In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the story is set in 1950s Southside Chicago, in a red-lined neighborhood. Although the majority of the story is set within the scope of the neighborhood, the perceptions of the world held by the inhabitants of that neighborhood vary greatly. Mama and Beneatha, two quintessential members of the Younger family and cohabitors of this neighborhood, have vastly disparate perceptions of the world, likely because of the discrepancies, fueled by changing times, in what they each consider to be the baseline of society , from which they wish to improve. Mama’s harsh upbringing frames her perspective on the world. During Mama’s childhood, she faces a harsh world chock full of microaggressions and racial prejudice alike. Despite all of the factors working negatively in Mama’s favor, she successfully clambered out of her original pit of societal oppression, and instead took residence in a society a tier above that of her upbringing. The cornerstone of Mama’s dream is the concept of a home with a garden, wherein family can grow up and prosper: “Well, I always wanted me a garden like I used to see sometimes at the back of the houses down home. This plant is close as I ever got to having one” (Hansberry, 53). Although this dream might seem meager through a contemporary looking-glass, black people were systematically denied homes prior to and including the mid-nineteenth century, therefore Mama’s dream demonstrates her direct wish to live a life
Primarily, in A Raisin in the Sun portrays a low-class African American family, living on the Southside of Chicago in the 1950’s. Throughout the play, an opportunity to escape from poverty comes in the form of ten thousand dollars of a life insurance check for the family ( Mrs. Younger, mama ) received upon her husband’s death. Lorraine Hansberry’s play shows the struggles of accomplishing dreams and how racism still exists today.
Welcome to the Windham High school drama club revival of A Raisin in the Sun!
The play A Raisin in the Sun, begins with the introduction of the Younger family who lived on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950’s. During this time period, there was segregation around different areas in the United States, which caused problems for families who wanted to find better neighborhoods for their loved ones. Therefore, when the Younger family desired to move to Clybourne Park, a predominantly white neighborhood, they were faced with issues such as cultural identity. Throughout the play, Beneatha the youngest daughter of the Younger family, shows that she struggles with cultural identity because she refused to become an assimilationist, wants to express herself and find her own identity.
The story of this play is simple and the majority of African-Americans faced such issues in the 1950’s, living on the south side of Chicago, struggles with poverty, dignity and dreams of a better life. Wanting better for your children and trying to fit in, while maintaining family values. A Raisin in the Sun is an excellent example of the relationship between family values and conflict. In this play it portrays: values and purpose of dreams, the need to fight for racial discrimination and the importance of family.
In the 1950’s African Americans faced many hardships like economic problems and racial discrimination against Caucasians. These problems have left many African Americans working for white people as drivers, maids, or butlers to them making them inferior to the white man. In “The Raisin in the Sun” they face the same trial and tribulations that many African American families were struggling with which were economic hardship and racial discrimination in America. “The Raisin in the Sun” is a play about a struggling family trying to make it into a world where they are inferior to others.
Throughout American history, poverty has overwhelmed the inner cities, causing families to face everyday issues such as finances with regards to food, schooling, and extra activities or utilities. However, these circumstances can also test a family and push them to their breaking point. The topic of poverty is evident in Loraine Hansberry’s play that takes place in the late 1950s. As the play A Raisin in the Sun progresses, the characters develop as a whole, enhancing symbolism- specifically Mama’s plant- that represent the family.
“Money is not the key to happiness,” no big pay amount would make much of a difference. As people in America everybody thinks you cannot afford to avoid the unhappiness of having to life, having plenty of cash does not make your any more enjoyable then what it is in the present. Happiness depends on how you feel towards your loved ones which in Lorraine Hansberry's Play, “A Raisin In the Sun” Walter's obsession with money often caused him to act unkindly to his loved ones. In the book Raisin in the Sun a family from the Southside of Chicago they lived in a small apartment trying to find a way out of the community they have lived in. The Younger family was dealing with living in a white dominant society dealing with poverty and prejudice acts. The Youngers’ try to ignore the obstacles and stay on their feet throughout the 1950s.
A Raisin in the Sun is an excellent example of distinctive character’s and conflict. Walter Younger and Ruth have no values to share together to help them appreciate one another. To a significant point, no view of possible solutions to their problems as they both find no peace in society. Walter accepts what he believes in the world is presented to him. At first, he does not wish to change his position.
The play "A Raisin in the Sun" is a powerful portrayal of the discrimination faced by Black communities. Through Hansberry's gripping narrative, the play highlights the struggle of racial inequality black families and individuals have to face and the untamed tension between white and black families in a single community in Chicago in the 1950s. By shedding light on these issues, the play urges us to confront the harsh realities of prejudice and work towards a more just society. Body paragraph #1 In the depiction of the play "A Rasin in the Sun", two pieces of evidence are suggestive in revealing the effects racial inequality has on Black families.
Sebastian S. Ms. Barbarich English 11 January 12, 2018 The Development of the Younger Family In the play “The Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry the Younger family develops as a whole with each major character of the family changing throughout the story. With the entire family moving to a white neighborhood they have to prepare themselves as they move into the new home with hope as the central conflict is being reached. Walter’s decision making, cause the lack of hope coming through out the window, but at the the end of the story he finally makes a right choice after being chosen man of the house by Mama. The connection between Walter and Mama grew stronger with each other when Mama made the choice of giving the man of the house role to Walter.
In Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun a number of social issues are both explicitly and subtly exemplified through out the characters experiences and relationships. Living in a cramped Chicago apartment, the Youngers’ display both influential goals and conflicting restraints. Beneatha Youngers is a controversial character; she complicates society’s typical gender roles, introduces the wrestle between assimilation and ancestry of African-Americans, but specifically serves as a paradigm for her generation in the play.
Not only was racial segregation in the city of Chicago, Illinois very evident during the 1950s but also today in modern America. Lorraine Hansberry’s 1966 novel A Raisin in the Sun is full of the inequality that African-Americans faced in Chicago. The Younger family lives in a poor, black neighborhood, in a small apartment where Ruth and Walter’s son is even forced to sleep on the couch. When Walter Sr. passed, Mama got money and was
In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry shines a spotlight on Beneatha who reinvigorates the belief that freedom is life, and while the Younger family may be free in some ways, society still attempts to confine them in others. Throughout the play Hansberry depicts the restrictions that society has placed on the hopes and dreams of the family, specifically those of Beneatha, Walter, and Mama. Hansberry thus conveys that assimilating into society is negative because by assimilating one is submitting to the limitations society attaches to one’s labels.
What is the meaning of money for you? For some people money means the world to them and even where the only place they can find happiness. However, for others money doesn’t mean anything to them; those people can live just with what they have and still be happy. According to “A Raisin in the Sun” written by Lorraine Hansberry demonstrates some of the conflicts people of color had in the late 1950’s when the subject involved money. Walter, one of the main characters of the play and also the only grown man of the family had the most problems with money, but at the same time he just wanted the best for his family. Beneatha, Walter’s sister, wanted to prove that a black woman could be a doctor not just a nurse to the racist society they were living in. Mama, the mother of Walter and Beneatha. Always trying to do the right thing for her family. All Mama wanted was a successfully family in a perfect house.
During the story, “A Raisin in The Sun”, holds two influences, Walter, and Mama, who have the most significant impact among the plot. Here’s why; Lorraine Hansberry has created this play to prove what life was like before our modern generation had come about. As to why Lorraine brought Walter and Mama to help make up the conflicts and rising action to the plot. If the play was created without Walter, it would only be a story based upon, Beneatha, and Mama. There’d be no Ruth, no Travis, or new baby soon to come about. Whereas, if there was no Mama around anymore, the family would have no intelligence, faith, or leader, to help the children determine how to handle their problems or know what to do with themselves.