A Raisin In The Sun Self Identity Essay

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Self-Identity through Dance and Idealism: Reviews from Yi-Chin Shih and David Cooper One of the most notable African American play writes can arguably be considered “A Raisin in the Sun,” by Lorraine Hansberry. Lorraine shows you a personal glimpse into the lives of a proud black family attempting to overcome adversity in the present day, of which the play occurs. Many individuals have reviewed her play and provided different meanings and plots behind Hansberry’s play. Yi-Chin Shih sees Hansberry’s play as self-identity through two specific dance scenes. While David Cooper sees Hansberry’s play as idealism between two specific characters. In this paper, I will show contrasting examples of the scholarly reviews I choose and their different …show more content…

Shih feels again that this dance depicts direct correlation to the Younger’s African Roots. She indicates that “The dance is also characterized by dragging of the feet, which is one important trait in African dance” (280). Here is again indicating that the dancing that occurs in the play is directly related to ancestral roots and that this is specific to their self-identity. I struggle with this conclusion as I felt that it was a bonding experience between a husband and a wife. More so a husbands triumph of feeling success and power, which he so greatly wanted throughout the …show more content…

Shih feels that there are two pivotal parts in the play, centered on dancing, that involves self-identity. She focuses her sole review around these two dances and I believe fails to see the play in its entirety. David Cooper however, focuses his review on idealism and overcoming adversity throughout the play. He comments on specific scenes in the play, but I believe he captures the overall feeling that readers and watchers of the play see. He has a deeper understanding of the meaning of the play. While both bring up great points and I can see the self-identity that the play has, I believe the bigger picture is more closely related to David Coopers

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