Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
What is the issue with the play a raisin in the sun
Comparison/contrast in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Comparison/contrast in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: What is the issue with the play a raisin in the sun
When faced with the decision to go one way or the other, people tend to hit a stalemate. When given an option it can be tough to decide what to do, but this can clear things up. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin In The Sun, the reader is introduced to the younger family, a poor colored family in 1950’s chicago, that is expecting a life insurance check and the struggles that come with deciding what to do with it. Mama younger and Walter younger buck heads when trying to get what they want but come together in the end. With this play came a movie adaptation,directed by Kenny Leon, and it is somewhat similar and somewhat different. Although the play and movie have some similarities, it is the differences that really take priority. Starting off, …show more content…
One of the differences is that the tone is much different. The book gives you this dark tone throughout the play, but the movie is much more bright and lighthearted when put next to the play. Another difference is the background. When you read the play you have to rely on your imagination to come up with the scene but that can be difficult. The movie provides proper lighting, music, and setting. And the final and arguably most important difference is the scene changes. In the movie scenes are added like seeing ruth at the hair salon, walter at work, and mama at the store. While these scenes are short they really do help set the pace for the movie help make it better,however it doesn’t include the mrs. Johnson scene which was fairly significant. Even still it can be inferred that the movie has more to offer and even takes less time to go over. While the play was the original and was very good, the movie adaptation just paints a better picture. It includes more and helps the viewer understand the mood of the scenes which the play cannot. The differences are much more significant when comparing and contrasting the
For example, Mama goes to the bank in the movie and is given a hard time about paying her mortgage, but this did not happen in the book. Another major difference is that the school bus scene, where the Logan kids played a trick on the white kids, was not shown in the movie, even though it was an important part of the story. There are some character changes as well. Lillian Jean, Jeremy, R.W, and Melvin are Simms’ in the book, but in the movie they are Kaleb Wallace’s children. However, the main plot difference is how the movie starts in the middle, summarizing everything from the first part of the book very briefly. Additionally, many scenes are switched around and placed out of order. Altogether, the plot and character changes contribute to my unfavorable impression of the
In life there are always going to be ups and downs, good and bad times, because families go through extensive amounts of arguments. Within the play A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, there are a few complications that the Younger family face. Moreover, the main complications occur between Lena Younger (Mama) and Walter Lee Younger (the son of Mama). Throughout the play, the biggest complication they face is how to spend Walter Lee Senior’s life insurance money. The Younger family goes through several challenging times; however, the family shows that no matter what, everyone should stick together.
There is other little differences that I noticed added to the story that were in the movie and not the play. There are several scenes where Mother superior is interacting with Sister Veronica. Because of some of these scenes you see another side of Sister Aloysius that presents a more compassionate lady not so wrapped up in doubt. Although Sister Aloysius comes off as a strict woman that really has no sympathy for anyone or anything, which kind of makes you question how the heck she ended up as a nun. In the movie you can clearly see that she has a softer side and actually is hiding behind that tough façade she puts up.
Overall, the movie and book have many differences and similarities, some more important than others. The story still is clear without many scenes from the book, but the movie would have more thought in it.
You ever wonder how money can effect and change your life? A great example is a play called A Raisin in the Sun, the play was writing by Lorraine Hansberry. The play debuted On Broadway in 1959. The play is narrates the life of an African American Family living in Chicago in the 1950s. The family is about to receive an insurance check for 10,000. This money comes from the dead of the Mr. Youngers for his life insurance. But who would have known this money would cause the family so many problems. During the play the Youngers faced racial problems, conflicts between each other but they all have dreams in which they are trying to obtain but sadly some of the family members are making difficult for them.
Each version also has the main characters boarding up the windows. Anyone who thought the birds won’t attack are usually found dead, but in the movie they are found with their eyes pecked out. Also, both the story and the movie have REALLY bad endings! They aren’t very similar, but they both leave you hanging. When you see a movie or read a book you want to know what happens to the main characters. In these two, you didn’t get an ending. They left you hanging and for some people that ruins it all.
Even though south side chicago had a low amount of hope, the characters of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Walter, Beneatha, and Mama found a way to dream big. It led them to doing what they thought was right, eventually molding Walter into a greedy man during most of the play, Beneatha into an aspiring woman that demands respect, and Mama into an improvising woman who loves her
Moving onto the significant differences between the two. Imagery, body language, mood, and tone are all important literature elements that could be portrayed better in the film. This is due to the fact that the (written) play depends more on imagination. On the other hand, the film relies more on the audience’s senses. Tom's and Amanda relationship occurred to be stronger in the movie than it was explained in the play. The atmosphere in the movie is rather ill and boring than it is in the play. When it comes to lighting, it was more dim in the play to reflect a memory. In the film, it wasn't as dimmed because the memory could be reflected in different ways. Moreover, images, that were flashed in a screen device, did not exist in the film. In the movie, the atmosphere was more boring and ill than it was in the play.
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, where she and Walter Lee's wife Ruth and son Travis barely fit together inside. Lena's husband, the family's father, died and his life insurance brings the family $10,000.
Another major difference in the mood of the play and the movie is in the funeral
In the words of Jim Cocola and Ross Douthat, Hansberry wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun to mimic how she grew up in the 1930s. Her purpose was to tell how life was for a black family living during the pre-civil rights era when segregation was still legal (spark notes). Hansberry introduces us to the Youngers’, a black family living in Chicago’s Southside during the 1950s pre-civil rights movement. The Younger family consists of Mama, who is the head of the household, Walter and Beneatha, who are Mama’s children, Ruth, who is Walter’s wife, and Travis, who is Walter and Ruth’s son. Throughout the play the Youngers’ address poverty, discrimination, marital problems, and abortion. Mama is waiting on a check from the insurance company because of the recent passing of her husband. Throughout the play Walter tries to convince Mama to let him invest the money in a liquor store. Beneatha dreams of becoming a doctor while embracing her African heritage, and Ruth just found out that she is pregnant and is struggling to keep her marriage going. The Youngers’ live in a very small apartment that is falling apart because of the wear and tear that the place has endured over the years. Mama dreams of having her own house and ends up using part of the insurance money for a down payment on a house in an up-scale neighborhood. The Youngers’ meet Mr. Lindner, who is the head of the welcoming committee. Mr. Lindner voices the community’s concerns of the Youngers’ moving into their neighborhood. Is the play A Raisin in the Sun focused on racial or universal issues?
The most important difference in the plot is that the memories that Jonas received were different. For example, in the movie, the first memory of pain that Jonas received was a bee sting. However, in the book, the first memory of pain was a sunburn. Another big difference is that the Chief Elder was portrayed as the main antagonist in the movie. She took many steps to keep the memories contained while in the book, the Chief Elder was rarely mentioned in the search for Jonas.
The movie only narrates at the very beginning of the movie setting the entire movie differently. This aside, the movie also had a different advantage over showing emotion by being able to show facial expressions and tones of voice. The book had none of these because it really could have none. Another massive difference is that the unfairness of the darker skinned people is only shown during the court scenes. Also, some of the characters seemed to act a bit different.
Many variations have been reproduced based on her diary. After watching the movie and reading the play, I believe that the movie was more impactful than the play. There are many similarities and differences between the play and the movie. One similarity
On the other hand, the play was in reality, so everything we saw felt more realistic. The movie was better because of the special effects it had. However, the play was also good because of it being in reality, meaning you could really interact with the character's more.