The Influence of Lorraine Hansberry's Life on 'A Raisin in the Sun'

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Recommended: Literary critique of a raisin in the sun

In history, theatre has always been the outlet through which people expressed themselves. “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, which was originally named the “The Crystal Stair,” is a perfect example of such actions. She was influenced and used the experiences from her own life and other African Americans at the time to elevate her works. Hansberry in “Raisin in the Sun” expresses to others how she feels the society around her appears to be, while intertwining segments of her life with it.
Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was the granddaughter of a freed slave. She was born on May 19, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois and died January 12, 1965 of pancreatic cancer. She was her parent’s fourth child, and the sibling closes to her age was seven years older than her. Her father’s name was Carl A. Hansberry and her mother’s name was Nannie Perry. Carl was a successful real estate broker. He contributed a great amount of money to NAACP and the Urban League. Nannie, her mother, was a schoolteacher. She later entered politics and became an awarded committeewoman. Lorraine graduated from Englewood High School, a predominately white public school, in 1948. After high school she attended the University of Wisconsin. While at there, she changed her major from painting to writing, and after two years there she decided to drop out and move to New York City to pursue her writing career. In New York, Hansberry attended the New School for Social Research, which enabled her to focus more on the subjects of her interest. Her first job was as a secretary for Freedom, an African-American newspaper founded by activist Paul Robeson. She initially was hired as the secretary, but eventually began writing and editing articles from 1950 to 1953. ...

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... not have a voice that she wanted to be heard. All-in-all when looking at “Raisin in the Sun” we can see that her works are parallels to what she felt life was during her time of life. Even though she may not have lived long her play still stands as a lasting reminder of what life was like in the 1950s.

Works Cited
"Biography of Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965)." Biography of Lorraine Hansberry. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .
"Lorraine Hansberry Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. .
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Lorraine Hansberry (American playwright)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .

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