The end of the play is not entirely happy. Beneatha cannot going to go to medical school because of her brother's mistakes. The Youngers will likely face racist in their new neighborhood. They will have to struggle to meet their mortgage payments. Continue Reading...
His actions motivate the entire family to draw upon each other, and rely on each other's common strength to challenge the established racial and social standards. Walter's brave decision to move regardless of the racial and financial problems that t Continue Reading...
This is similar to the specifics of the legal case that Hansberry's father became engaged in over their house in an all white neighborhood. In the real-life version of events, however, things were far less polite. Hansberry's father was actually bre Continue Reading...
Arthur Miller / Lorraine Hansberry The idea of the "American Dream," of achieving material success through one's own efforts, is not merely a constant topic in American literature, it seems to be a fundamental archetype of American national mytholog Continue Reading...
Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry [...] elements of drama and literary qualities of the play. This play was anything but conventional when it debuted on Broadway in 1959. It explored issues of racism, prejudice, and the dreams of others that m Continue Reading...
At the time these issues were groundbreaking topics. The play explored the decision that Ruth had to make because her economic conditions dictated that she could not afford another child. In addition, Beneatha's prospects of becoming a doctor and ge Continue Reading...
As to Walter's decision to use the money as he saw fit, we find a man who's suffering and discontent had blinded him to the real sustenance and value in his family. Truly, for the unhappiness which he had bore, and for the racial abuse shown to the Continue Reading...
Raisin in the Sun: Walter Lee's Dream Deferred Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun chronicles the struggles of the African-American Younger family to gain a foothold in American middle-class society. One of the most poignant characters is the Continue Reading...
At the same time Bernice doesn't tell her daughter the history of the heirloom, in fear of waking the spirit. This means that even Bernice is not using her legacy positively, but is afraid of it. Both characters are able to embrace their history wit Continue Reading...
While Baraka's play Dutchman ends in fatal violence against a young black male endeavoring in vain to assert his individual identity and manhood, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, which takes place in the 1950's, on Chicago's South Side, en Continue Reading...
.. Don't understand nothing about building their men up and making 'em feel like they somebody. Like they can do something" (Hansberry, I, i.). It is clear that Walter Lee still believes it is the woman's role to support the man in his endeavors, and Continue Reading...
Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" also uses a heightened situation to illustrate a greater human truth. In realistic terms, Bartleby's refusal to work is absurd, at least to the lengths which the title character carries his impulse to "pre Continue Reading...
Lysistrata, Oedipus Rex, And a Raisin in the Sun on the Issue of Social Influence This is an illustration of the role of social, family and individual influence in the three plays, focusing on how influence changed the lives of the protagonists of A Continue Reading...
She has a simple dream for her family and it is that they may live in a decent home that sits in a decent neighborhood. She tries to explain this to Walter by indicating that they should always be attempting to move forward and "do something differe Continue Reading...
Analysis of A Raisin in the SunOverviewA Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry first performed in 1959. The play is about a small black family in Chicago. The family is poor, but Mama has come into some money by way of inheritance. Ruth i Continue Reading...
Every step of the African-American journey was a small one but it took a great of steps to make any headway. Mama knew this and wanted Walter to realize it and be proud of his past so he could be proud of his future. Dreams help us define people. W Continue Reading...
This is the essence of true faith. It never leaves you forever. You can curse your life but you must not abandon it or dreams will be deferred for good. Walter for example gives up his dream of becoming his own boss. He wants to be financially secur Continue Reading...
The Folkloric Elements in \\\"A Raisin in the Sun\\\": A Study in Cultural RepresentationIntroductionThe American Folklore Society (AFS) defines folklore as \\\"the traditional art, literature, knowledge, and practices that are disseminated largely t Continue Reading...
Clybourne Park Most theatergoers are familiar with the poem by African-American writer Langston Hughes, which asks "What happens to a dream deferred?" One of the possibilities offered in Hughes's poem is "Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?" Continue Reading...
While the family does move anyway, they are changed. Walter learns that he cannot trust everyone and every fly-by-night idea is probably just a fraud. Curing the sick was the most important thing to Beneatha before Walter lost the money. After the i Continue Reading...
Perseverance and Hope Amidst Defeat: An Analysis of A Raisin in the SunIntroductionLorraine Hansberry\\\'s \\\"A Raisin in the Sun\\\" is a monumental piece in American theatre that underscores the trials and tribulations of the African-American expe Continue Reading...
Though Antigone is certainly the protagonist of the play, she makes her decision very early in the action -- she chooses to bury her brother despite the civil disobedience and disrespect of the State that it shows. Ismene, on the other hand, wavers Continue Reading...
This play, the first by a black playwright to show on Broadway, was a moving reflection of black family life that had great popular appeal (Sidney pp). Poitier's performance was such a critical success that he was asked to star in the movie adaptati Continue Reading...
fiction in comparison to poetry and drama by drawing upon specific examples from the poem- "Summer Solstice in New York" by Sharon Olds and of drama from a Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. In this essay, we will discuss what are features tha Continue Reading...
Eugene O'Neill's play, "The Emperor Jones (1921)," is the horrifying story of Rufus Jones, the monarch of a West Indian island, presented in a single act of eight scenes of violence and disturbing images. O'Neill's sense of tragedy comes out undilute Continue Reading...
Raisin in the Sun Beneatha is ahead of her time in a Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha is the daughter of Lena Younger and younger sister of Walter Lee who is married to Ruth. Walter Lee an Continue Reading...
It is the last thing Mama carries out of the apartment when the family moves, symbolizing the family's failure to thrive in their neighborhood. Both the plant and the Younger family are expected to blossom in their new surroundings. Walter Jr. want Continue Reading...
He needs this chance, Lena" (Hansberry 26). Ruth dreams of rekindling the love that used to exist between them, and she knows that it has changed or altered somehow, and that something is missing in her relationship with him. She believes in him eno Continue Reading...
' But now he said nothing" (Faulkner). In contrast, the Younger family members also grow and change. Most notably, Walter Lee takes on the role of leader in the family, and makes the right decision for the rest of his family members. Critic Domina no Continue Reading...
My personal response to the play is I loved reading it and the more I thought about families (not just black families) when I read through it again. The oldest son in the play was trusted to deposit the money from the check (to buy a better home), Continue Reading...
She is also a dreamer in that she believes that she will be able to help everyone. When Walter loses the money, her view changes somewhat in that she understands the world a little better. She knows that no doctor can cure "what ails mankind" (2254) Continue Reading...
Another provocative element of hooks' text is the way that she renders whiteness problematic and alien, while the dominant culture has always done this with blackness. The quest to know what is not 'us' and to know the 'other' she implies, is endem Continue Reading...
Deferred Dreams The two plays A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry are two classical plays that are based on the daily struggles by families trying to live life as best as they know how. There Continue Reading...
" The drying up of the dream like a raisin suggests that the spirit of someone who is the victim of prejudice experiences a kind of living death, with all vital forces sucked away from his or her sprit like dried fruit. The dream can also "crust over Continue Reading...
Analyzing Lorraine Hansberrys 'A Raisin in the Sun': An Exploration of Themes, Symbolism, Setting, and Narrative Voice (Rough Draft)Introduction"A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry, first performed in 1959, is a play that captures the dreams a Continue Reading...
As J. Charles Washington notes, Mama and Walter have two different versions or ideas what the American Dream means in Raisin in the Sun. For Mama the dream is simply about change and doing what is necessary to protect and preserve one’s family. Continue Reading...
Raisin in the Sun Reading this play carefully, a person can see that while the characters and setting -- and dialogue -- are related to African-Americans, this play has a universal tone to it. The problems facing this family and the way children in Continue Reading...
Walter's desire for financial success and his stories of rich white people are a metaphor for the self-respect he lacks in himself. It's easy to say that Walter should pay more attention to what is really important in life: family, respect, love, et Continue Reading...
She misrepresents the proposal of marriage of Asagai and is unable to provide the man who loves her so much and who understand her well. The complex character of Beneatha demonstrates another hidden quality towards the end of the play. The confronta Continue Reading...
Raisin in the Sun: Travis and Important Themes In Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun, the themes of identity, materialism, pride, heritage, family, upward mobility, equality and even life and death all play a part in the story’s devel Continue Reading...
