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Literary critique of a raisin in the sun
Overcoming personal challenges
Literary critique of a raisin in the sun
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Caitlin Phillips
Ms. Price
Honors English 1
May 23, 2018
Rough Draft
In “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, Ruth is seen to have depression because throughout the play Ruth is never truly happy. Depression is a mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. The symptoms that occur with depression are persistent sadness, loss of interest, changes in sleep and appetite, energy level changes, lack of concentration, behavior, anxiety, apathy, hopelessness, discontent, mood changes and self-esteem. Ruth's depression is found throughout the play. The play”A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry demonstrates how depressed and miserable
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Ruth is throughout the Ruth's life . Throughout Lorraine Hansberry's play ‘A Raisin in the Sun” Ruth is seen to have depression, this is based in the examples that will be shown.
On page 41 in “A Raisin in the Sun” Mama asked Ruth “ you had breakfast?” and Ruth replies “some coffee” and Mama then says “ Girl, you better start eating and looking after yourself better, you almost as thin as Travis.” This quote helps prove Ruth's depression because the symptoms of depression is changes in weight and appetite. This quote shows Ruth not taking care of herself well enough to the point where she is “ almost as thin as Travis.” Another quote that helps to prove Ruth's depression is on page 42 of “A Raisin in the Sun” when Mama is talking to Ruth “ well whether they drink it or not aint none of my business. But whether I go into business selling it to ‘em is, and I don't want that on my ledger this late in life. Ruth Younger what's the matter with you today? You look like you could fall over right here.” and Ruth replied” I’m tired.” This quote also helps to prove Ruth's depression by showing severe tiredness and lack of energy because Mama describes Ruth in this quote as to “ look like you could fall over right here.” Ruth has depression that becomes more evident throughout the …show more content…
play. Ruth's depression is seen throughout the play and becomes more evident in later quotes.
On page 56 of “A Raisin in the Sun”, Ruth shows a symptom of depression in this quote “(RUTH has her fist clenched on her thighs and is fighting hard to suppress a scream that seems to be rising in her.)”. On page 59 on A Raisin in the Sun shows Ruth's depression by “(The glassy-eyed look melts and then she collapsed into a fit of heavy sobbing.)” The quotes show Ruth’s depression with feeling of hopelessness, sadness, and mood swings. The quotes help to show Ruth when she is experiencing so many emotions that she doesn't know what to do. The two quotes help show Ruth feelings of hopelessness in life and the sadness Ruth faces living in a place she hates. Ruth shows her depression with feelings of hopelessness, sadness, tiredness and lack of energy as well as changes in weight and
appetite. Despite the evidence against Ruth's depression, many people believe Ruth shows signs of happiness throughout the play but they fail to see how unhappy Ruth is with the cards life has dealt her. Those who believe Ruth shows signs of happiness think Ruth is truly happy might use this quote to prove their statement “(As he dances with RUTH)” which would show happiness and content with her life and Walter. Although aspects of this argument are enticing, it ultimately fails to be a stronger argument because the play does not have a lot of moments where everyone including Ruth is happy. The proof to this argument is in Act One Scene One of “ A Raisin in the Sun” “( He starts out. RUTH watches both of them with murder in her eyes. WALTER stands and stares back at her with defiance, and suddenly reaches into his pocket again on an afterthought.)” This quote shows how Walter always does something that gets Ruth unhappy with life and him. The quote also shows that is took almost the entire play before Walter and Ruth were happy. Throughout the play by Lorraine Hansberry's ‘A Raisin in the Sun” it is shown that Ruth has depression. The play shows many scenes where Ruth fits the symptoms of depression and is always unhappy with the way life turned out for the Younger family. Ruth’ depression is a eye opening moment for people who fail to see that there are other people who have bigger problems than what they are concerned about. Although Ruth is seen to be unhappy throughout the play, Ruth does have a few moments were she is content. Ruth's depression helps people to realise that in life people go through hardships but it is what you make of the hardships that counts the most. Do you fight and strive to get through the hardships of life and become someone you're proud of or do you run at the sight of hard times? In the play A Raisin in the Sun Ruth’s depression is shown through moments of the symptoms included in depression.
In conclusion, the fact that Ruth lived through so much trauma from her father most likely brought out the strength in her heart, and caused her to realize that she wants a good life for her children instead of the trauamtic life that she lived through in her own childhood. Ruth’s overall identity could be explicity explained as a mother who is strong, has a lot of faith in God, and a woman with a lot of value and love for all of her twelve children. Ruth Mcbride’s strength and confidence helps herself through the hardships of her childhood, her relationships with Dennis and Hunter, as well as James Mcbride and the rest of her children. She developed the identity of a strong-willed mother, lover, and a woman of God.
Growing up, Ruth had a rough childhood growing up in a very strict jewish household. Her family was poor, her mother was physically handicapped, her father was verbally and physically abusive, and she faced prejudice and discrimination from her neighbors and classmates because she
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a dramatic play written in 1959. The play is about an African American family that lived on the Chicago South Side in the 1950’s. Hansberry shows the struggles and difficulties that the family encounters due to discrimination. Inspired by her personal experience with discrimination, she uses the characters of the play, A Raisin In The Sun, to show how this issue affects families. Hansberry faces housing discrimination due to her race, which affects her family.
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.
Cecilia was diagnosed with cancer while Ruth was in high school and the day before her daughter’s graduation, she passed away (Salokar & Volcansek, 1996). One of the greatest influences on Ruth’s life was her mother and the values she instilled in her from a young age. Two of the greatest lessons that Ruth learned from her mother was to be independent and to be a lady, and by that she meant not to respond in anger but to remain calm in situations (Reynolds, 2009).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Ruth has an intriguing personality. She is very loving towards her family. She will do all in her power to improve the lifestyle of her family. When it appears that the deal for the house in Clybourne Park will fall through, she promises to dedicate all of her time to make the investment work. “Lena-I’ll work… I’ll work 20 hours a day in all the kitchens in Chicago…I’ll strap my baby on my back if I have to and scrub all the floors and wash all the sheets in America if I have to-but we have to MOVE!” she pleads to her mother-in-law (Hansberry140). Her plan is unrealistic and idealistic, but the well being of her family is more important to her than anything. Ruth is also witty and sarcastic at times. She cracks jokes to lighten the mood of her family when they’re worried. “Well that’s the way the cracker crumbles. Joke. (121)” When Beneatha and Mama are stressing over the neighborhood they are moving into, Ruth makes a witty joke to improve the mood. Ruth supervises the daily routine and well being of her family. She makes sure that everyone does what they are supposed to and stays on track. ...
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
The idea of family is a central theme in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. Hansberry alludes to the Old Testament book of Ruth in her play to magnify “the value of having a home and family”(Ardolino 181). The Younger family faces hardships that in the moment seem to tear them apart from one another, but through everything, they stick together. The importance of family is amplified by the choices of Walter and Beneatha because they appear to initiate fatal cracks in the Younger family’s foundation, but Mama is the cement who encourages her family to pull together as one unit. The hardships of the family help develop a sense of unity for the Younger household.
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.
A Raisin in the Sun is written by a famous African- American play write, Lorraine Hansberry, in 1959. It was a first play written by a black woman and directed by a black man, Lloyd Richards, on Broadway in New York. The story of A Raisin in the Sun is based on Lorraine Hansberry’s own early life experiences, from which she and her whole family had to suffer, in Chicago. Hansberry’s father, Carol Hansberry, also fought a legal battle against a racial restrictive covenant that attempted to stop African- American families from moving in to white neighborhoods. He also made the history by moving his family to the white section of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood in 1938. The struggle of Lorraine Hansberry’s family inspired her to write the play. The title of the play comes from Langston Hughes’s poem which compares a dream deferred too long to a raisin rotting in the sun. A Raisin in the Sun deals with the fact that family’s and individual’s dreams and inspirations for a better life are not confined to their race, but can be identified with by people with all back grounds.
The first problem Ruth faces is how to support her family. Accused of not paying enough attention to her son, Ruth snaps at Mama shouting, “I feed my son, Lena!” (1880). This encounter with Mama displays an uptight, stressed side of Ruth, who balances a job, a son, her husband, and keeping the expected baby a secret. With so much preoccupying her mind, Ruth still tries to make money while feeling ill telling Mama, “I have to go. We need the money,” (1881). Money becomes a topic of great interest in the Younger family causing everyone to worry entirely too much about it. Ruth puts her family before herself caring about their conditions and the money they make over her own health. The next struggle Ruth encounters is deciding what option is best for her family and possible new baby. After finding out about the pregnancy, Ruth assures her family “she”, the doctor, confirmed everything is fine (1888). The slip up reveals that Ruth is considering getting an abortion. Furthermore, pushing her own conflict aside, Ruth still supports her family’s dreams, encouraging Mama to “open it”, meaning the check, for Mama’s own benefit and use toward a better lifestyle (1893). Ruth solves her own conflict by deciding to keep the baby and motivate her family in whatever way possible in the new challenges to
Ruth, whose dreams are the same as Mama’s, get deferred when the family are forced into there small apartment and there lack of money. Since she has no money she can not help her family as much as she would like to.
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.
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.
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun depicts the struggles of three generations of the Youngers family in the 1950's of poorer Chicago. Act 2, scene 2 of the play displays an understanding of the Youngers and the atmosphere in which they live. In just a few pages, Lorraine Hansberry reveals the struggles enforced upon the characters individually as well as with their united desires as a family. Individually, each character must overcome prejudice from his family and associates, while still enduring struggles and hardships that diminish any intended goals. Together, however, the Younger family must overcome the racial bigotry incurred by society, while still maintaining social pride and integrity. In contrast, a predominant expression of hope and encouragement is a factor in the lives of such characters, as revealed by the author. With the use of dramatic elements to interpret the events of this section of the play, in addition to the issues of race and gender, it is obvious that the Youngers represent a black family struggling towards middleclass respectability not only in society, but in their own home as well.