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Comparing Linda Loman And A Raisin In The Sun

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Lena and Linda: So Different and Yet the Same

“Death of a Salesman” and “A Raisin in the Sun”, two Tony Award winning plays; both are revered as classics. Both have been revived, reprinted, and filmed multiple times. however, that is not all they have in common; both plays share strikingly similar matriarchs. In 1949 Arthur Miller premiered his play “Death of a Salesman”; in this he introduces us to Linda Loman. When we meet Linda, she seems content with her lot in life, on the surface. In reality, she is living in survival mode for herself and for her husband Willy Loman. She lives with her husband and two sons, who are somewhat disconnected from themselves and each other. Some time Later, in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry debuted her play “A Raisin in the Sun”; Here we are introduced to Lean Younger. When we meet Lena, affectionately referred to as mama; she is awaiting a ten-thousand-dollar life insurance check from her late husband. She lives in a very small apartment with her daughter, son, daughter in law, and grandson. Her …show more content…

She serves as the voice of reason to the guys in her life. She constantly mediates between Bill and Willy, in attempts to salvage their broken relationship. More than family mediator, she is Willy’s rock; “She sings to him, dresses him, and mothers him through his disillusion and distress. As the rock of a dysfunctional family, this stay at home mom and wife wraps her life around her husband and boys, whose arrested development saddens her.” (Rosenzweig). She is so protective and fearful about Willy’s mental state; she goes as far as kicking her sons out of the house and verbally assaulting them for hurting willy’s feelings. “Get out of here, both of you, and don’t come back! I don’t want you tormenting him any more. Go on now, get your things together! You can sleep in his apartment. Pick up this stuff, I’m not your maid any more. Pick it up, you bum, you! You’re a pair of animals! (Cheuse

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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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The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry debuted on Broadway in 1959, and the movie was made in 2008. “A Raisin in the Sun” is about the Younger family, the fifth generation of lower-class African-Americans living in Chicago’s Southside. They are faced with problems such as racial discrimination, poverty, and conflicting dreams. As the family decides on how to spend the insurance check of $10,000 from Walter’s father’s death, these problems cause many conflicts to rise. Reading the 1959 play and the 2008 movie, I have realized certain similarities and differences in how the story plays out.

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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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This shows that he thinks of himself and his white neighbors as separate from the Younger’s and shows racism, which will affect the family if they move. At this moment, everything about them moving to Clybourne Park is given a negative point of view from both Mr. Lindner and Mrs. Johnson; leaving the family in a ponder. Following this, their final aspiration to what they were lastly holding onto is blown when Bobo tells the family that their entire savings is gone and Willy Harris has stolen it. The family is left in a state of weakness and deficiency; the family is devastated and starts to fall apart. When the family start to fall apart, Mama will still be the one to pull everyone back together because she is the backbone of the family.

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The play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and the movie A Raisin in the Sun directed by Kenny Leon, which was a version of the play created in 2008, both have a lot of similarities and differences. The plot of the play starts out in a small apartment where a family of 5 people live. A massive check is coming in the mail and the play circles around what the family does with the money. The main thing is that they buy a house and water, the main character, losses the rest of the money from an investment gone bad.

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The play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is written based off of her experiences with her family and her struggles with discrimination. The play takes place in the Southside of Chicago between WW II (1939) and the 1950’s. The play is about an African American family, the Youngers, and their efforts in a world of discrimination. The play’s plot is most influenced by the actions, conflicts and dialogue of Mama and her son Walter as they differ on opinions and decisions. Mama is of great importance in the development of the plot.

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924 Words | 4 Pages

Imagine that your father or spouse has passed away. Obviously it is a sad time and everyone is grieving and hurt, But if there is any good new to be taken out of this it is that there was a life insurance policy, and a large one at that. Due to the sum of the money it causes a family feud. One person wants a house, one wants to go to college, one wants to start a new business. So who gets the say and how will picking one option over the other impact the family, and will there be feelings of betrayal.

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Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun are both sensational dramas written in and around the 1950’s, which look at the lives of those futilely attempting to pursue the American dream. The key difference between the works is the race of the family therein. In Death of Salesman, we have a Caucasian family living in central New York. In contrast, A Raisin in the Sun showcases the racial tension faced by an African-American family living in South-Side Chicago in the 1950’s (Cooper). While this is a perspicuous difference the works still draw a large number of parallels to each other.

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The family doesn't really trust Willy because of the way he is and they

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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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In A Raisin In the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry illustrates the life of a family in Chicago who lives in a segregated community. Beneatha is a twenty year old, free spirited feminist. However, Mama is a sixty-five year old, religious, traditional woman. Despite the fact that Mama and Beneatha have diverse beliefs they both have an advantage to learn from each other. Even though Beneatha and Mama are forty-five years apart in age, they benefit from each others perspective.

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1502 Words | 7 Pages

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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1449 Words | 6 Pages

During the 1950’s, women undergo oppression in the grip of a patriarchal society and lack the encouragement of discovering their roots. Beneatha Younger challenges the social uniformity when she explores her family’s African heritage through the aid of Asagai. Although Joseph Asagai in Lorraine Hansberry's “A Raisin in the Sun” encourages Beneatha’s quest for cultural identity, he is decidedly less progressive on the issues concerning the relationship between men and women. Beneatha’s love interest Asagai is seemingly impeccable, a melange of sophistication and advanced contentions.

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Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun presents the rise of feminism in America in the 1960s. 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 feministic ideology in the play. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, with the feminist notions displayed in the play, women can fulfil their individual dreams that are not in sync with traditional conventions of that time.

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Just within the recent decades, men and women started to fight against the gender stereotypes and started to challenge their roles in a family and in the society. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, portrays the lives of African–Americans during the 1950s. Lorraine Hansberry, a writer and a social activist, reinforced the traditional gender roles, especially female’s, by depicting how the Youngers interact and how they act in an economical struggle. Throughout the play, A Raisin in the Sun, she uses Walter Lee Younger, Ruth Younger and Lena Younger to reinforce the traditional role of fathers, wives and mothers within a family.

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