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Essay Comparing The American Dream And A Raisin In The Sun

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The quest for a just American society represents a treacherous journey filled with upheavals that threaten achievement of the famous American Dream. The Library of Congress posits that “The American Dream” refers to a national ethos of the US that are founded on ideals of democracy, liberty, rights, opportunity, and equality, geared towards freedom, reflected in the opportunity for prosperity and success. The freedom also includes upward social mobility for family units achieved through hard work in an enabling environment. The definition of the American Dream entails equal opportunity for everyone based on ability or achievement, social class or birth circumstances notwithstanding. The foundation of the American Dream has its roots in the …show more content…

Putting this thesis into perspective requires, first, understanding that the American Dream consists of tenets about achieving success. One important attribute associated with success is that it “often involves stepping on others” (Hochschild 17). A closer look at A Raisin in the Sun reveals that racial discrimination is an impediment to equal opportunities to success in the American society. Comparing the scenarios in the two plays illustrates that the American Dream fails the test of equal opportunity, thus rendering it unattainable by all Americans. Mama reckons that it seems God saw it unfit to give a black man nothing but dreams … (Hansberry). The characters in the play are conscious about the implication of their being people of color in relation to pursuit of the American Dream. For instance, Georges, an assimilated black man, denies their African roots by assuming a “smarter than thou” attitude. On the other hand, Joseph Asagai opted to move to Nigeria to practice medicine. Unlike in Death of a Salesman where equal opportunities present themselves depending on one’s effort, George and Asagai, in A Raisin in the Sun recognize that they have to change their personality and context respectively for them to get equal opportunity and freedom to pursue their

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The setting is illustrated in Southside Chicago and shows the struggle of a black family trying to prejudices when wanting to become successfully wealthy. Between these 2 excerpts, they show that their lives are similar, but have more differences in fulfilling their American Dream. A Raisin in the Sun and The life of Fredrick Douglass have many similarities in regards to their dream. Fredrick and Walter both find their American Dream through different situations, but have meaning to them.

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Many of the African Americans in the play are fighting for equal rights and against injustice. Even women held their own part, gaining their own equality. The play set a time of simple oppositions and an eager, personal justice system. Hansberry’s, “A Raisin in the Sun” does a good job at pointing out all of society’s flaws at the time.

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Achieving the American Dream seemed impossible for African Americans during the early to mid 1900s. In A Raisin in The Sun the interpretation of the American Dream changes from generation to generation. Mama has always been concerned with the general happiness and welfare of her family, by getting the check she would be able to purchase a home, that in her eyes is ultimately the American Dream, where as for Walter it is wanting a liquor store and becoming rich. Momma was disappointed in Walter because he was not living up to his father 's expectations and being a provider for his family. She expressed her feelings by telling Walter that "Something has changed.

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In the play, “A Raisin in The Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, the question “What happens to a dream deferred?” is repeatedly shown throughout. The many ways this is shown is through lack of freedom economically and socially like for example, housing and education discrimination, social separation between white and black people, and the overall discrimination and oppressive social system. The play, A raisin in the sun is also shown to answer the question of “what happens to a dream deferred” more specifically in instances like that of Walter Lee’s dream of investing into an alcohol business, Beneatha Younger's dream of becoming a doctor, and both Ruth and Mrs Youngers dream of owning a home with a big backyard. In the play, “A Raisin in The Sun

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A RAISIN IN THE SUN was composed by Lorraine Hansberry and portrayed the difficulties of a Black family against its own particular interior issues as it is escalated by white bigotry. The play handles issues of a man controlled society, destitution and white-privilege. The everyday human difficulties of family duty and love wind up noticeably harsher battles despite urban poverty and of white bigotry. The play additionally addresses the change of the difficulties of a more seasoned age of working poor African Americans in contrast with a more youthful age’s difficulty. The relationship to white prejudice was tended to in many structures in this play.

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The Younger family must make several choices throughout the reading of "A Raisin in the Sun '' and Lorraine Hansberry's novel since each character has a distinctive American Dream. Even if the play's realities and concerns are universal, there are certain particular examples and experiences that show up in Hansberry's writing. While they are forced to consider important choices in relation to their society conventions, I also think that many of the characters go through significant shifts throughout this story. There are, in my opinion, three main principles in this work. The importance of dreams, the value of family, and the necessity of fighting racism.

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Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is a play that centers on an African American family’s struggles during the twentieth century. The play illustrates the author’s vital issues such as racial discrimination on colored people, poverty, and gender. However, it can be arguably stated that the play’s success is based on its two major themes (importance of family and significance of the family’s dreams), the main character’s personality, and the author’s standpoint in the story. One of the major themes in A Raisin in the Sun is the importance of family and values, which plays a major role in the unraveling of the story.

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In Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun, the characters struggle to achieve their dreams in a society that is often hostile to African Americans, and their efforts are complicated by questions of identity, assimilation, and empowerment. The play "A Raisin in the Sun" explores the complexities of the American Dream and the challenges that African Americans face in a society marked by systemic racism and inequality. Through the character of Mama and her decision to buy a house, Hansberry promotes the idea that material circumstances are important for achieving the American Dream, but she also highlights the limitations and challenges that African Americans face. Mary Louise Anderson's essay "Black Matriarchy: Portrayals of Women in Three

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The Dream The American Dream is a concept that has long been ingrained in American culture. It is the belief that anyone, regardless of their background, can achieve success, prosperity, and upward mobility through hard work, determination, and perseverance. Lorraine Hansberry's play "A Raisin in the Sun" is a powerful exploration of the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of an African American family in the 1950s. In this essay, I will examine how the American Dream is portrayed in the play, through the lens of three key themes: money, family, and race.

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Through the use of the historical lens, looking specifically at the economic struggles, the struggle of unequal opportunity, and the housing covenant that African-American’s faced in the 1950’s, Hansberry’s message of A Raisin in the Sun is revealed: the perseverance of an ethnic minority in a time of racial discrimination. A Raisin in the Sun is set in a time of great racial discrimination, the 1950’s in the united States. This featured racism towards those of color or non-caucasians, and the struggles commonly faced by the African-American family is shown through the eyes of the Younger family through the writing and experiences of Lorraine Hansberry. Of the three major struggles the Younger family faced, the most prominent in Act one is that of financial disability. This is best shown through the working lives of the family.

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