A Raisin in the Sun Essay Topics Breeze Carpenter. In the movie "A Raisin in the Sun," assimilation plays a significant role in the lives of the Younger family. As African Americans living in a predominantly white society, the characters constantly grapple with the idea of assimilating into mainstream culture in order to achieve success and acceptance. Walter Lee Younger, the head of the household, is particularly focused on assimilation as a means of improving his family's socioeconomic status. He dreams of owning a liquor store and making enough money to provide a better life for his family. However, the pressure to conform to societal expectations ultimately leads to conflict within the family. As the Youngers navigate their individual desires and …show more content…
The title of A Raisin in the Sun relates to the dreams of each main character in a powerful and poignant way.Just like a raisin left out in the sun loses its moisture and shrivels up, each of the main characters in the play face obstacles and challenges that threaten to diminish their hopes and aspirations. Walter dreams of owning a successful business and providing a better life for his family, but finds his dreams being slowly crushed under the weight of financial insecurity and societal expectations. Beneatha dreams of becoming a doctor and defying the gender and racial expectations of her time, but faces discrimination and doubt at every turn. Each character's dreams, like raisins exposed to the harsh rays of reality, are at risk of withering away. The title serves as a powerful reminder of the fragility of dreams and the struggles faced by those who dare to chase them.Votal theme that drives the narrative forward. In Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun, money plays a significant role in shaping the lives of the characters. For Mama, money represents security and stability. She desires to use the insurance money to buy a house for
Throughout Act 2, we can see the development of the characters. Beneatha continues to find her identity by appreciating her African heritage. Walter becomes depressed when Lena buys the house and fails to realize that Lena did something for the family to become whole again. However, I believe that Act 2 focuses more on assimilation, Walter’s childishness, and Mr. Linder and the community’s racism.
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry tells the story of the Youngers, a family of lower class blacks who are trying to move up in the world. They are given an opportunity to do so when the grandfather’s inheritance is the sent in the mail. However, each family member has a separate agenda for the money they will receive. The play gets its title from the poem “A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes. In the poem, Hughes asks what happens to a dream deferred and one of the theories he proposes says, “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”. Each of the similes detailed in the poem correlate with a character from the play. Ruth is the wife of Walter Lee, the son of the man who died, and represents the simile which states, “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.” This description is most clearly
A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry. The primary focus of the play is the American Dream. The American Dream is one’s conception of a better life. Each of the main characters in the play has their own idea of what they consider to be a better life. A Raisin in the Sun emphasizes the importance of dreams regardless of the various oppressive struggles of life.
Throughout a Raisin in the Sun, Each family member has their own pursuit of happiness, which is accompanied by their American Dream. Mama wants to have a better quality of life for her family. Beneatha aspires to be a successful Doctor and an Independent woman. Walter wants to invest in a liquor store and live in luxury. In A Rasin in the Sun, we see that each character goes through their own struggles and frustrations to accomplish their American Dream, but in the end, they all find their happiness within in each other unified as a family.
“A Raisin in the Sun” is set at in an area where racism was still occurring. Blacks were no longer separated but they were still facing many racial problems. The black Younger family faced these problems throughout the play. The entire family was affected in their own way. The family has big dreams and hope to make more of their poor lives. Walter, the main character, is forced to deal with most of the issues himself. Ruth, his wife, and Travis, his ten-year-old son, really don’t have say in matters that he sets his mind to. Beneatha, his sister tries to get her word in but is often ignored. Lena (Mama) is Walter’s mother and is very concerned about her family. She tries to keep things held together despite all of the happenings. Mama’s husband had just recently died so times seemed to be even harder. They all live in a small apartment when living space is very confined (Hansberry 1731). They all have dreams in which they are trying to obtain, but other members of the family seem to hold back each other from obtaining them (Decker).
Our environment shapes our personalities and decisions in all aspects, one way or the other. This is also true for fictional characters in books. The author of A Raisin in the Sun described the play to be set in southside Chicago during the 1950s. This setting in A Raisin in the Sun created by Lorraine Hansberry creates an outline of characteristics for Walter, Beneatha, and Mama to exhibit throughout the play.
A Raisin in the Sun The creativity of Hansberry played a crucial role in the development of African-American drama since the Second World War. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play by an African-American author to be set on Broadway and was honored by the circle of New York theater critics. Drama of A Raisin in the Sun (1959) brought Hansberry to the Society of New York Critics Award as the best play of the year. A Raisin in the Sun shows the life of an ordinary African-American family who dreams of happiness and their desire to achieve their dream.
A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry is realistic fictional drama in which the play 's title and the character represent the play 's theme. The play focused on Black America 's Struggle to reach the American Dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness during the 1950s and the 1960s. The idea of everyone having the chance to achieve a better life should exist for all. Hansberry conceives her title using a line from Langston Hughes poem “A dream deferred”. The original poem was written in 1951 about Harlem. Hughes’ line from the poem state that when dreams are deferred “Does it dry up like a Raisin in the Sun”. This meant that they describe them as being small and already pretty withered. Hughes poem further suggested that when
A Raisin in the Sun follows the events of an African-American family living in Chicago during the 50’s. It becomes apparent from the first scene that the family has financial issues. Walter who is discontent with his living situation, believes that an insurance check that his mother will be receiving will solve all of the families problems and allow for a better life. Mama uses a fraction of the check to purchase a house in a all white neighborhood. A representative of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association comes to visit the Youngers and offers to buy back their house at a financial gain and insists that Clybourne is no place for an African-American family. Meanwhile, Walter had already lost the rest of the insurance money ($6500) to his friend Willy Harris who runs away with the money leaving Walter and his family at a loss. This is particularly devastating because the money represents Mama’s husbands entire life of hard work as a laborer. In the end of this story, the Youngers are genuinely more happy and optimistic that they can live more fulfilling lives. The Youngers problem is one that exists in modern day families of the United States. Money management is a physiological issue between spouses and families.
Though American citizens are recognized as adults at the age of eighteen, human brains take much longer to fully develop. The play A Raisin in the Sun takes place in the apartment of the Youngers, an African American family struggling with financial issues during the 1950’s. Walter’s father has recently passed away, and Mama receives a life insurance check for his death. Walter and Mama share their cramped apartment with Walter’s sister Beneatha, his wife, Ruth, and their son, Travis. Walter works as a chauffeur and Ruth does domestic chores for rich, white families. They do not have many opportunities for better jobs or higher quality education, but Beneatha attends college classes in hopes of becoming a doctor. Walter’s job as a chauffeur
A Raisin in the Sun is a set in 1950s after the Second World War which was an age of great racism and materialistic in America. It is about a black family living in south side of Chicago and struggling through family and economic hardships, facing the issues of racism, discrimination, and prejudice. The family consists of Lena Younger known as Mama; Walter Lee Younger who is an intense man, Ruth Younger who is wife of Walter Lee, Travis Younger who is son of Ruth and Walter, and Beneatha Younger who is Walter’s younger sister. The whole family lives in a two bed room apartment and don’t have money to live a better life. youngers are tired from their struggle to ...
A Raisin in the Sun is basically about dreams, as the main characters struggle to deal with the oppressive circumstances that rule their lives. The Youngers struggle to attain these dreams throughout the play, and much of their happiness and depression is directly related to their attainment of, or failure to attain, these dreams. By the end of the play, they learn that the dream of a house is the most important dream because it unites the family.
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?
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about segregation, triumph, and coping with personal tragedy. Set in Southside Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the individual dreams of the Younger family and their personal achievement. The Younger's are an African American family besieged by poverty, personal desires, and the ultimate struggle against the hateful ugliness of racism. Lena Younger, Mama, is the protagonist of the story and the eldest Younger. She dreams of many freedoms, freedom to garden, freedom to raise a societal-viewed equal family, and freedom to live liberated of segregation. Next in succession is Beneatha Younger, Mama's daughter, assimilationist, and one who dreams of aiding people by breaking down barriers to become an African American female doctor. Lastly, is Walter Lee Younger, son of Mama and husband of Ruth. Walter dreams of economic prosperity and desires to become a flourishing businessman. Over the course of Walter's life many things contributed to his desire to become a businessman. First and foremost, Walter's father had a philosophy that no man should have to do labor for another man. Being that Walter Lee was a chauffeur, Big Walter?s philosophy is completely contradicted. Also, in Walter?s past, he had the opportunity to go into the Laundromat business which he chose against. In the long run, he saw this choice was fiscally irresponsible this choice was. In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee's dreams, which are his sole focus, lead to impaired judgement and a means to mend his shattered life.
The late 1950s was filled with racial discriminations. There was still sections living as well as public signs of Colored and Whites. Blacks and Whites were not for any change or at least not yet. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, tells a story of a black family that is struggling to gain a middle class acceptance in Chicago. The family of five, one child and four adults live in a tiny apartment that is located in a very poor area. Dreams of owning a business and having money to accomplish goals is two key parts played out throughout the whole play. Walter Younger is determined to have his own business and he will go to ends met to see that dream come true. Financial bridges are crossed and obstacles arise when Walter makes a bad decision regarding money that could have help the family and not only himself, if he would have thought smarter. His pride and dignity are tested throughout the story and he is forced to setup for his family. The Raisin in the Sun helps readers to understand history of racial discrimination and how racial discrimination has an effect on the people in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as how that has an effect on the characters within the play.