Theme Of Segregation In A Raisin In The Sun

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In the story, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (1988), the main characters face many difficulties that pertain to their life in the 1950s. One issue the family faces is residential segregation. Another difficulty the characters face is pursuing education in a field that is predominantly male or female. A third challenge is dealing with money issues. Hansberry wrote the book to reflect the current events of the 1950s, but these events also relate to the century before the 1950s.
Residential Segregation Before the 1950s, America heavily participated in slavery and prejudices against African Americans. The most well-known prejudice group is the “Ku Klux Klan [which] started in 1865” according to Gourdine (1998). As a group, the Ku Klux …show more content…

The news of Mama buying the family a house shocks the whole family. The family is shocked again when mama tells them that the house is in a predominantly white neighborhood, Clybourne Park. This leads their neighbor Mrs. Johnson to be scared when she reads the news about African American Families living in white neighborhoods being targeted (Hansberry 1988). She is scared that the Younger family with have their house bombed by the Ku Klux Klan. The only residential segregation the family has to fight against is the welcome committee representative, Karl Lindner, offering to pay the family double their house payment so that they will leave. Walter accepts Lindner 's offer falling into the racial segregation. Walter doesn 't realize that this is a bad idea until Mama tells Travis to watch his father give into "the …show more content…

One way they deal with money problems is how they are living in poverty before they receive the insurance check. The Younger family is so poor that Ruth 's son Travis has to sleep on the couch until they buy the house. The family also has to deal with Walter losing some of the insurance money to Willy Harris. Willy Harris convinces Walter that he should spend his share of the insurance check on opening a liquor store. Wanting to be able to take care of his family because he felt he was obligated to due to wanting to feel like a proper man (Washington 1988), Walter falls for it and gives Willy Harris the money. Willy Harris runs off with the money which sets the Younger family back which made Walter want to take Karl Lindner 's

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