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Racism in literature
An essay about metaphor
An essay about metaphor
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Lorraine Hansberry’s carefully selected words in the play A Raisin in the Sun, prove to be a metaphor of the Younger’s past, present, and future life. During this time in American history it was hard for black people to make a name for themselves, and they were almost never seen as equals to white lives. As Hansberry describes the house in which the Younger’s live, she is always describing the struggle that they face. She starts this by saying “The Younger living room would be comfortable and well-ordered room if it were not for a number of indestructible contradictions to this state of being” (Hansberry 23). One could assume that has Hansberry speaks of the living room she is actually speaking of the lives of the Younger’s. Therefore as we …show more content…
The reader can see that if the obstacles that the Younger’s face could be torn down then they would be able to live complacent in their lives. Moreover Hansberry as selected words like “comfortable”, and “indestructible” to make it clear to the reader that the lives of the Younger’s have not been easy and a lot of what they struggle with will most likely never change. The battles that the Younger’s face can be further understood when Hansberry states, “Now the once loved pattern of the couch upholstery has to fight to show itself from under the acres of crocheted doilies and couch covers which themselves finally come to be more important than the upholstery”(Hansberry 23). If one were to look back on this part after reading the book it could be clearly seen that the playwright was trying to inform the reader that the Younger’s were going to step out of the box. They do this by buying a house that is in a white neighborhood. They were loved and nothing was ruined but now that they want to try at a better life they will be beaten down and torn …show more content…
Furthermore whatever if being said about the Younger’s is what is heard more and the true identity of the Younger’s and the kinds of people they are is not seen and is not understood. Together with this Hansberry as chosen these words to express to the reader that one's true identity can have the possibility of being hidden by rumors and what the popularity of people believe. Additionally, the reader is informed about how the life of the youngers will be when one reads,” but the carpet has fought back by showing its weariness, with depressing uniformity, elsewhere on its surface” (Hansberry 23). From this one could predict that even though it has been hidden eventually people will see that the Younger’s are hardworking people. People will begin to see they are just like everybody else in the neighborhood and do as much for the community as any other family. One could see that the Younger’s will fight for people to see this quality in them and they will surpass all the negativity and rumors around them. Has Hansberry finishes her introduction she says “Weariness has in fact, won in this room” (Hansberry
She brings light to an issue that divided her family from her father, his “obsession” with fixing up the house. She states, "I grew to resent the way my father treated his furniture like children, and his children like furniture" (14). She believes her father was detached, living his life through restoring old furniture and fixing up the family home, leaving little attention for the family that lived there. She was suspicious of her father’s décor saying, “they were lies” (14). This left much to be desired, often leading her to question whether her father even liked having a family. This feeling is expressed when she says, "Sometimes, when things were going well, I think my father actually enjoyed having a family. Or at least, the air of authenticity we lent to his exhibit. A sort of still life with children" (13). He occupied his life with fixing up his home almost as if he was trying to cover up the problems going on inside himself. Bechdel suggests that the antique mirrors decorating the home were meant to distract visitors from his personal shame. She says, "His shame inhabited our house as pervasively and invisibly as the aromatic musk of aging mahogany" (20). She states that this shame stemmed from her father’s closeted sexual preferences. This would later connect them in a very powerful
Lorraine Hansberry is the author of the play A Raisin in the Sun. This play is very significant because it was the first play written by a black playwright to win the Best Play of the Year Award. Another interesting point about the play is the title. The title A Raisin in the Sun also refers to Langston Hughes poem Harlem. In many ways Langston Hughes’ poem relates to Lorraine Hansberry’s play. In the play a family of black Americans have a chance to move ahead in the cruel prejudiced world. Lorraine Hansberry shows the frustrations that occur when one’s dreams are deferred. The Younger family in the play experiences these times of misery when those dreams are broken.
school. Walter's mother, Lena (Mama), plans to use the money for a house for the
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.
...ere. One may set a higher bar of sufficiency for them due to advancements in technology that was not present in the fifties and one may have more expectations for their future, but from a young age, that is more inheriting the burden or luxury, than something one can control. Without a doubt, one could break free from their inherited life style, but that requires motivation and determination. Anney had her head on straight; she was just unfortunate enough to fall into various ‘fate’ driven struggles and blindly entered situations.
In Jean’s case, moving to a retirement village generated both feelings of despair, and ultimately integrity. She worried about her ability to look after Frank, and who would eventually take care of them both. Furthermore, Jean did not want to burden their children with their care. In fact, these are all too common concerns shared by those in late adulthood (Berk, 2010). The stress of...
In life some have it all, and some also have nothing, but what truly matters is what you do with what you have. In Lorraine Hansberry’s story, “ A Raisin In The Sun”, She guides us through the trials and tribulations of an African American family of 5 in Chicago during the 60’s. This story truly shows that with family, faith, and hard work anything is possible. Although the story was based on a family of color in the 60’s, life lessons learned within the story still pertain to todays society. The story begins with Langston Hughes poem titled “Harlem”, this Poem helps readers understand the overall setting before the first scene, leaving the audience wondering where it will lead them next. It seems as if Walter Lee is
One of the first ideas mentioned in this play, A Raisin In the Sun, is about money. The Younger's end up with no money because of Walter's obsession with it. When Walter decides not to take the extra money he is offered it helps prove Hansberry's theme. Her theme is that money can't buy happiness. This can be seen in Walter's actions throughout the play.
...room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents." (Bradbury). They do not have the capacity to make adult decisions, however, like the characters from Peter Pan, they feel as though they do not need parents and can handle themselves. This leads them to eliminate what seems to them like a problem, parents. Throughout the story symbolism is a prevailing literary element which allows Bradbury to develop his plot and characters.
For example, Ms. Hadley said, “I feel like I don’t belong here. The house is the wife and mother now and nursemaid.”(Bradbury 4). The reader can easily see how much the home compromised the family’s life. Clearly, they could not function in reality. The mother later said, “Can I give a bath and scrub the children as [well] or quickly as the automatic bath can? I cannot.”(Bradbury 4). The mother obviously felt disconnected from her children. These quotes and other events in the story, reveal to the reader that the perceived perfection of having all that a person wants can nonetheless be unfulfilling and
In the short story, “The Shining Houses “ the author Alice Munro, suggests that change may be inevitable. The main conflict is between the older generation, Mrs. Fullerton and the newer generation, the residents of Garden Place. The older generation has to adapt to change and towards a modern society. Conflict can be avoided if Mrs. Fullerton agrees to have her house demolished. However, because of the sentimental value her households, she is firm against change.
In the book A Raisin in the Sun, the time period is set in 1955. A time in America where African Americans still dealt with a constant struggle between them and the rest of the country. It touches on subjects that were very sensitive especially at the time the work was released. Even though the setting of the book was in the north, Lorraine Hansberry seemed to want to show that things weren’t that much better in the north than they were in the south at that time. Segregation was still being implemented in the law system, and there was a missing sense of equality among everyone. It shows that Lorraine Hansberry took what was going on around her environment and portrayed those situations into her work. The three events listed include Rosa Parks
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun depicts the struggles of three generations of the Youngers family in the 1950's of poorer Chicago. Act 2, scene 2 of the play displays an understanding of the Youngers and the atmosphere in which they live. In just a few pages, Lorraine Hansberry reveals the struggles enforced upon the characters individually as well as with their united desires as a family. Individually, each character must overcome prejudice from his family and associates, while still enduring struggles and hardships that diminish any intended goals. Together, however, the Younger family must overcome the racial bigotry incurred by society, while still maintaining social pride and integrity. In contrast, a predominant expression of hope and encouragement is a factor in the lives of such characters, as revealed by the author. With the use of dramatic elements to interpret the events of this section of the play, in addition to the issues of race and gender, it is obvious that the Youngers represent a black family struggling towards middleclass respectability not only in society, but in their own home as well.
She begins to feel this insecurity whenever she looks upon her children. “They look at her coldly, as if they were finding fault with her.” This “fault”, in the mother’s mind, is her inability to maintain a lifestyle typical of a woman of her upbringing and position. To counteract this she begins to, as mentioned earlier, appear in public to be “such a good mother,” a superior mother compared to all other mothers. She also feels as if she must maintain the lifestyle fitting of her, misconceived, social position which, in Lawrence’s words, “they had to keep up (100).” The mother keeps a “pleasant house” with servants, and feels as if they are superior to everyone in neighborhood in which they live. All of this promotes within the mother the feeling of being part of the social elite, despite the fact she is unable to afford the cost of living in which she is
In conclusion, the choice of sending elders to an old folk’s home is just wrong. It’s unfair to them to begin with and most of the time it’s not even their personal choice. Stripped of every single personal choice they’ve had before and everything they’ve worked for all their life is now gone from them. The normal life is over and they are forced to spend the rest of their life in the nasty, smelly old folk’s home. Instead of these and all that’s wrong with them my two alternatives would be a very nice choice and it would be much nicer to them much more respectful. And they would actually be able to enjoy their time as elderly people. So to end this essay I would like to bring this question into your mind how would you feel if everything you have in this very moment was taken away from you for the rest of your life. The end.