An Analysis of 'A Raisin in the Sun'

For my second analyses of a script, we were to read A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. I read a printed edition that I had ordered off of Amazon, which was the 2004 edition created by Vintage. The title of this play write is significant because of the poem Harlem, it is relating to Walter Younger’s dream for his family. He wants to give them a better life, but all of his strategies to get rich instantaneously but they “dry up” the same way as if you left a raisin in the sun. His dream just keeps getting postponed. The Raisin relates to a dream, such as it the poem by Langston Hughes. After looking at this poem and thoroughly reading the story, this seems to be the significance I can pull from this title.

This production, A Raisin in the Sun, is a drama. As soon as the drama starts it never seems to stop, between Ruth discovering she is pregnant, to Willy leaving with all of the insurance money that was invested. With the setting being in Chicago, particularly the south side, during the 1950s, mainly taking place in the apartment of the Younger family. This signifies the time of racial discrimination in the United States, where the play takes place.

The plot of the play is quite a show. It takes place in only a few weeks of the Younger family’s life. The Younger’s are an African American family living in southern Chicago. Mr. Younger has died, and his life insurance check has come to the family at a whopping ten thousand dollars. Each family member knows what he or she would want to do with the money coming in, ranging from buying a house to investing in a liquor store to paying for medical school. Each dream seems to be more important than the next to the inspirer. After Ruth discovers she is pregnant, and Willy loses m...

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...ime of the setting-taking place in the 1950s, we know much of the debate back then was racial status issues. Some progress had been made, but still not enough for the Youngers to live in the white neighborhood. We experience how the characters handled the racial issues.

I do not believe this is an ideal play for the SCF theatre department. Even with it being a classic, it identifies some themes that are tough topics for certain students, even sixty years later. Although I do agree, being able to see the play after reading the script would be beneficial in comprehension of parts of the play. My overall impression of A Raisin in the Sun is that I enjoyed it a lot more than I had originally thought. I liked the drama and how well the themes were tied into the play without forcing them on us. It was not too hard of a read, which was an added factor of enjoyment.