Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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In the book of A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry the characters lived in a time where social and justice was prevalent and as a consequence the people have to really struggle to make their dreams come true. In the 1950’s Afro-American families have to overcome a lot of hardships in their social environment and within themselves to make their dreams come true. At the beginning of the story one can say that the century in were the Younger family lived has become old and faded and they very depressed including Momma . It is also important to realize that this story takes place in the 1950’s on the Southside of Chicago. Also the second World War has just ended. All of the above mentioned gives place to present a afro american family who lives in a ghetto neighborhood of Chicago during the 1950’s . …show more content…

In those days the big dream to come true would be to have a big house, a big yard and a car. Mostly in that time middle class family would have this dream become true with some struggles along the way. But for the Youngsters this dream meant to have to fight against the social injustice outside the house and also the struggles among themselves. For example lack of space in the house, lack of money and lack of understanding about each other dreams. The held of household in the story which is Mama, tries to project her dreams in her children. She tries to better their life of their children by giving the money that came to her because of her dead husband life insurance. She gave this money to her son Walter hoping he will use it

Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
530 Words | 2 Pages
A Raisin in the Sun 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 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.
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Examples Of Beneatha In A Raisin In The Sun American Dream
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Mama has her own American Dream that she chases after, which heavily affects the family, she just wants a better life for her family, a life where her children can be happy, not really ever wanting anything for herself. Mama has to go through many struggles and
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
591 Words | 2 Pages
The civil rights movement brought enlightenment towards the abolishment of segregation laws. Although the laws are gone does segregation still exist in fact? “What happens to a dream deferred, does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?'; said, in a poem by Langston Huges. The story, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry showed segregation and its affects upon all races. This essay will show how Assimilationists and New Negroes fought for their own identity in the mid twentieth century. Whether they were being true to themselves or creating carbon copies of oppression was determined by one’s view upon society.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
627 Words | 2 Pages
A Raisin in the Sun In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry portrays obstacles that the Younger family and other African Americans had to face and over come during the post World War 2 era. Obstacles that had to be over come by the Youngers were economical, moral, social, and racist obstacles. Lorraine Hansberry, the author of the play had to face one of these as well growing up. Born in Chicago on the south side in an all black neighborhood, Lorraine Hansberry and her family had to deal with segregation.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
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The plot of the drama revolves around the disappointments that occur when one’s dreams are deferred. I think that it was selfish for all of the family members to have their own plan of using the insurance money. It was purely Lena’s choice to decide what was to be done with the money. I also agreed with Lena by not wanting Walter to use the money for a liquor store. When Walter went against Lena’s wish for the rest of the money to go to Beneatha’s college fund, and gave the money to Willy, it made me mad. Walter was being so selfish. In the end Walter redeemed himself by pulling some strings to let Beneatha go to school and be able to move into the new house.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
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The above passage taken from the play A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry between Mama and her son Walter shows how the author can address many themes of the play in one scene or even just a few lines; She addresses such themes as dreams, prejudice, and family. Mama is the head of the household where she lives with her son Walter and wife Ruth with their son Travis along with Walter’s sister Beneatha or Bennie as some like to call her. The passage tells the reader that Mama went out and did something to destroy one of Walter’s dreams. Mama explains that she did what she did to save her family from falling apart which she thought it was because everyone was yelling at each other and saying how much they hated each other wishing they were dead.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
811 Words | 2 Pages
In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, one of the most important themes is the American Dream. Many of the characters in this play have hopes and aspirations; they all strive towards their goals throughout the play. However, many of the characters in the play have different dreams that clash with each other. Problems seem to arise when different people’s dreams conflict with one another; such as Walter’s versus Bennie’s, George’s versus Asagai’s, and the Clybourne Park versus the Younger’s.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
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Conflict in A Raisin in the Sun 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 they 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.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
568 Words | 2 Pages
Dream’s Recovered Everyone has dreams; everyone has goals they want to accomplish. Some know what it is instantly, and some take time to realize what they want to do. But not everyone will achieve their dreams and some, because of sad circumstances, lose their grip on their dreams and fall into a state of disappointment. Langston Hughes poem relates to the dreams of Mama, Ruth, and Walter in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun
1246 Words | 3 Pages
During the 1960s, the African-American people were in racial situations due to their “lowered status”. They had no control over the strong beliefs in segregation, which “is characterized by a mixture of hope and despair.” (Nordholt) African-Americans, like normal people, had strived to achieve set goals. Unfortunately, their ethnicity was what inhibited them from accomplishing their dreams. In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the author conveys the theme of the seemingly trivial efforts of the African-American people in their individual pursuits for a satisfactory life lead each person down a road of self-discovery that reveals an indefinite amount of truths, which transform their promising hopes into unachievable fantasies. By using powerful characterization, Hansberry creates characters with contrasting personalities dividing their familial hopes into different dreams. With the use of symbolism, each character’s road is shown to inevitably end in a state where dreams are deferred.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
938 Words | 2 Pages
Imagine not being able to buy a house or have a certain job because of your race, unfortunately for many minorities who have lived here in the United States it has been their permanent reality. Certain groups of people who deprived of the same chances others get and are divided because of their race within institutions such as in schools or on the court. Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, presents various topics, including institutional racism, which, in America, has not changed from the past to present, based on research on racism in sports and throughout the community. Historically in America, African American athletes and families have been segregated and been victim to racism in many different forms. Despite their astonishing
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The Effects of Oppression in Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun
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The conflict that involves Walter and Mama superficially concerns Mama's receiving an insurance check for ten thousand dollars, which she hasn't yet decided what to do with. Walter has hopes for using the money to invest in a liquor store, with the profits providing him and his family a better quality of life than what they have endured in the past. What really is at stake here, though, is more than money. Mama and Walter have different visions of what happiness is and what life is all about. For Mama, the best thing to do with the money is to make a down payment on a house. This house is to be situated within an all-white neighborhood, and represents assimilation. This is Mama's dream, and the dream ...
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
436 Words | 1 Pages
In the 1870s Jim Crow laws were introduced in the Southeastern United States. These laws introduced the idea of "separate but equal" living, meaning the equality of races, but were recommended to be kept separate and not mixed. These laws had then been abolished in 1954, yet still, in the present day, there are hints of discrimination towards the ‘minorities’. Every American citizen is filled with the ambition to be able to succeed in life and see gain what they have dreamed of. Yet, to some people, this ambition is dimed and suppressed due to discrimination.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
3896 Words | 8 Pages
...have some money. The Younger’s were well aware that they were not wanted in the white neighborhood. At this point, there is a feeling of dislike towards Walter because he had blown off all the money. So what was expected was the he would continue worrying about money and sell their dream house. But instead he does an unexpected, honorable thing. He surprises the family by changing his mind and deciding to move into the house. I was also moved by what Mama said. “Son—I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers—but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor. We ain’t never been that—dead inside.” Walter finally showed pride in his family and let go of his dream for the good of his family.
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The American Dream In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
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Walter, Beneatha, Ruth, and Mama all struggle to attain their version of the American Dream. Like Mama, their dreams, at one point in the play, are deferred, and through many trials and tribulations; the Younger's ultimately realize that buying and keeping the house is the most important dream. The house, a symbol for unity,helped the Youngers ignore their own personal dreams, and focus on one important dream; they notice that sometimes allowing your dreams to defer, isn't entirely bad, and could direct you to bigger and better dreams you weren't even aware you had.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun