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Black Masculinity In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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The use and knowledge of the social context helps show the impact it has in A Raisin in the Sun. Lorraine Hansberry uses the story to show her stance on not only the Civil Rights Movement but also being a feminist and women empowerment, both being firsts at the time. It is analyzed in the article To Be a Man: A Re-Assessment of Black Masculinity in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Les Blancs written by Julie M. Burrel. Burrel states, “When examined at all, critics tend to view Hansberry’s portrayals of Black masculinity either as an unfortunate departure from her feminist concerns, or as indicative of her damaging representation of Black men(Burrell)”. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by an African American to be
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A Raisin in the Sun PBA Unit 2 Cinematography and filmmaking are art forms completely open to interpretation in many ways such lighting, the camera as angles, tone, expressions, etc. By using cinematic techniques a filmmaker can make a film communicate to the viewer on different levels including emotional and social. Play writes include some stage direction and instruction regarding the visual aspect of the story. In this sense, the filmmaker has the strong basis for adapting a play to the big screen. “A Raisin in the Sun” is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959.

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A Raisin in the Sun (“Raisin”) written by Lorraine Hansberry (“Hansberry”) and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf (“For Colored Girls”) written by Ntozake Shange (“Shange”) are both successful plays, most noted for their accomplishment of “bringing black audience to Broadway.” The plays brought black audiences to Broadway because they carried issues that black women faced daily but were unspoken. Hansberry and Shange utilized the forum to speak on behave of their own life experiences and that of all colored women. Although Raisin and For Colored Girls were written from two different social movement eras, the women characters in the plays parallel the struggles and triumphs of femininity through their experiences

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In “To Be a Man,” Julie Burrell claims that there are two types of masculinity present in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun: Mama’s version of masculinity that’s rooted from “a life-affirming Black tradition” and Walter’s version of masculinity that’s dependent on earning money for the family. (3). Initially, in Hansberry’s play, Walter was solely focused on acquiring power through wealth; however, with the decision he made to move into the white neighborhood in the end, he had grew out of his mindset of having a “capitalist masculinity.” Burrell stated that “Walter's newfound manhood...allows him to support the dreams of the women in the household against the obstacles of racist and sexist oppression"

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Gender Expectations in Different Cultures “Women are supposed to cook and do house chores… Women should be responsible for raising children… Men should tell women what they should do… Men are superior than women.” Gender expectations are evident in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and the society in Korea. Due to their different culture and lifestyle, The Youngers, the African American family, in A Raisin in the Sun have gender expectations that are different from the those in Korea.

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Bending Gender Roles in A Raisin in the Sun In society, there is definitely a standard for which gender does what. Men are very often seen as the head of a family, or the boss of a company, while women are more commonly seen as a housewife or secretary. However, if people are in a situation where money is tight and space is tighter, these roles don’t seem to hold up. In a house where everyone can work, everyone should work.

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“A Raisin in the Sun,” written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, was the first play ever produced on Broadway by an African-American woman and was considered ground-breaking for it’s time. Titled after Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” sometimes known as “A Dream Deferred,” the play and the subsequent film adaptations are honest examinations of race, family, poverty, discrimination, oppression and even abortion in urban Chicago after WWII. The original play was met with critical praise, including a review by Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times where he wrote, “For A Raisin in the Sun is a play about human beings who want, on the one hand, to preserve their family pride and, on the other hand, to break out of the poverty that seems to be their fate. Not having any axe to grind, Miss Hansberry has a wide range of topics to write about-some of them hilarious, some of them painful in the extreme.” The original screen adaptation released in 1961 was highly acclaimed in its own right, and was chosen in 2005 for preservation in the United States of America National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural and historical significance.

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In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the readers get to see how gender roles affect both men and women identities in negative ways. Two characters from the play that best demonstrate this are Walter and Benethea. For example, in the play it states, “Fine!... Going to feel fine… a man…” (Hansberry 143).

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Assimilation, is the act of submitting yourself and your culture to another that is seen as larger and more superior. Beneatha is a young college student who (out of the rest of the characters) provides an independent and ambitious perspective, as seen through her goal of becoming a doctor. During her life in this play she dates two very different men, George Murchison and Joseph Asagai. Hansberry through the book shows that George and Beneatha are almost opposites on their opinion on african-american culture, but her and Asagai both believe in self-determination whether it be believing in god or adapting to submissive to white culture.

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Discrimination runs rampant in the world, today and looking back at history. However, society mainly scrutinizes discrimination against blacks, Jews, homosexuals, and transgenders. We tend to overlook the subjugation of half of the entire human race under harmful stereotypes and outrageous expectations. Discrimination against women, highlighted by Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, began and has continued since the beginnings of society. Using strong female characters and harsh dialogue in A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry points out and criticizes the expectations and stereotypes that hinder a woman’s advancement in society.

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In 1958 she raised funds to produce her play A Raisin in the Sun, which opened in March 1959 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway, meeting with great success. A penetrating psychological study of the personalities and emotional conflicts within a working-class black family in Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun was directed by actor Lloyd Richards, the first African

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Symbolism plays a major role in a variety of ways. From a person’s death to a life of hope. The Younger family lives in poverty and each character relies on certain items. In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry expresses symbolism through the characters using a single plant and money.

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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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Throughout history, the impact on women in society has increased more and more and gender roles have both been magnified and easier to break. The differences between mother and daughter are decided on the methods of teaching, supporting, and enforcement of beliefs within the household they were raised. As daughters become mothers, they might change the way they parent based on the positive and negative effects of their upbringing. However, the “norms” of society can deeply impact a woman's development despite the way they were raised. In the play, A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry shows the relationship between mother and daughter as she depicts the differences in generational gender roles through her characters Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha

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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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In a patriarchal society, women are encouraged to focus on their family and its well-being. Most often, women achieve this by caring for the children and the home. However, in the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry suggests that women do not have to focus on the family. Instead, they can prioritize their own well-being. Hansberry exhibits these ideas through two female characters, Ruth and Beneatha.

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