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A Raisin In The Sun Literary Devices

920 Words4 Pages

Myker Portillo
Ms. Vicino-Coleman
Honors English 9A Period 2
January 23, 2023
A Raisin in the Sun Literary Analysis
“DAMM MY EGGS---- DAMM ALL THE EGGS THERE EVER WAS!” Walter Lee shouted furiously, slowly revealing his character for the first time.
In the play “A Raisin in the Sun," Lorraine Hansberry gives each of the characters their own distinct speaking style to reflect their individual personalities and backgrounds. This creates a sense of realism within the play and allows the audience to better understand and connect with the characters. For example, the character of Walter Lee speaks with a sense of urgency and passion, a man who is struggling to provide for his family and is desperate for a better life. On the other hand, Beneatha …show more content…

This line is just one of the others like it throughout the play, this helps to establish the character of Walter Lee as a complex and relatable individual who struggles to find an agency in a world that often works against him, he never got the chance to achieve his dream because of financial struggle and feels lost and frustrated as his dream is ‘fading’ away. Walter Lee is shouting with anger and frustration, he is not actually going to DAMM all the eggs in the world this is actually showing his annoyance at his spouse who keeps giving him eggs for breakfast and doesn't listen to his situation, his dream is to open a bar. He is a hard-working man who is struggling to provide for his family and is desperate for a better life but no one is there to support …show more content…

In Lorraine Hansberry's play "A Raisin in the Sun," the character Beneatha is a determined highly intelligent, and ambitious young woman. Throughout the play, Beneatha expresses her desire to become a doctor and is shown reading medical textbooks and engaging in discussions about the latest scientific discoveries. Additionally, she often uses sophisticated vocabulary and makes insightful observations about the world around her. For example, in Act II, Scene I, Beneatha states, "I want to be a doctor! I want to get away from the life of 'do as I say' and find out things for myself." this makes her stand out as an ambitious young woman the words such as "get away from the life of 'do as I say'," makes her stand out as a sophisticated and intelligent young woman as she doesn't want to live life the traditional way of getting a regular job she wanted to go above and beyond. Beneatha's individuality and ambition are most obvious when compared to the other characters of the play, like her mother, and sister, Walter and Ruth. Her views and desires, such as her desire to become a doctor, and a rejection of traditional views of womanhood, separated her from the traditional expectations of the time and her family, making her one of the most dynamic characters of

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In the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha is an empowered young woman whose dreams are more significant than life. Beneatha is not an actual name, but it still has a more profound significance. Hansberry creates this name to show society’s perception of Beneath in contrast to her perception of herself. Everyone around her wants to dim her light and make her more petite than she wants to be. Beneatha has had her mind set on being a doctor forever.

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In some plays the experience of an important character changes him or her; this can be said about Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. A perfect example of a changed character from this play is Walter Lee Younger. Through the trials and tribulations that him and his family are made to face he becomes a better man.

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Reader Response: 3 “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, is a play about a black families experience in 1950s South Side Chicago. The story revolves around what happens to the family when Lena Younger, the matriarch of the family, receives a ten thousand dollar life insurance check upon the death of her husband. Everyone from the family has different plans for what they want to do with the money. Lena Younger serves as the head of the family. She is Walter and Beneatha’s caring mother so they and Ruth call her Mama.

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Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun presents the rise of feminism in America in the 1960s. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, with the feminist notions displayed in the play, women establish their rights to fulfil their individual dreams which diverge from traditional conventions of that time. Beneatha Younger, Lena Younger (Mama) and Ruth Younger are the three primary characters displaying evidences of feminism in the play. Moreover, Hansberry creates male characters who demonstrate oppressive attitudes towards women yet enhance the feminist ideology in the play. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, the play encourages women to develop an identity for themselves, particularly through education and career.

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