In the 1870s Jim Crow laws were introduced in the Southeastern United States. These laws introduced the idea of "separate but equal" living, meaning the equality of races, but were recommended to be kept separate and not mixed. These laws had then been abolished in 1954, yet still, in the present day, there are hints of discrimination towards the ‘minorities’. Every American citizen is filled with the ambition to be able to succeed in life and see gain what they have dreamed of. Yet, to some people, this ambition is dimed and suppressed due to discrimination. In a famous playwright, A Raisin in the Sun, the author Lorraine Hansberry portrays a family who goes through all of these troubles in which they push for their fruition. Everyone does …show more content…
Shown through the writings of Hansberry, the play depicts these acts of discrimination with Mr. Linder trying to persuade the Younger family to not buy a house in a neighborhood with a ‘white’ majority. All around them are signs showing that African American people are dangerous and should be avoided. In a news report it had stated, “(... each word of the headline she can see in front of her) ‘NEGROES INVADE CLYBOURNE PARK- BOMBED!’”(84). By projecting this news would be ‘killing a bird with two stones’, making the ‘whites’ fear the African Americans, and the African Americans fear of being shunned by their presence amongst the white neighborhood. This would further put the majority race opposed to the idea of living with or even near these people. An outside source also presents more evidence on how discrimination continues in the present world. In an article writing about housing discrimination they expose that, “...real estate agents and rental housing providers recommend and show fewer available homes and apartments to minorities than equally qualified whites”(Exposing Housing Discrimination 3). This publication of this information presents the truth behind the differing for the minority vs the majority races when it comes to housing. People of the majority race may discriminate the minority for their color their stereotypes of being
One of the first ideas mentioned in this play, A Raisin In the Sun, is about money. The Younger's end up with no money because of Walter's obsession with it. When Walter decides not to take the extra money he is offered it helps prove Hansberry's theme. Her theme is that money can't buy happiness. This can be seen in Walter's actions throughout the play.
The play depicts the feelings and thoughts of the people of their time. Their feelings are different then what we see today in our lives. The family had to deal with poverty and racism. Not having enough money and always being put down because of the color of their skin held them back from having a lot of self-respect and dignity. I think that Mama was the one who had the most pride and held the family together.
A Raisin in the Sun In the book “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, there were characters whose dreams were stated, some of which were shattered by greed and misfortune and others which would eventually come true. The first dream that came about was Walter’s dream of one day owning and maintaining a liquor store. He would do anything to attempt to get his dream to come true, but his mama wanted anything but that to happen. His mama had a dream of her own, though, she dreamed of one day owning her own house, where her whole family could stay comfortably.
The civil rights movement brought enlightenment towards the abolishment of segregation laws. Although the laws are gone does segregation still exist in fact? “What happens to a dream deferred, does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?'; said, in a poem by Langston Huges. The story, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry showed segregation and its affects upon all races. This essay will show how Assimilationists and New Negroes fought for their own identity in the mid twentieth century. Whether they were being true to themselves or creating carbon copies of oppression was determined by one’s view upon society.
Throughout Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, we see the positive and negative effects of chasing the American Dream. Hansberry expresses her different views on the American Dream through the characters and she portrays the daily struggles of a 1950 black family throughout A Raisin in the Sun. In this play, she is able to effectively show the big impact that even small decisions can make on a family. Hansberry shows the many different attachments that come with the fulfillment of this American Dream. Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, each family member has their own pursuit of happiness, which is accompanied by their American Dream.
Does the name Jim Crow ring a bell? Neither singer nor actor, but actually the name for the Separate but Equal (Jim Crow) Laws of the 1900s. Separate but Equal Laws stated that businesses and public places had to have separate, but equal, facilities for minorities and Caucasian people. Unfortunately, they usually had different levels of maintenance or quality. Lasting hatred from the civil war, and anger towards minorities because they took jobs in the north probably set the foundation for these laws, but it has become difficult to prove. In this essay, I will explain how the Separate but Equal Laws of twentieth century America crippled minorities of that time period forever.
A Raisin in the Sun In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry portrays obstacles that the Younger family and other African Americans had to face and over come during the post World War 2 era. Obstacles that had to be over come by the Youngers were economical, moral, social, and racist obstacles. Lorraine Hansberry, the author of the play had to face one of these as well growing up. Born in Chicago on the south side in an all black neighborhood, Lorraine Hansberry and her family had to deal with segregation.
Lorraine Hansberry is the author of the play A Raisin in the Sun. This play is very significant because it was the first play written by a black playwright to win the Best Play of the Year Award. Another interesting point about the play is the title. The title A Raisin in the Sun also refers to Langston Hughes poem Harlem. In many ways Langston Hughes’ poem relates to Lorraine Hansberry’s play. In the play a family of black Americans have a chance to move ahead in the cruel prejudiced world. Lorraine Hansberry shows the frustrations that occur when one’s dreams are deferred. The Younger family in the play experiences these times of misery when those dreams are broken.
Dream’s Recovered Everyone has dreams; everyone has goals they want to accomplish. Some know what it is instantly, and some take time to realize what they want to do. But not everyone will achieve their dreams and some, because of sad circumstances, lose their grip on their dreams and fall into a state of disappointment. Langston Hughes poem relates to the dreams of Mama, Ruth, and Walter in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun.
The chasing of a mirage is a futile quest where an individual chases an imaginary image that he or she wants to capture. The goal of this impossible quest is in sight, but it is unattainable. Even with the knowledge that failure is inevitable, people still dream of catching a mirage. There is a fine line that separates those who are oblivious to this fact, and to those who are aware and accept this knowledge. The people who are oblivious represent those who are ignorant of the fact that their dream will be deferred. This denial is the core of the concept used in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. The perception of the American Dream is one that is highly subjective, but every individual dream ends in its own deferment.
Jim Crow laws separated colored people from whites and forced them to inferior living conditions as well as denying black’s equal economic opportunities. Many laws were put in place to keep blacks separated from whites and when they were together, the engagements were closely regulat...
Racial discrimination still lives in this country, especially in the housing market. This has become a major concern for racial minorities. The issues prevalence and persistence has created an almost overwhelming amount of socio-economic issues within racial minorities. This issue in particular has sparked many disputes on the topic of racism and whether it is even still an occurring issue. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has conducted several studies which revealed that discriminatory acts between potential home buyers and the property seller are still persistent. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, HUD conducted a test to see if these claims were viable: “[The test consisted of] well- qualified white and minority (black, Hispanic, and Asian) testers who contacted housing providers to schedule in-person meetings and view available units. Tests were conducted in 28 metropolitan areas across the country in both rental and sale markets” (“National Low-Income Housing Coalition”). The results of this test supported these assumptions because minority renters and white renters were equally able to make an appointment for a particular property. However, minority testers were explicitly told that there were fewer options available. There were instances where the housing providers were not willing to meet with them. It has also been reported for “both Black/ White and Hispanic/White tests an average incidence of [twelve percent] of steering that promoted racial/ethnic segregation” (George and Godfrey, 254) .There are many theories about why this discrimination type occurs. The most reoccurring theory is that racial minorities are assumed to be high-risk applicants in the real estate market. These p...
In the poem Harlem by Langston Hughes, it’s repeatedly questioned what happens when a dream is deferred. After all, “Would it dry up like like a raisin in the sun?”(Hughes 2-3). It turns out that the author Lorraine Hansberry ended up taking that very line from the poem and the question that came along with it when she wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun. In addition, Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, took it one step further when she centered her novel around how our judicial system deferred the American Dream. In fact, this misconception about the American Dream is revered to Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal which made move to the United States to study race, as shown in the film American Dilemma.
In “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter develops as a character from always believing that money was the solution to the family’s needs to realizing that family is more important than anything else. In the play, Ruth is talking to Mama about how she went to the doctor when Walter comes bursting through the door to see if the check came. With complete disregard for his wife, Walter starts asking, “Did it come? Ten thousand dollars. Mama look.
Historically, minorities have been mistreated since the beginning of history of America, from slavery to segregation. There is a major discussion on the change of treatment of these minorities. While many believe society has extensively changed many of the ways of treatment of these minorities. Others claim, we have not change the treatment of minorities. These groups believe that minorities that have been mistreated in the past are still being mistreated in smaller proportions.