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A Raisin In The Sun Literary Devices

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"I Know Where I've Been" by Queen Latifah In “A Raisin in the Sun,” Lena Younger, also referred to as Mama, is a character who embodies strength, resilience. Queen Laitifah’s “I Know Where I’ve Been” resonates with Mama’s journey and the struggles she faces. The song’s lyrics, “There’s a dream in the future, there’s a struggle that we have yet to win,” reflects Mama’s unwavering determination to provide a better life for her family despite the obstacles she faces and the challenges she faces as an African American living in a racially segregated society. The line in the song: “There’s a road we must travel, there’s a promise we must make” is connected to Mama’s commitment to her family and her belief in the importance of family unity. The song's message of hope and perseverance aligns with Mama’s character and like the song is a symbol of hope and endurance for a better future and overall a great anthem for Mama’s character. "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke …show more content…

Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” resonated with Walter’s journey and the themes of change and hope in the play. The song's lyrics, "It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die, 'cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky," reflect Walter's struggle with his circumstances and his yearning for a better life. Additionally, the line “I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will” speaks to Walter’s belief in the possibility of change and his desire to break from the limitations that have oppressed him. The song serves as a reminder of the hope and resilience in the face of adversity, echoing themes of the play and the character of Walter

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Raisin In The Sun Literary Analysis

106 Words | 1 Pages

The play “Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, is a powerful play that displays what it like is to have dreams deferred. Hansberry extracted her title from a well-known poem called “Harlem” by Langston Hughes. “Harlem” serves as an epigraph for the play and Hansberry’s play does an excellent job expressing the poem’s themes. The play provokes feelings of suspense and drama as we watch the character’s endeavors, only to be crushed by the very same thing that they yearn for. My analysis of the play and the poem proves that Hansberry’s play was able to capture and manifest the themes of the poem

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Raisin In The Sun Figurative Language

524 Words | 3 Pages

During the 1950s in Chicago blacks were in poverty. The city was filled with discrimination, racism and segregation. The Younger family was a black family living in a one bedroom apartment in Chicago at the time. They had big dreams but lack of money. In the play, A raisin in the sun, Lorraine Hansberry created the central idea of “feeling trapped” in the character Mama through the setting, symbolism, and figurative language.

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A Raisin In The Sun Allusion Analysis

652 Words | 3 Pages

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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A Raisin In The Sun Compare And Contrast Essay

1307 Words | 6 Pages

According to an article by Stephen Iervolino, a survey showed that out of 2,000 American book readers, 67% say that they prefer reading a book to watching the movie version of it. But, half mentioned that they would rather watch a movie than read that movie’s book. But why would more people rather read a book than watch a movie about the same story? What could the difference between reading a book and viewing it be? Well, in both the book and play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, one can experience the story of Walter, Ruth, Beneatha, Mama, and Travis as they struggle through financial and familial problems together.

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346 Words | 2 Pages

When the settlers of Europe first came to the new world, they were introduced to the Native Americans. The settlers wanted the Natives to follow their culture and its benefits such as education, religion, and the usage of the environment. The Native Americans refused the request, stating they have their own type of culture, believing it to be the most superior; as a result, the Natives’ statement angered the ethnocentric settlers. Consequently, this caused a conflict between the two groups because of their culture differences. Firstly, the main culture difference consists of religion, tradition, and way of living.

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A Raisin In The Sun Literary Analysis Essay

878 Words | 4 Pages

Saad Moolla Ms. Noha Enligh III 15 January 2015 Literary Analysis Essay The play, “ A Raisin in the Sun” authored by Lourraine Hasenberry holds a very unique title that refers to Langston Hughes’s poem “A Dream Deferred.” Langston’s poem is about dreams and what happens to those dreams are not fulfilled. Hassenberry wrote her play about a poor African American family by the name of the Yongers. Mrs. Younger, Walter Lee, and Beneatha all have there own individual dreams.

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A Raisin In The Sun Literary Analysis

877 Words | 4 Pages

In the book A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry the main characters are from the Younger family, which consists of lower class African Americans in the Southern side of Chicago. They finally make a break when Walter’s father passes away and to his name the family receives $10,000. Walter, the oldest son, decided that the wisest choice was to invest the majority of the money into a soon to be liquor store. Willis was the man who Walter had given the money to and he ran off with it. Luckily Mama had invested some money into a house in a white suburban neighborhood, but this led to a feud between the neighbors.

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1127 Words | 5 Pages

In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry and the speech, “I have a Dream”, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have many similarities to having many dreams, a urge for power, and a want to make a change in the world for the many years to come. In Lorraine’s play, Lena Younger, is a mother who has two children and a step daughter with a kid all living in a two bedroom apartment. Lena wants nothing more than to give her family a better life. In Dr. Martin Luther King speech he wants nothing more than to give the world a better life.

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1127 Words | 5 Pages

Hardships of the Youngers In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the characters of Mama, Walter ,and Beneatha are faced with hardships associated with their dreams being destroyed by discriminatory housing,racial inequality and lack of support from her family towards her education. In the play all the characters have some kind of dream. Mama wants to get a house for the family, Walter wants to have money to provide for his family and plans to do that with a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to become a doctor. Beneatha is going to school and at the same time she’s trying to discover herself,but her family is not supportive of this.

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A Raisin In The Sun Theme Essay

916 Words | 4 Pages

The world stereotypes rich people as rude, stuck up and selfish. Ever wonder why? Studies from Yale, The New York Times, TED and more have concluded, money changes everything. Whether it’s attitude, morals or values, money can affect and change all aspects of someone’s life. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, has a theme showing this claim clearly.

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A Raisin In The Sun Literary Analysis

369 Words | 2 Pages

In the first act of Lorraine Hansberry’s playwright, A Raisin in the Sun, the audience can distinguish the relationships that have developed between the characters. The relationship development is a crucial part of any playwright and novel because it helps contribute character, plot, and theme development of the entire story. One of the most prevalent relationships we see in A Raisin in the Sun, is between Lena Younger and her daughter Beneatha. Beneatha Younger is the antithesis of her mother. By using the context provided by Hansberry, the readers can see the contrast between Mama’s traditional mindset versus Beneatha’s modern morals thus adding conflict and development to the plot.

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702 Words | 3 Pages

It is also important to remember that “A Raisin in the Sun” is a play, the line “There is always something left to love. And if you ain't learned that, you ain't learned nothing” can also be interpreted as a direct address to the audience who at the time of this piece would have been predominantly white. Lena could have been seen as a voice advocating for social acceptance of black

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1664 Words | 7 Pages

Chicago served as a home to numerous walks of life in the 1950’s, and much of the differences in realities were based on differences in race and people’s opinions of segregation. Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun is based off of real life experiences, and it authentically tells the story of an african american family that strives for equality and The American Dream. Walter Younger, the father of the family, battles with deferred dreams of his own and for his family. Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun and Nina Simone’s song “I Wish I knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” both portray Walter’s emotions throughout his daily struggles with his family as they dealt with segregation and destitution. Money was a large contributor

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The Theme Of Dreams In A Raisin In The Sun

828 Words | 4 Pages

Poems are tools used to demonstrate dissatisfaction. The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry leads by foreshadowing its theme of crushed dreams by starting with the poem A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes. The play follows an African-American family in 1950s Chicago, consisting of protagonist Walter Lee Younger, his son Travis, his wife and Travis’ mother Ruth, sister Beneatha, and mother/grandmother Lena, called simply “Mama” in the play. Walter is ambitious and wants to move out of his small and run-down home and find a better job than a chauffeur for the kind of man he wishes he could be.

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816 Words | 4 Pages

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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