wrote,“To be content with little is difficult; to be content with much, impossible.” History and literature have established that the ideal goal every American has wanted is for his thirst for material possessions to be reached, but even then, the individual isn’t truly happy. Money, and the things it can get you, have long been a part of American culture and the materialist culture of society have been examined in numerous ways from novels to the art of those like Andy Warhol. A life free from the economic woes that plague almost everyone seems like the quintessential existence, but material wealth is not a way to mend issues.

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.