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Comparison Of Harlem And Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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The poem, in this case, is Harlem (What happened to a dream deferred?) by Langston Hughes and Lorraine Hansberry’s the short story a Raisin in the Sun. In his poem, Lang begins with a rhetoric question wondering what happens to a dream that is deferred (Poetry Foundation n.p.). Relatively, he continues using the same questions to ponder whether the same dreams dry up just like it happens to the raisins when exposed to the sun. On the other hand, the short story Raisins in the Sun features the lives of a family of the African-Americans struggling against all the odds to meet the standards of the basic life. The discussion shall involve narrowing down to the discussed literature to determine their connections in the form of the themes explored, …show more content…

First thing first, in the poem Hughes, when unraveling the deferred dream, he wonders whether the dream dries up like a raisin exposed to the sun (Poetry Foundation n.p.). Similarly, and as Gale (n.p.) unveils, Lorraine Hansberry’s play had its title named a Raisin in the Sun. It is worth pointing out that is similar to the words that Hughes uses in his poem. In fact, the Plays and Playwrights (1540) highlights that this particular play was the first that Lorraine completed after starting her full-time writings of plays having being married by Robert Nemiroff, a playwright, in 1953. Similarly, the use of the term deferred dreams in the poem by Hughes (Poetry Foundation n.p.) seemed to resonate with the conditions of the family in the play as depicted in the play by Lorraine. When expressing dreams as being differed, it has more of a meaning of a dream where there is a postponement of its achievement to a later period. In fact, the Plays and Playwrights (1542) depicts Ruth as having a sense of disappointment in her face, and the reason was that “life has been a little that she expected (Plays and Playwrights 1542). It, therefore, means that she had no option other than pushing her dreams up to the period where life would be tolerant enough to enable the achievement of the set

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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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463 Words | 2 Pages

Most people who dream the American Dream, will dream of a life with a white picket fence, a happy family and a happy home. A Raisin in the Sun, a play written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959 tells a story of one's man's American Dream of becoming weathy, so he can be happy. A second piece entitled "Narrative Life of Fredrick Douglas" discusses how Fredrick Douglass' American Dream about how he wants to have an education. Hansberry and Fredrick Douglass discussed the similar and differences and the idea of the American Dream.

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810 Words | 4 Pages

Lorraine wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun to describe how dreams must be fought for to come true. She writes about an African American family and each member has a different dream. One of the family members, Walter, has a dream of owning a business. “this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment on the place be 'bout thirty thousand, see. That be ten thousand each.

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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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391 Words | 2 Pages

Comparing “A Raisin in the Sun” to “Harlem” The poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes is about what proceeds to happen to dreams if they are not fulfilled. This poem, which appears in the beginning of the play shows the main idea of the play, “A Raisin in the Sun” which is written by Lorraine Hansberry. Since the poem displays the main idea of the story (which is dreams), I believe that it is fitting for it to be before the play since it has the obvious connections to the book. The connections to the story are the heavy weight of the money which is represented by being compared to a sore or stink, the hope for the money which is represented by the positive words, and the sudden disappearance of the money represented

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600 Words | 3 Pages

The title of the play “A Raisin in the Sun” comes from the poem “Harlem” written by Langston Hughes. The poem is asking what happen to dreams that are not accomplished, What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ Like a raisin in the sun (Hughes) in the play many character have unaccomplished or deferred dreams. Mama dreams is moving her family out of their small apartment and into a house in a nice area with a yard for Travis and a garden for herself. She has had this dream for a long time but has never been able to accomplish it financially. After the death of her husband, the family receives a $10,000 life insurance check this money gives mama of the opportunity to buy the house she has always dreamed for her family.

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503 Words | 3 Pages

The original poem "Harlem (Dream Deferred)" had a significant impact on both Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream. " The narrator of "Harlem (Dream Deferred)" questions what happens when dreams are postponed. Both Lorraine Hansberry and Martin Luther King Jr. studied the effects of a society where everyone is unable to pursue their ambitions. Both works of literature highlight the difficulties faced by African Americans in realizing the American Dream by significantly referencing the themes and imagery found in "Harlem (Dream Deferred)". King's speech and Hughes' poem both examine the concept of stalled ambitions and the effects of a society that does not permit everyone to realize their dreams.

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806 Words | 4 Pages

“What happens to a dream deferred?” asks Langston Hughes during the Harlem Renaissance. A question a dreamer might ask before it becomes a reality. This quote is from the first line of a poem titled “Harlem” written by poet Langston Hughes, published in 1951. This poem lays the inspiration for A Raisin in the Sun, published in 1959, written by Lorraine Hansberry, a female African-American playwright. The main characters, the Younger family, a working-class African-American family residing on the South side of Chicago, all have various dreams for their desires and to escape generational poverty.

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699 Words | 3 Pages

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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1106 Words | 5 Pages

“ What happens to a dream deferred?” from Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem“ is what inspired Lorraine Hansberry to create the play, “ A Raisin in the Sun “. Hansberry introduces The Younger Family living in the Southside of Chicago, trying to live day by day, struggling for their dreams. The central theme is that even though there may be obstacles in the way of your dreams, it is crucial not to lose your dignity and pride in the journey towards your aspirations in life. Throughout this play, the reader will see how this family will go through many challenges to achieve their dreams while keeping hold of what is most important. Mama is the voice and age of wisdom.

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472 Words | 2 Pages

During 1950’s, African-American people faced a lot of challenges here in America. They experienced racism, discrimination etc. These challenges inspired many African-American writers to create poems and stories about it. And one of those is the book, The Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry was from a poem by Langston Hughes, Harlem, which is about having a dream but cannot make it happen. Lorraine Hansberry gave highlight to this part of the poem “What happens to a dream deferred?

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732 Words | 3 Pages

In Susan Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the themes identified are dreams and faith that each character signifies throughout their struggles in their daily lives. The theme dreams refer to how each of the main five characters: Ruth Younger, Walter Lee Younger, Travis Younger, Beneatha Younger, and Lena Younger dealt with different oppression situations that took part in their lives that put the dreams on hold. Furthermore, the theme also connects towards the faith that each main character had to pursue to keep their family together after the death of a love one. The characters’ in A Raisin in the Sun tries to chase after a separate dream, unfortunately their dreams are utterly pushed away to realize the importance of their family

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1543 Words | 7 Pages

What exactly happens when a dream is deferred? What are the long lasting effects if a dream is lost? In the poem, Harlem, by Langston Hughes, it questions lost dreams by asking, “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun, Or fester like a sore-- And then run?”. August Wilson explores the ideas of deferred dreams in his play, Fences, as characters experience setbacks in their life goals and must cope with loss. Wilson explores the common life experience of deferred dreams, that can be perpetuated within families of color, in his characters, Troy, Cory, and Rose.

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455 Words | 2 Pages

Name: Rafijul Islam ID: 1331231643 Section: 04 "Harlem and "Dreams" by Langston Hughes Both the poems "Harlem" and "Dreams" are written by Langston Hughes. ” Harlem" which is also known as “A dream Deferred" and "Dreams" are similar and different in a way. The form and structure of these two poems are different. Harlem is a lyric poem with irregular rhyme where Dream is a lyric poem with regular rhyme.

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698 Words | 3 Pages

In the poem, “The Slave’s Dream”, by Henry W. Longfellow, Longfellow portrays the dreams of a slave. This slave dreams about his Native Land, his family, and his life before slavery. Additionally, as the poem unfolds and ends, it is clear that these memories of his home and family resurface after he collapses and as he drifts from the land of dreams to death. Furthermore, the slave is dreaming about not only being with his family in his Native Land, but also being completely free from the bonds of slavery one way or another.

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