A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry. The struggles of living in a segregationist, and discriminatory America are brought to the table through the daily struggles of the Younger family, to have a better life. The play is set on the Southside of Chicago sometime between WWII and the 1950’s. The two characters that most influence the plot are Ruth and Mama. They develop the plot because they both must deal with Walter’s unruly behavior.
Ruth contributes to developing the plot by stating “Honey, you never say nothing new. I listen to you every day, every night, and every morning, and you never say nothing new” in Act 1 scene 1. This develops the plot because her husband is trying to invest in a liquor store, and constantly
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Lord, if this little old plant don’t get more sun than it’s been betting it ain’t never going to see spring again” in Act 1 scene 1. The plant symbolizes Walter and Beneatha but they both have made questionable decisions throughout their lives but she has always stood by her children even though their boisterous behavior can sometimes cause the family to feel uncomfortable. She also helps to elaborate the plot by stating “I’m waiting to hear how you be your father’s son. Be the man he was” in act 1 scene 2. This shows the reader that she yearns for her son to stop acting like a child, and begin living life the way his father did. Finally Mama most assists in the development of the plot of the play by telling Travis “She went out and bought you a house” in Act 2 scene 1. This shows that she only wants the best for her family even though the house is a white neighborhood.
In Lorraine Hansberry’s work A Raisin in the Sun the struggles of living in a segregated and discriminatory America are examined through the daily struggles of the Younger family. The play is set on the Southside of Chicago sometime between WWII and the 1950’s. The two characters that most develop the plot are Ruth and Mama. They develop the plot because they both have to deal with Walter’s undisciplined
In A Raisin In the Sun Lorraine Hansberry uses everyday objects-a plant, money, and a home to symbolize a family's struggle to deal with racism and oppression in their everyday lives, as well as to exemplify their dreams. She begins with a vivid description of the family's weary, small, and dark apartment in Chicago's ghetto Southside during the 1950s. The Youngers are an indigent African-American family who has few choices in their white society. Each individual of the Younger family has a separate dream-Beneatha wants to become a doctor, Walter wants to open a liquor store, and Ruth and Mama want a new and better home. The Youngers struggle to accomplish these dreams throughout the play, and a major aspect of their happiness and
“A Raisin in the Sun” is a long play by Lorraine Hansberry. The action of it is set in Chicago, and the time of the play is between World War II and the present. There are approximately eleven mentioned characters; Ruth Younger, Travis Younger, Lena Younger and etc. The hero in “ A Raisin in the Sun” is Walter Lee Younger, who is one of the sons of Lena Younger.
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.
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
Mama says this after Beneatha tells Mama that there is nothing left in her brother, Walter to love. Mama’s dream of a better quality of life is deferred because she has carry the responsibility of tending to a family with so much indifference and of holding together the few pieces of her family left together.
A Raisin in the Sun was written by Lorraine Hansberry and is a play about an African American family who are struggling in the 1950’s to keep the family together. Although the play is portrayed in the 50’s many issues like the economy, racism, and family dynamics the characters had to face; these issues are still issues in the 21st century.
In the words of Jim Cocola and Ross Douthat, Hansberry wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun to mimic how she grew up in the 1930s. Her purpose was to tell how life was for a black family living during the pre-civil rights era when segregation was still legal (spark notes). Hansberry introduces us to the Youngers’, a black family living in Chicago’s Southside during the 1950s pre-civil rights movement. The Younger family consists of Mama, who is the head of the household, Walter and Beneatha, who are Mama’s children, Ruth, who is Walter’s wife, and Travis, who is Walter and Ruth’s son. Throughout the play the Youngers’ address poverty, discrimination, marital problems, and abortion. Mama is waiting on a check from the
First, Ruth, is one of the women in the house who changes Walter’s decisions in the story. Her relationship towards him is poor. Ruth nags at the beginning, saying “Eat your eggs Walter” (Hansberry 34). This angers him because she repeats it multiple times throughout, not understanding him, showing their strained relationship. Ruth is also shown to not be on Walter’s side on multiple occasions. For example, when Walter finds out that Mama spent the money on a new house, he does not like it. Ruth however is not feeling the same way as him, and tells him “Walter honey, be glad” (Hansberry 92). Ruth tells Walter to be glad, because their views are different. Ruth thinks this was beneficial to the family, yet Walter does not. This hurts Walter throughout the story as he feels alone with no one on his side. Walter know this when he says “Cause ain’t nobody with Me! Not even my own mother!” (Hansberry 85). Since he is alone, and believes no one cares about him, he tries to fix his own mistake when he decides he will get more money saying, “That White man is going to walk in that door all to write checks for more money than we ever had.” (Hansberry 143). Ruth does not like Walter’s idea, but he does not care as no one is on his side, which disappoints Ruth.
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.
The marriage problems between Ruth Younger and her husband Walter Younger are obviously taking a toll on her. It seems as many times that she is depressed and filled with stress. Further, through the play, we later find out she is pregnant. With the struggling money situation going through the house she is faced the consideration of abortion. The Younger family as it appears could in no way afford another mouth to feed with the already low income coming in. To make matters worse abortions are illegal and dangerous. So the already distressed Ruth was faced with a huge
“ A Raisin in the Sun” is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry about the life of an African American family during the era of segregation. The play starts off with the Younger family receiving a 10,000 dollar check from Mr. Younger’s insurance policy. The family argues over what they are going to do with it. Mama wants to buy a house with it, Walter wants to invest in a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to use the money to go to medical school. The contrast of the characters’ personalities fuels the conflict and drives the story forward. Beneatha is a young college student and the sister of Walter. She has a dream of becoming a doctor. Beneatha is a dynamic character who is easily influenced by her family and the people
Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, centers on an African American family in the late 1950s. Hansberry directs her work towards specifically the struggles faced by African Americans during the late 1950s. Through the dialogue and actions of her characters, she encourages not only a sense of pride in heritage, but a national and self-pride in African Americans as well.
A Raisin in the Sun was a play written in the late 1950’s analyzing the cruel effects of racism amongst the Younger family. The younger family suffers from racial discrimination within their living space, place of employment, and the housing industry. Racism has been going on for a very long time in the United States and will always continue to exist. Racism has not only led to political but also social issues. "A Raisin in the Sun confronted Whites for an acknowledgement that a black family could be fully human, 'just like us."(qtd. White fear.) The setting took place in the ghetto, south of Chicago where mainly African Americans settled. In this division, apartments and houses were overly priced, crowded and poorly maintained. Crime rates were extremely high and most families lived in poverty. Due to segregated housing, it was a daily struggle for black families who had hopes in leaving the ghetto for better lives.
Climate change has become a big issue in the past 20 years due to the new technological advances we have made. With this technology we have created comes a great deal of responsibility, we can use this to our benefit along with benefitting our Earth or we can emit more harmful gases into the atmosphere. During the industrial revolution machines were made that could do things 20 strong men couldn’t do, this being said these machines needed fuel. People looked for fuel to work these machines and many found burning coal worked quite well, while it may have ran the machines well at the time it also polluted the air we breathe. The people living back in the 18th and 19th century weren’t affected by this air pollution but instead the people of today
Many believe that “Death of a Salesman” represents a working man’s goal of achieving the American dream, but the disillusioned Willy Lowman uses it as a façade. This façade conceals his narcissistic personality while accommodating for his lack of self-esteem and failures. Willy lives in his own utopic fantasy where everyone knows who he is and he’s treated like a king. A man full of delusion in an ever changing world which is advancing and leaving him both mentally and physically stale, if only he could see through his grandiosity. In the following text we’ll see that “Death of a Salesman” reflects the delusions of one man and his image as seen by himself, his family and others, through the examination of the theme, his character and the time period for his existence.