The United States in the 1950’s was booming; a booming economy, booming suburbs, and even the infamous “baby boom” all of which came after the end of World War II. However, the 1950’s was also a time of civil rights movements where African American people were speaking up and protesting for their rights, yet life for the them was still not easy. The Younger family, the main characters of the play, end up facing their own share of racism living in the Chicago slums.
I remember arriving at the theater a few minutes late and slipping into my seat around 2:05pm, however thankfully the stage was still dark. I wasn’t too far away from the stage, maybe 5 or 6 rows back, which was definitely helpful, as I could see everything on the stage at an up close view. Being that this was my first real, live performance play, I was definitely a bit nervous and sort of anxious not really sure what to expect. I remember just looking around and seeing a lot of smiling people laughing, talking, and waiting for the play to begin…just like me.
The play opened up with the Younger family expecting a check in the mail of $10,000; a check that came from the insurance policy of Mr. Younger, who had recently died. Each member of the family had an idea of what they wanted to do with the money, although the money really belonged to Lena, the matriarch of the family. Lena Younger (the old, now single mother of Benny and Walter Lee) wanted to use the money to put a down payment on a house that she felt was more affordable and a lot better than the old 3 bedroom apartment they were currently living in. However, the house that she wanted to buy just so happened to be in the all white neighborhood of Clybourne Park. As the play progresses, Mama (Lena) ends up using...
... middle of paper ...
...er watching the whole play, I really couldn’t do anything but smile. In those 2 hours and 30 minutes I had laughed, I had cried, and at points I was even confused. To be honest, I had really touched on every single emotion, and I feel like that’s what makes this such a good play. So much happened in the drama, it can’t even begin to fit in a short summary, and because it was my first play ever I really didn’t know what to expect, but I can honestly say my expectations were more than reached. For me it gave me a glimpse of life in the 1950’s, even though I was really in a theater. The acting was superb, the jokes were hilarious, & the emotional connectivity was strong. Just by looking at the crowd, all races could enjoy this play. I thoroughly enjoyed watching A Raisin in the Sun. With this being my first humanities arts experience, I truly look forward to many more.
Before seeing how class differences play an important role in “A Raisin in the Sun,” one must examine the location in which the play takes place. Hansberry defines the play’s setting as “Chicago’s Southside, sometime between World War II and the present.” (Hansberry 22) The play was written in 1959, prior to the civil rights movement in America. Even so, this post-war timeframe “exemplified a new wave of black suburbanization” (Wiese 100). As more African Americans made the transition fro...
A family has always been expected to be a loving and caring environment with support and communication, but this sometimes does not come naturally to soon to be parents. Some get caught up specifically in bad things, perhaps their upbringings are to blame or maybe the individual could take all of the responsibility. When a society chooses what is to be socially acceptable, that limits relatives to only one kind of family and the object becomes destroying all other kinds. The 1950s was a time when technology wasn’t a big distraction from loved ones. Joyin Shih feels her true self being targeted by others, even her own family, in attempt to destroy her true self in her article, “Chyna and Me”. Alex Williams may also be missing the 1950s an article by Stephanie Coontz called “What We Really Miss About The 1950s” because he finds that families may not be as caring as they used to be in fact he argues that families are becoming more isolated than ever in his article “Quality Time, Redefined”. Good gives people a lot of frustration, more the division than the “good” because not all families coming from different cultures, different religions, and different ideas can fit into one mold that is called “acceptable”. The more connected individuals are to the Internet the fewer individuals are connected to each other. Technology should not be the biggest tool of communication in a family.
The Younger’s, an African American family living on the south-side of Chicago in the 1950s, live in an undersized apartment for their family of five. Lena Younger, the mother of the house, receives a check of ten thousand dollars and dreams of owning her own house in a white neighborhood. Beneatha’s brother, Walter, has high hopes of investing the money in a liquor store. Walter’s wife, Ruth does all she can to support his ideas while caring for their son, Travis. But, to become a doctor, Beneatha wants and needs the money to pay for her schooling. Walter and Beneatha’s wants for the money cause disputes throughout the house.
The Play takes place during the 1950s racism was still very common for African Americans during this time. After the family receives the money momma decided
	Society in the 1959 was full of racial discrimination. White and blacks were still living in their own "areas", the public as a whole was very slow to accept the concept of mixed neighborhoods – blacks and white living together. This book, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, tells the story of a lower-class black family’s struggle to gain middle –class acceptance in the Southside of Chicago. The Younger family of five, four adults and one child live in a cramped apartment in one of the poorer sections of town. The dream of owning your own business and having all the money you will ever need is a goal held by many in society, then and now. Walter Lee Younger becomes obsessed with his dream of a business venture that will give him financial and social independence, after getting and losing the money that will help this dream become reality he realizes that pride and dignity are more important for him and his family.
The 1950’s was a time in history when America began to flourish, through its advancements in music, technology, and its emphasis on the individual. The emergence of Rock and Roll contributed to the birth of the ‘rebel’ by giving teenagers an excuse to disobey their parents through the expression of music. Adults of the 1950’s insisted that Rock and Roll corrupted the minds of the youth. This revolution in music not only affected the decade from an entertainment standpoint, but also from a fashion perspective. Teenagers wore leather jackets, poodle skirts, slicked back hair, and beehive hairdos. Through sports and the civil rights act, blacks began to be more accepted into the 1950’s society. Although segregation was still alive, many blacks swore they could see freedom in the near future. Black athletes, like Jackie Robinson, proved that talent outweighed skin color. Existentialism became a popular philosophy during the 1950’s, which emphasized the individual. The true meaning of this movement was vague, but followers believed that society was trying to control their every action. Many authors and philosophers of this decade wrote on the subject of existentialism, including Flannery O’Connor. Flannery O’Connor’s short story, “Good Country People,” was published in 1955 and demonstrates the 1950’s view of existentialism through the use of symbolism and irony.
Mama and her family were about to receive a check for $10,000 from the deceased Mr. Younger’s insurance policy. This money seemed like the answer to the family’s’ prayers. Everyone seemed to have big dreams for the money. Mama wanted to buy a house, Walter wanted to invest the money into a liquor store, and Beneatha wanted to use the money for her medical school tuition. Ruth agreed with Mama’s ideal of buying a house and she thought that the house would provide more space and opportunity for her son.
Were they really the “Happy Days”? No not the television Happy Days staring Henry Winkler, but the 1950s Happy Days. The 1950s was full of important historical events like Senator Joseph McCarthy gains power to become President and start McCarthyism during 1950–1954. Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, Disneyland opened in 1955 at Anaheim, California, America adopted "In God we Trust" as its national motto, and the Korean War ended on July 27, 1953. America was seeing a lot of big key events unfold right before their very eyes every day. With these things occur America rolled into “Happy Days” by bringing families closer to together, the population in the U.S. spick, and life becoming a lot more modern.
A Raisin in the Sun is a play telling the story of an African-American tragedy. The play is about the Younger family near the end of the 1950s. The Younger family lives in the ghetto and is at a crossroads after the father’s death. Mother Lena Younger and her grown up children Walter Lee and Beneatha share a cramped apartment in a poor district of Chicago, in which she and Walter Lee's wife Ruth and son Travis barely fit together inside.
It is already a very well known fact that African Americans went through a lot of torment through the 1920s until the later 1960s. Even as time went by, only a small amount of things changed. Racism may have died down a bit, but remains in existence. The play A Raisin in the Sun by African American female, Lorraine Hansberry, depicts the real life of African Americans between the 1920s and the 1960s. This time period for an African American was rather tough. The living situations for African Americans were made even more difficult than they would have already been due to their skin color and the government's decisions (ex. Jim Crow laws).
As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still did not discuss controversial issues such as divorce and sexual relations between young people. While many historians regard the 1950s as a time of true conservatism at its finest, it could really be considered a time of true progression in the American way of life.
From the outside, the 1950’s was a great time for America. Society revolved around the idea of America being a middle-class nation. Americans worshipped conformity, and materialism satisfied the need to conform. However, the prosperity of materialistic America hid the growing, numerous problems. Dissent in any way was not tolerated; all injustice was stifled by a fear of difference. In “Fifties Society,” Alan Brinkley discusses the truth of the era; that the fear of nonconformity was hidden by the seemingly prosperous middle-class nation. Brinkley argues the Beat movement and “feminine mystique” show that the people who did not fit in reveal the true colors of 1950’s society.
The 1950s seemed like a perfect decade. The rise of suburbs outside cities led to an expansion of the middle class, thus allowing more Americans to enjoy the luxuries of life. The rise of these suburbs also allowed the middle class to buy houses with land that used to only be owned by more wealthy inhabitants. Towns like Levittown-one of the first suburbs- were divided in such a way that every house looked the same (“Family Structures”). Any imperfections were looked upon as unfavorable to the community as a whole. Due to these values, people today think of the 1950s as a clean cut and model decade. This is a simplistic perception because underneath the surface, events that took place outside the United States actually had a direct effect on our own country’s history. The rise of Communism in Russia struck fear into the hearts of the American people because it seemed to challenge their supposedly superior way of life.
life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father, Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of this conflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.
I had a little bit of preparation by getting some useful information about the location of the theatre and most importantly about the history of the play including the playwright, the origination of the play, synopsis, and the year it was written and first performed. Preparing for the play in this way gave me an idea of what to expect and helped with my positive experience of the play itself. I entered the theatre about 15 minutes before time with the audience sitting and chit chatting