“Choices made, whether bad or good, follow you forever and affect everyone in their path one way or another.” J.E.B. Spredemann. The theme I chose to analyze is choices and consequences. For this type of writing assignment, I’ve decided to choose the following readings. The poem titled Harlem was written by Langston Hughes in 1951. I also choose to write about the play A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry. My reason for choosing the poem as well as the play. While doing research, its noted that Lorraine Hansberry took the title of the story. From a line in Langston Hughes poem “Harlem”. Both readings were written in a time of immense promise and hopefulness. But they also both deal with choices and endurance of consequences from …show more content…
This family of five lives in a small apartment on the south side of Chicago. In the story, its described as “a comfortable and well-ordered room… furnishings are typical and undistinguished and their primary feature now is that they have clearly had to accommodate the living of too many people for too many years... and they are tired.” The apartment consists of two rooms. The first room, “shared by mama and her daughter Beneatha. The second room serving as a bedroom for Walter and his wife Ruth… leaving Travis to sleep on the sofa” In this story, the family dreamed to live what is known as the American dream. But yet there is one thing that is preventing them from obtaining that dream. That one things are choices. Due to choices that some of the main characters have made, causing the family less of a chance at living the American …show more content…
Now whether or not the choices we make lead to a happy ending or not. It all depends on what choice we make. Just like the poem Harlem and the play a raisin in the sun. They both were written in a time of immense promise and hopefulness. When looking more into the meaning of the writing they both deal with choices and endurance of consequences from that choice. In the play, Lorraine Hansberry created a main character that goes by the name Walter. Whom is known for his character having dreams. However, Walter also would make wrongful choices when working toward those dreams. Which often effected his family in the negative consequences of his actions. However, Lorraine Hansberry expressed that no matter how Walter acted his family still love and supported
Everyone wants their dreams to become a reality; however, the unfortunate reality is that more often than not, dreams are not achieved and become deferred. Langston Hughes let this theme ring throughout his poetic masterpiece “Harlem,” in which he posed many questions about what happens to these dreams. In “A Raisin In the Sun,” Lorraine Hansberry draws so many indisputable parallels from “Harlem.” Hansberry consistently uses the dreams of Mama Younger, Big Walter, and Walter Lee to allude to Hughes poem. The intensity of the dreams coupled with the selfishness of some characters eventually adds an abundant amount of emotional strain to the family, once again demonstrating Hansberry’s dedication to Hughes poem.
Lauren Oliver once said, “I guess that’s just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up” (Good Reads). This quote connects very well to the play, A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry. The quote conveys the message that if one loves someone, one must give things up. A Raisin in the Sun is about an African-American family living in the south side of Chicago in the 1950s. The Younger family is a lower-class family that has been struggling to make their dreams come true. One of the character’s in the play named Walter Lee has been struggling to make his dreams come true. Walter’s changes that are shown tie to the quote written by Lauren Oliver. The changes that are seen in Walter Lee throughout the book, A Raisin in the Sun, reflects the theme that one must sacrifice something for the love and happiness of one’s family.
How would you feel if your freedom was halted by the color of your skin? A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Langston Hughes’ poems both capture racial identity, pride, and dreams. Walter, a character in A Raisin in the Sun, relates to those in the poems of Hughes.
“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” This quote from Walt Disney addressing the concept of achieving dreams is very accurate, and can be seen throughout literature today and in the past. Dreams can give people power or take away hope, and influence how people live their lives based upon whether they have the determination to attack their dreams or not; as seen through characters like the speaker in Harlem by Langston Hughes and Lena and Walter Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in The Sun.
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.
In Langston Hughes’ poem, the author gives us vivid examples of how dreams get lost in the weariness of everyday life. The author uses words like dry, fester, rot, and stink, to give us a picture of how something that was originally intended for good, could end up in defeat. Throughout the play, I was able to feel how each character seemed to have their dreams that fell apart as the story went on. I believe the central theme of the play has everything to do with the pain each character goes thru after losing control of the plans they had in mind. I will attempt to break down each character’s dream and how they each fell apart as the play went on.
Langston Hughes's stories deal with and serve as a commentary of conditions befalling African Americans during the Depression Era. As Ostrom explains, "To a great degree, his stories speak for those who are disenfranchised, cheated, abused, or ignored because of race or class." (51) Hughes's stories speak of the downtrodden African-Americans neglected and overlooked by a prejudiced society. The recurring theme of powerlessness leads to violence is exemplified by the actions of Sargeant in "On the Road", old man Oyster in "Gumption", and the robber in "Why, You Reckon?"
Overall, "A Raisin in the Sun" affected me in an enormously positive way. The contents of this essay do not even touch what the real experience was like. It not only provided an insight into a family's life in the 1950s, but also shaped a window into their personal lives. Spanning over only a couple of weeks, the play powerfully dove into the details and drama of the Younger's lives. With talented theatrical performances and a wonderful script, "A Raisin in the Sun" gave the audience much more than just an insight into the lives of African Americans, it let the audience live it.
What is a dream deferred? Is it something children imagine and lose as they grow up. Do dreams ever die, as we find out, the world is it what it seems. The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Harlem by Langston Hughes talk about dreams deferred. It shows a African American family struggling to make their dreams a reality. Although Walter, Ruth, Mama, and Beneatha live in the same house, their dreams are all different from each other.
In ‘A Raisin in the Sun’, Lorraine Hansberry describes each of the family’s dreams and how they are deferred. In the beginning of the play Lorraine Hansberry chose Langston Hughes’s poem to try describe what the play is about and how, in life, dreams can sometimes be deferred.
In life, we are often confronted with boundaries created by society and ourselves. In our limited understanding of what those boundaries represent, we find ourselves confined by our ego. Racism and prejudices have plagued society for many years, and many of us have been judged and condemned for expressing our true selves. How long must it take for us all to be accepted as beautiful beings, all perfectly capable of greatness and joy?
In Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun, the author reveals a hard-working, honest African-American family struggling to make their dreams come true. Langston Hughes' poem, "Harlem," illustrates what could happen if those dreams never came to fruition. Together, both Hansberry and Hughes show the effects on human beings when a long-awaited dream is thwarted by economic and social hardships.
In the movie Unbroken, Louis Zamperini wants to be a good runner and soldier. Every single race he has won. His dream was to be really good. Then he started getting in tough races. Once he got in the olympics he was determined to overcome all these obstacles and was confident of winning. Also When he was stranded in the middle of the ocean he didn't fear but kept thinking of ways to survive. Louie is presented with the same kind of circumstances as Walter and the speaker of the poem but Louis had positive outcomes. In the poem, “A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes and the play , A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, both the speaker of the poem and Walter(from the play) struggle with not achieving their dreams, thus revealing that a
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.
Everyday people chase their dreams and some succeed while others do not. For those who do not reach their dreams a lesson is learned. In Lorraine Hansberry’s, A Raisin In The Sun, we read that the Younger family is a low income family that faces racism and discrimination everyday and the only thing that is keeping them going is the hope that one day they will reach their dreams and create a better future for their children. In Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun, she uses the Younger family to show that as individuals strive to reach their dreams they often disregard the aspirations of others, but they may eventually learn to support one another in attempt to better their lives.