A Raisin in the Sun- Journal #2
By: Sarah Ko
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. Assimilation is one culture changing to become like another culture. I think this is important in A Raisin in the Sun because we are presented with two different opinions on assimilation. George accepts assimilation while Asagai and Beneatha does not. George wants to be accepted into white community so
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African Americans had been fighting against racial discrimination for centuries. Lorraine Hansberry was inspired by segregation and wanted to explore civil rights. She does this through her character Mr. Linder and the community of Clybourne Park. Mr. Linder, on behalf of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association, comes to the Youngers’ home to offer them a deal to leave the community. He doesn’t seem recognize that the Youngers are hard working people, and he also is confused why the Youngers don’t want to accept his offer. He finally admits that the Youngers “aren’t wanted” and that the community feels “threatened” (Page 119). I can’t help but notice that the Youngers raised Mr. Linder on a pedestal. I also found it comical when Mr. Linder appeared to be intimidated by the Youngers because they were African American. I think that this part of the play is my favorite scene so far. I was amazed by the Youngers’ persistence to keep their house when Mr. Linder offered them more money. The Youngers’ hopes and dreams fuels their passion to move into their new home, even though it is in an all white community. Through this scene, I learned that the power of having dreams is greater than isolation. I also think that the Youngers know that by moving into a new home, their dreams and desires will come close. Moving into a new house means a new beginning for them. Mr. Linder is an …show more content…
Even though this story took place in the 1950s, there racism and prejudice continue to exist in today’s society. Many people are still judged because of their race, age, family, sexual orientation, etc. Of course racism has become much better today, however, it still exists. Some Caucasians still feel strongly against racial equality. No matter how much people try to suppress it, there will always be people against it. The Youngers face this problem throughout the play and continue to overcome everything thrown at them. “We 've got to face the fact that some people say you fight fire best with fire, but we say you put fire out best with water. We say you don 't fight racism with racism. We 're gonna fight racism with solidarity” (Fred Hamptom). This quote explains that although we may be hurt by the racism and prejudice, we can’t treat the racists the same way they treat us. We can only fight racism and prejudice by overpowering people with our hopes and
This show takes place in the dilapidated, two-bedroom apartment of Walter and Ruth Younger, their son Travis, Walter’s mother Lena, also known as “Mama”, and his sister Beneatha. This award winning production of the 2014 revival of A Raisin In The Sun shows the talented Denzel Washington fill the shoes of Walter Younger, the story’s main character. He stars alongside LaTanya Richardson Jackson, who plays the part of Ruth. The 1859 classic depicting the lives of this African-American family’s life in South Side Chicago during the 1950s. Walter is barely getting by financially, due to his low income as a limousine driver, desperately has the desire to become wealthy--who doesn’t?. Walter plans to invest in his own liquor store which he will run alongside his good friend Willy, and plans to do so with his portion of his mother’s insurance check; did I mention that the check was for $10,000! Mama puts down money for a house --a house, in an all-white neighborhood, with a lawn, that her grandson will be able to play on. This has always been a dream of her and her husband, and now that he is gone, she only wants it more.
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.
Walter Younger is a good example of a dynamic character because he changes from being blindly in love with money and dreams to turning into an adult who can make life decisions. Walter still loves money, dreams big, and has a hateful attitude, but he figures out how to regulate it. The Younger family faced racial and housing discrimination and segregation, and they were able to overcome it and set up a better life for themselves. This quote by Margaret Atwood, a Canadian poet, is a good way of summing up the thoughts and beliefs of Walter and the play: “I hope that people will finally come to realize that there is only one ‘race’ - the human race - and that we are all members of it” (Atwood).
Everyone encounters struggle and “ain’t nobody bothering you” but yourself (1872). Many African Americans encounter hardships and conflict in their own lives because of their race. Before integration, not only were African Americans facing internal struggles but also the external struggles caused by prejudices. A Raisin in the Sun elaborates on the conflicts of African Americans when dealing with segregation, discrimination, and few opportunities to improve their lifestyle. Hansberry expresses her hardships as an African American woman without civil rights in the 1950’s through the Younger family and the decisions they make when confronting their own struggles.
Poverty doesn't have to effect the people's personalities that I consumes like most of the Youngers. Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha did not let being poor make them envy any one who had money. Walter on the other hand was sick of the way he and his family had to live. He was fed-up and was desperate to make money any way he could think of for his family.
Assimilation means adapting to a society or culture by learning there ways of life. In this case, for the immigrants based in the United States, assimilation is the key to being accepted as an American. In the early 1960s the U.S had formed strategies that limited the amount of immigrants coming into the country; this mostly favored the Europeans from the North. Later, the Immigration and Nationality Act was approved and this allowed more Asians, Africans and Latin Americans into the U.S. this resulted to an increase in influx of both illegal and legal immigrants allowed in the country.
The play has an example of the technique of foreshadowing when Ruth faints. This foreshadows her later announcement of her pregnancy. The unchangeable setting is considered as a motif. Although the actions that affect the family happen outside. Yet the audience never goes out of the Youngers house. Mama goes out to buy a house, Walter goes to drink and Bennie goes for dates. All these actions are not shown, but the characters go out and come back to tell what they did. By keeping the actions in their apartment only, this reinforces the idea that the family is trapped in their small house and their life is not changing. Hansberry also uses the look of the apartment to convey the situation of the family that they are worn out of this life. Especially when Hansberry says that the furniture is placed to cover worn spots in the rug (loos40).
Mama Younger has lived in the same ‘house’ for years, but not willingly. When finally presented with the chance of moving her family out of the small cramped room, she naturally takes it, only to soon realize the prices in the ‘colored neighborhoods’ are too overpriced. Seeing this, Mama then takes her search elsewhere and comes across a perfect house, the only problem being that it was in a white neighborhood. When the people in this neighborhood heard of the African American family moving into a house, they send a man named Linden to show their displeasure. “‘I want you to believe me when I tell you that race prejudice simply doesn’t enter into it. It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities.’”(pg 117) This quote suggests that the easiest thing the Younger family can do is to sell the house to avoid confrontation. Because of their ethnicity the Younger family is automatically rejected from the welcoming committee of Clybourne Park, even though Linden says race does not play a role in their decision to ask them to move
People go through a change when influences are made upon them. In the play, A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry published in 1959 focuses on what life was like for the Younger family during the 1950s. During this decade there was two sides, the good and the bad, like two sides of a coin, they’re different on each side but they’re one of the same kind. They faced many issues such as discrimination, unequal rights, and financial problems. Throughout the play the three characters who undergo change the most are Walter, Beneatha, and Mama.
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?
An Analysis of A Raisin In the Sun & nbsp; "A Raisin In The Sun" is a play written by an African-American playwright - Lorraine Hansberry. It was first produced in 1959. Lorraine Hansberry's work is about a black family in the Chicago South Side. the Second World War. The family consisted of Mama(Lena Younger), Walter.
Lena's husband, the family's father died and his life insurance brings the family $ 10,000. Everyone, especially the children, are waiting for the payment of life insurance in the cash. Now the question is whether the money should be invested in a medical school for the daughter, in a deal for the son or other dreams. But after the death of her husband Lena Younger gets the insurance money and buys a new house, where the whole family is going to move. It would seem that a dream came true. But soon we learn that the area, where the family purchased the house, is full of white people who do not want to see African-Americans in the neighborhood. The Youngers are trying to survive the threats or bribes, but they manage to maintain a sense of dignit...
Lorraine Hansberry in her play, “Raisin in the Sun”, attempted to explain the feelings of the average African American Male in the 1940s. This persona, which is portrayed in the character Walter, had experienced a severe feeling of depression and hopelessness. In order to understand this source of grievance, one must relate back to the Great Migration and the dreams it promised and the reasons why many African Americans sought to move to the North. A desire to achieve freedom from racial injustices and poverty was the prime factor that encouraged Blacks to abandon the south. However, these dreams where soon crushed as African American noticed that Northern whites had still maintained unequal segregation and where as stumbling block to Black advancement. The consequences of a “dream deferred”, as Langston Hughes called it, was dependency on others, alcohol addiction, as well as dysfunctional families.
For example, in the text, it states, “You people must be aware of some of the incidents in various parts of the city when colored people have moved into certain areas”. (Hansberry 389). With this statement, it shows that even after segregation ended in 1948 by President Truman that whites were not willing to accept change. Mr. Linder is referring to the racial violence between blacks and whites until the 1960’s when blacks were considered colored. Overcrowded living conditions and not much room for change arise in Hansberry play, which shows the racial discrimination among the Youngers and the average American black family. The census of the 1940’s and the 1950’s showed that over 50,000 units were overcrowded and ruled unlivable. “At the moment, an overwhelming majority of people out there feels that people get along better when they share a common background”. (Hansberry 389). This is Mr. Linder’s way of trying to nonchalantly say that the majority of the people in his neighborhood don’t want to live near blacks. African Americans have faced multiple disadvantages during the 1950’s. They were discriminated from homes, public affairs, and restaurants. In Hansberry play, Mr. Linder stated, “Believe me that race prejudice simply doesn’t enter into”. (Hansberry 390). This is stating that they do not want to openly admit that race is the main
The social inequality which the Younger's encounter also does not hinder Mama's compassion. Mr. Lindner temporarily shatters Mama's dream of owning a home when he comes to the Youngers prepared to give them money to move from Clybourne Park. The derogatory use of "you people" by Mr. Lindner has little to no effect on Mama's steadfast decision to move to Clybo...