A Raisin In The Sun Symbolism Analysis

Vincent Graziano
Ms. Punting
English III Honors- 5th(E) Period
9 May 2016
Symbolism in A Raisin in the Sun
Symbols are often employed in order to highlight the theme of a play. Playwright Lorraine Hansberry uses several symbols in her 1959 play, A Raisin in the Sun. Though there are several symbols used throughout the play, Hansberry uses three main symbols to convey her messages. The three main symbols seen in A Raisin in the Sun are the breakfast eggs, the new house and garden, and Mama's plant.
In Act I, Ruth tells Walter to eat his eggs after Walter begins to talk about his idea for owning a liquor store and how Ruth needs to support him more. The eggs symbolize the acceptance of the adversity faced in everyday life by the Youngers and Ruth's mundane approach to supporting Walter. Several times at the beginning of the first scene of the first act, Ruth shuts Walter's ideas out by telling him to eat his eggs. Walter points out that

this is always Ruth's answer and criticizes her and talks of how adverse his life is by saying that "Man say to his woman: I got me a dream. His woman say: Eat your eggs. Man say to his woman: I got to get ahold of this world, baby! And a woman will say: Eat your eggs and go to work. Man say: I got to change my life, I'm choking to death, baby! And his woman say- Your eggs is getting cold!"(Hansberry 494-495). Ruth again tells Walter to eat his eggs, showing that she is used to having this conversation and her answer is always the same boring reply. Walter shows that he has finally become tired of this routine and he is seeking to change the family's situation by exclaiming, "-DAMN MY EGGS- DAMN ALL THE EGGS THAT EVER WAS!"(495). Walter never eats his eggs, showing with finality that he is done with accepting the hardships of life, and he is going to do something to change it.
At the beginning of Act II, Mama proudly and excitedly exclaims to the family that she has put a down payment on a new, larger house with a garden in the all-white neighborhood of Clybourne Park. This new house and garden symbolize the great courage, growth, and hope experienced by the Younger's throughout the play. The house symbolizes courage because, according to Ruth, "there ain't no colored people living in Clybourne Park"(Hansberry 536). The courage symbolized by this new house is seen again when the Youngers are still determined to move despite their neighbor, Mrs. Johnson, talking to Ruth and Mama about a colored family who was bombed out of their house and how she imagines the same may happen to them within a month(541-542). The new house and garden represents growth because Mama talks about her plans for a garden, just as she has feelings that the new residency will encourage the family to grow more. The house represents hope because the Youngers believe that their lives will get better in different ways after moving (537).
Mama's plant is seen throughout A Raisin in the Sun, but is most prominent in Act III.

Mama's plant symbolizes her family and the African American community during this time period. Just as the plant is sickly and dying in Acts I and II, so too is the Younger family dynamic. At the end of Act III, however, the plant begins to look healthier after getting some sun, just like the family does after deciding to move and standing up to Mr. Lindner's possible threat. At the end of the play, after everyone exits the apartment, Mama "comes back in, grabs the plant, and leaves for the last time"(Hansberry 577), symbolizing that the family has moved on from the dark, sickly times of their past to a brighter, healthier day future. The plant also symbolizes the African American community during this time period. Just as the plant struggles to flourish and must live with limited opportunities for sunlight, the African American community in the early- to mid-20th Century struggled to flourish and was plagued by limited access to

opportunity.
Lorraine Hansberry uses the symbols of Walter's eggs, the new house and garden, and Mama's plant to convey a strong message to her audience. She shows that no matter how sad and mundane a situation may be, it can always change for the better. Though A Raisin the Sun has many symbols, these three are the most prominent. Hansberry was also correct with her message, the African American community, like Mama's plant, has moved on from the dark, oppressive times of the past to a brighter, more opportunistic future.