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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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The play by Lorraine Hansberry , A Raisin In The Sun, utilizes the use of allusions in order to supply the reader with historical background. Allusions create emphasis in the play, this allows the reader to understand and appreciate the text. Within the small details of the play, the use of allusions deepen the contextual support of the text. While reading A Raisin In The Sun, various allusions appear throughout the play. These allusions reference the outside world, but also give emphasis on the importance of the piece of the text references.

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She was not like other young women that would be housewives or maids at her age but instead is independent. Looking after herself and making more of a life for herself, she attends school, tries to play guitar, and looks for a love interest. This breaks the stereotype of a “normal” woman who is a housewife or maid and shows Beneatha is different. Therefore, Beneatha overcomes this criticism of her “unnatural ways”, and proceeds to make her life successful.

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Beneatha 's dream is to go to college and become a doctor. She wants to prove her family´s disbeliefs of her becoming a doctor wrong. Yet she feels defeated after her brother, Walter, goes out and gives away all of her college money to some man that ends up disappearing with the money. She faces challenges financially and faces backlash from her family.

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Beneatha wants to study to become a doctor, but instead Walter Lee wants to spend his family’s insurance money so he can open a liquor store with Willy and Bobo his friends and be a man. Since Walter Lee and his family were in a bad position and were very poor it was Walter Younger’s responsibility to keep the family together and he saw this a very big responsibility. He frequently complained about being a chauffeur and ridding rich people, every day when he woke up in the morning. He would always fight with his wife Ruth, Mama and his sister Beneatha. For instance (Hansberry 32-34) he says to Ruth his wife “You tired, ain’t you?

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The 1950s were oppressive and degrading towards the culture and identity of African Americans. This principle is especially personified through the drama, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry. As a black female author in this time period, she was easily able to capture the racism and forced stereotypes poignant within the lives of the minorities. Beneatha, a fictional character in the play, represents the ambitious and suppressed black female intellectual who is stripped of her identity at every turn. The men in her life are as different as black and white, and in essence that is what they are.

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In A Raisin in the Sun, a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, the audience was able to obtain a sense of the struggle for the American dream. We are introduced to the Youngerś a black family living in the Southside of Chicago around the 1950’s. Each member of this family has their own meaning to what is the American dream. A Raisin in the Sun teaches us that even though life might be full of conflicts, it is important to not give up on our dreams.

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She wants to become a doctor and get the education she needs to become one. Throughout the play she proves that her independence means a lot to her. Beneatha wants to be free and have her own life, just like the American Dream. In the play she says to Mama and Ruth, “Listen, I’m going to be a doctor. I’m not worried about who I’m going to marry yet-if I ever get married” (Hansberry32).

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The eggs and food mentioned in the play symbolized the deterioration of Ruth and Walter's marriage. In the beginning of Act one, Walter talks to Ruth about his dreams

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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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A Raisin in the Sun addresses major social issues such as racism and feminism which were common in the twentieth century. The author, Lorraine Hansberry, was the first playwright to produce a play that portrayed problematic social issues. Racism and gender equality are heavily addressed throughout the play. Even though we still have these issues today, in the 1950’s and 60’s the issues had a greater part in society. Racism and gender have always been an issue in society, A Raisin in the Sun is an important piece of American history during that time period.

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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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His sister, Beneatha, wants to become a doctor and Walter isn't very supportive of her decision. Walter's wife, Ruth, is the recipient of the majority of Walter's anger and sexist remarks. In Act 1 Scene 1, the audience learns that Beneatha, a colored woman, wants to become a doctor and attends medical school. Beneatha and Walter begin to banter with each other about Mama’s money.

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In Act 1, Beneatha’s quest to find her personal identity is seen in the way she expresses herself, her ambitions, her roots and the way she deviates from what is acceptable in her family. She tries to find ways to express herself such as trying different hobbies. In the past, Beneatha has been a part of a play-acting group, horseback-riding club, and in Act 1 starts guitar lessons (47). She also has the ambition to become a doctor which is looked down upon by her brother, Walter Lee (38). Additionally, her African roots are important to her search for identity.

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