Raisin In The Sun Analysis

1817 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Detailed analysis of arthur miller's death of a salesman identity crisis

In the 1950s, most writing was characterized by a sense of fear and consensus, due to the ever present threat of nuclear warfare and fear of being classified as a communist. Due to this phenomenon, characters often struggle to find a sense of purpose and fulfillment, as seen through Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949) and Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun (1959). Death of a Salesman focuses on an unsuccessful, yet self-promoting, middle class white family’s struggle to find identity and direction within their careers and personal lives. It concentrates on the main character, Willy Loman’s attempts to find prosperity as an aging and unappreciated, by both his company and sons, salesman. Raisin in the Sun similarly focuses on the …show more content…

Throughout the two plays, Mama Younger and Willy Loman are portrayed as realistic and idealistic, respectively, which is channeled through their treatment of plants. Mama’s realistic ideals allow her to be candid about what is needed for her stifled son and plant to thrive, and she is therefore able to nurture them to succeed and carry on her legacy. Willy, however, is not at all realistic in what a plant or child takes to thrive, and instead stifles both by giving them things beside what they need, resulting in having no one capable to carry on his lackluster legacy after his death. This contrast between Mama giving her children what they need and Willy giving them things aside from what they need demonstrate that the key to success is focusing on following the direct, fulfilling path to success, and persevering on that path rather than looking for shortcuts or quick fixes to find

Show More
Related

  • A Raisin In The Sun Analysis

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of A Raisin In The Sun Act 2

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry

    1849 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Success in America: A Raisin in the Sun

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    In America, every citizen is guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Although each person is given these rights, it is how each person uses them that defines how successful they will be in America. There are several obstacles that some Americans face on their pursuit of happiness. In this country’s past, Americans lived by a very specific set of beliefs that valued the importance of hard work, faith, and family. As time progressed and America began to evolve as a nation, this capitalistic society no longer devoted itself to family and faith but rather success, and the pursuit of prosperity. The shift from dependence on tradition towards a society that values success and how people struggle to b successful when society makes it difficult marks a common theme in Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun. Two of the main characters in this story Lena Younger (Mama) and her son Walter Lee directly reflect the shift from tradition to a focus on success and capital and the struggles they face in regards to racism. Mama and Walter Lee’s contrasting values about the American dream and the way in which they pursue their own dreams while facing racism exemplifies the shift from valuing tradition like in previous generations in America, to valuing success and prosperity like in more current generations.

    Read More

  • A Raisin In The Sun

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Pursuit Of Happiness in A Raisin in the Sun

    1985 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Raisin In The Sun Environment Essay

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though south side chicago had a low amount of hope, the characters of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Walter, Beneatha, and Mama found a way to dream big. It led them to doing what they thought was right, eventually molding Walter into a greedy man during most of the play, Beneatha into an aspiring woman that demands respect, and Mama into an improvising woman who loves her

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Death Of A Salesman And A Raisin In The Sun

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    In A Raisin in The Sun and The Death of a Salesman, a male character is the protagonist in both storylines. Unlike the “typical” role of a father, these men weren’t providing a stable environment for themselves or their families, but rather a dysfunctional home caused by himself. While the dysfunction was not intentional, it was inevitably the result of misguided life goals seen by both men. Willy Loman and Walter Lee Younger, although from very different families, inadvertently created a flawed family by trying to fulfill the roles they feel must adhere to as fathers.

    Read More

  • Death Of A Salesman Analysis Essay

    1661 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper will be an analytical, interpretive essay about Death of a Salesman (1949), the most profound work by author and playwright Arthur Miller (1915-2005). Death of a Salesman received the Pulitzer Prize for drama, the year of its creation and has been reproduced over seven-hundred times. This analysis will concentrate on Willy Loman the central character of the play but also on the play as a whole. It will show that Arthur Miller’s critiques of American society still hold true to this day. That he was not just making a statement about the corporate social structure failing those that served it, or about how the American Dream in which those agencies perpetuate was dying. He was stating that the American Dream had never existed at all.

    Read More

  • Issues Addressed in A Raisin in The Sun

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    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?

    Read More

  • An Analysis of A Raisin In the Sun

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • An Overview of 'A Raisin in the Sun'

    1747 Words  | 4 Pages

    A Raisin in the Sun The creativity of Hansberry played a crucial role in the development of African-American drama since the Second World War. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play by an African-American author to be set on Broadway and was honored by the circle of New York theater critics. Drama of A Raisin in the Sun (1959) brought Hansberry to the Society of New York Critics Award as the best play of the year. A Raisin in the Sun shows the life of an ordinary African-American family who dreams of happiness and their desire to achieve their dream.

    Read More

  • Comparing the Plays, A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the sun has so much in common they do have a few distinctions. The majority of the major distensions in the two plays appear towards the end, or in other words the outcome. In A Raisin in the Sun the Younger family achieves their goals, Walter becomes the man of the house by standing up to Mr. Lindner, and the Younger family gets to move in to their new house. The Loman family was not so lucky; sadly Willy Loman was eventually successful in his suicide attempt and he did not achieve in reaching his goals. A Raisin in the Sun’s ending was much more positive than Death of a Salesman. The Youngers for the most part achieved their goals but the Lomans did not, the boys wanted to start a business but they could not reach their fathers expectations. Willy wanted to find happiness but ended up committing suicide.

    Read More

  • Racial Disccrimination in a Raisin in the Sun

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    The late 1950s was filled with racial discriminations. There was still sections living as well as public signs of Colored and Whites. Blacks and Whites were not for any change or at least not yet. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, tells a story of a black family that is struggling to gain a 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. Dreams of owning a business and having money to accomplish goals is two key parts played out throughout the whole play. Walter Younger is determined to have his own business and he will go to ends met to see that dream come true. Financial bridges are crossed and obstacles arise when Walter makes a bad decision regarding money that could have help the family and not only himself, if he would have thought smarter. His pride and dignity are tested throughout the story and he is forced to setup for his family. The Raisin in the Sun helps readers to understand history of racial discrimination and how racial discrimination has an effect on the people in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as how that has an effect on the characters within the play.

    Read More

  • Father/Son Relationships in Arthur Miller’s Death of a salesman

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman displays in a very original way the idea of an American family which in appearance wants to be a model for the others, but which unfortunately dealts not only with financial problems, but also with issues regarding the relationship between the four members of the Loman family.

    Read More

More about Raisin In The Sun Analysis

Open Document