Remember, 20 years ago, when you were fresh out of high school. You had so many dreams and plans; dreams of becoming a lawyer, living in a fancy house, being in a happy marriage, and not having to worry about finances. Now you are faced with the grim reality that not one of your dreams has come true, because you didn’t work towards them. Colin Powell stated that “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.”
A Raisin in the Sun by, Lorraine Hansberry, is a story about an African American family trying to hold on to their dreams and the hardships they face when trying to achieve said dreams in racist South Side Chicago in the 1960’s. Each character has a dream on how to escape the struggles that the family faces. “Mama” Lena Younger wants to buy a house to improve the family’s downtrodden morale. Buying a home is the optimal choice, because it is pragmatic, it is affordable, and it will better the family’s overall morale.
Although, it might seem that Walters plan to open liquor store would bring in immediate money; however, 70% of small businesses fail in the first year. Also Walter would have to bribe someone for a permit which could lead to him ending up in jail. Of course Benetha’s dream to become a doctor could lead to prosperity down the road; however it doesn’t stop the volatile and unstable condition the family is in now. There is also no guarantee that Benetha will stick to her dream to become a doctor because she has past history of flitting back and forth between things she wants to do, and there are very few people who would go to a black female doctor in the 1960’s.
First, out of all the dreams buying a house is the simplest and least likely to fail Walters plan has to...
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... they have their own personal area.
Mama succeeded in achieving her dream of buying a house even though there are still many question marks. The family now bolsters each other instead of belittling one another. This will give them the strength to face any new challenges or obstacles they may face. Their unity will led the family down a road to success. Unlike the other dreams the house will remain with this family for generations to come. Would you stake your entire life on your or someone else’s dream?
Bibliography
"Dreams Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun: And Related Readings. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 1997. Print
"Real Statistics Show That 70 Percent of Small Businesses Succeed At First." Real Statistics Show That 70 Percent of Small Businesses Succeed At First. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014
...hapter of her life. Mama has had her dream as far back as she can remember even though it has been shot down by others because of her ethnicity. However, many people hold onto a dream that may seem out of their reach such as Gail Devers, an African-American three time Olympic champion. Devers believed in her dream of becoming an Olympian when people told her that she would never be able to do it. She now advises others by saying, “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe” (Devers).
A Raisin in the Sun is a play telling the story of an African-American tragedy. The play is about the Younger family near the end of the 1950s. The Younger family lives in the ghetto and is at a crossroads after the father’s death. Mother Lena Younger and her grown up children Walter Lee and Beneatha share a cramped apartment in a poor district of Chicago, in which she and Walter Lee's wife Ruth and son Travis barely fit together inside.
Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the sun displays the struggles faced by an African American family living in Southside Chicago during the onset of the Civil Rights Movement. In the opening scene, Walter Lee Younger reads from the front page of the newspaper “Set off another bomb yesterday” (6). This news bulletin presents the major issues of the time period surrounding the war on Civil Rights and gives insight into the Younger family’s future intentions to move into a white neighborhood. The conflict-taking place in Southside Chicago over housing causes tension for the surrounding community, especially when they read news articles publicizing the brutal murders of those who try to improve their situations by moving into a white neighborhood. The family’s own efforts have failed to provide the income necessary to move into a bigger home in a better neighborhood. It is not until Walter Younger Sr. passes away and augments the family’s financial situation, through a life insurance policy for $10,000, that the Younger’s are able to pursue better living conditions. Unfortunately, this newfound fortune causes friction between the family members, especially between Walter Lee and Mama Younger. In pursuit of her own happiness, Mama Younger puts a down payment on a house in Clybourne Park, a white neighborhood. It is her right to pursue happiness in the manner she chooses. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is the American way. Her happiness is in a home for her and her family. The conflict over whose happiness will be
Hansberry, Lorraine. "A Raisin in the Sun." Ed. Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. Comp. Henry Louis. Gates. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. 1771-830. Print.
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2011. 950-1023. Print.
Written by Lorraine Hansberry, the first African American woman to have ever had a play produced on Broadway, A Raisin in the Sun tells the tale of a financially struggling black family living in a run down, bug infested apartment on Chicago’s Southside. In great contrast to these particular aspects of Raisin, Tobias Wolff, a well known, modern day Caucasian writer of short stories, tells of a different lifestyle in his story, “The Rich Brother,” in which he depicts the life of two brothers, one having prospered financially and the othe...
Differences in generations can cause people to have different viewpoints in life. A Raisin In The Sun is a play set in the 1950s written by Lorraine Hansberry. The Youngers are a black family who lives in a cramped apartment in the South Side of Chicago. When Mama receives a check of insurance money, members of the family are divided in their own hopes of what it will be used for. Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha are the three women of the Younger household and their generational differences clearly show through their actions. The difference between generations is why Mama is the most devout, Ruth is an agreeable person, and Beneatha is outspoken and has modern views.
During the 1960s, the African-American people were in racial situations due to their “lowered status”. They had no control over the strong beliefs in segregation, which “is characterized by a mixture of hope and despair.” (Nordholt) African-Americans, like normal people, had strived to achieve set goals. Unfortunately, their ethnicity was what inhibited them from accomplishing their dreams. In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the author conveys the theme of the seemingly trivial efforts of the African-American people in their individual pursuits for a satisfactory life lead each person down a road of self-discovery that reveals an indefinite amount of truths, which transform their promising hopes into unachievable fantasies. By using powerful characterization, Hansberry creates characters with contrasting personalities dividing their familial hopes into different dreams. With the use of symbolism, each character’s road is shown to inevitably end in a state where dreams are deferred.
Hansberry, Lorraine. "A Raisin in the Sun." Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2013. 1471-1534. Print.
A Raisin in the Sun is a set in 1950s after the Second World War which was an age of great racism and materialistic in America. It is about a black family living in south side of Chicago and struggling through family and economic hardships, facing the issues of racism, discrimination, and prejudice. The family consists of Lena Younger known as Mama; Walter Lee Younger who is an intense man, Ruth Younger who is wife of Walter Lee, Travis Younger who is son of Ruth and Walter, and Beneatha Younger who is Walter’s younger sister. The whole family lives in a two bed room apartment and don’t have money to live a better life. youngers are tired from their struggle to ...
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Norton. Ninth. Ed. Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter,
In Lorraine Hansberry’s theatrical experience, A Raisin in the Sun, a lower class, black family in Chicago struggles through life to make ends meet. These dull conditions make the protagonist, Walter, look at life differently. Walter’s depressing outlook on life forces him to change to strengthen his relationship with his family.
Phillips, Elizabeth C. The Works of Lorraine Hansberry. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973. 48-62.
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.
The late 1950s was filled with racial discrimination. There were still sections living as well as public signs of Colored and Whites. Blacks and Whites are not for any change, or at least not yet. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, tells the story of a black family that is struggling to gain middle class acceptance in Chicago. The family of five, one child and four adults live in a tiny apartment that is located in a very poor area.