Respect Yields Harmony Written and set in the 1950s, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun encompasses the struggles of a lower-class African-American family, living in Chicago’s Southside. Even though such struggles may seem exclusive to the time period and the family’s race, Hansberry includes multiple life lessons throughout her play that skillfully transcend any potential limitations, and stand true for the majority of people. Through the use of her characters’ actions and words, Hansberry importantly illustrates that in order to maintain harmonious relationships, people must respect others’ opinions, decisions, and dreams.
Being able to dream is one of the major rights a person can have. And also being able to pursue that dream is also another step forward. Having the same opportunities as other people is seen as one of the most important rights a person can have in this world. Each of the characters in the Younger family has a particular individual dream. One wants to move to a bigger home, one wants to attend medical school, one wants to rise above his social class though does not necessarily have a plan to do so.
Once she is down the stairs she is positioned in front of a mirror and we see how she stares at her self with enjoyment. We also see how she enjoys the attention of Walter watching her as she finishes buttoning up her dress and putting on her lipstick. When viewing the two characters we see that Phyllis admires her reflection in the mirror and while ignoring Walter we see how self-centered she can be. The mirror gives alertness to the viewers because she says to Walter “I hope I’ve got my face on straight”. This remark explains that mirror shots foreshadow a two-face deception and are a cinematic technique used in film noir that can create a reflection more powerful than the women they actually mirror (Place 1980).
Josh Jameson, an avid author, once said, “There comes a time when you have to choose between turning the page and closing the book.” When facing a crossroads in life, one must always question whether to face adversity or give up in the pursuit of happiness. This idea also applies to the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, where Big Walter and his son, Walter Lee, choose between sacrificing their lives and dreams or giving up and living a monotonous life. Big Walter is an overworked father whose death provides his family a chance to escape their financial crisis. All the while, Walter is sacrificing his dream of investing since no one supports him.
The Younger family lives in a small apartment in Chicago. Big Walter died recently, and now his life insurance check of $10,000 is to arrive soon. Walter wishes to use it for a liquor store, Beneatha wants to use it for medical school, and Mama is not sure how she wants to spend it. By the end of the first scene, Ruth falls ill and it is revealed that she is pregnant.
In the book Raisin in The Sun the characters talk about their dreams. Dreams are most helpful because they give you hope of one day reaching those sensations in people’s lives. The author Lorraine Hansberry intended the book to have the certain impact about how people back then struggled to deal with harsh circumstances that act in their everyday life. The dreams of Mama, Ruth and Walter show us that, despite great obstacles, the American Dream is still possible. First, one character who possesses a powerful dream is Walter.
“Choices made, whether bad or good, follow you forever and affect everyone in their path one way or another.” J.E.B. Spredemann. The theme I chose to analyze is choices and consequences. For this type of writing assignment, I’ve decided to choose the following readings. The poem titled Harlem was written by Langston Hughes in 1951.
In the play Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry takes place on the southside of Chicago where Walter and his family are racially profiled and show us how the survive throughout their struggles. The central struggles for the younger family in their search for the American dream is mostly poverty and being racially profiled against for their actions. Hansberry challenges the traditional gender roles and issues of dominance throughout the play when Mama gives Walter lee the rest of the money at the end of the play. He becomes all excited and was supposed to save some for himself and put the rest of the money to Beneatha 's education. Instead, he gave all that money to Willy another character in the play which later on that he stole from him.
In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, Mama and Walter Younger both have great dreams but encounter at least one barrier to their success. Mama dreams of the day when her son, Walter Jr., becomes similar to her husband; however, Walter rejects Mama’s dream by denying the aspects of a happy family and by being materialist. Likewise, Walter has a dream of being a wealthy and powerful businessman, but his hastened, unrealistic route to money stands in the way of his dream. Throughout the play, Mama displays her dream of her son, Walter Jr., becoming a non-materialistic, family man similar to her late-husband, Walter Sr. When Ruth, Walter’s wife, decides to abort her child, Mama expresses to Walter that she is “waiting to hear
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun follows the struggles of an African American family living in a neighborhood in 1950s South Side Chicago. The play discusses several issues pertaining to African Americans of the time, such as poverty and discrimination. One of the major themes of the story is the search for a sense of belonging; whether that’s a sense of belonging to the continent of Africa, a neighborhood in Chicago, or on a personal level within the Younger family. The play explores this theme through its characters Beneatha, Mama and Walter.
Racism and Assimilation in Chicago: Selling Your Soul to the System Author Lorraine Hansberry explores racism and assimilation in her 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun. The play focuses on the Younger family, who are trying to make the most out of bad circumstances. The family gets a life-changing opportunity after their father dies and they recieve $10,000 in life insurance money. Each member of the family has their own idea of how to spend the money, from starting a business to becoming a doctor. However, all their goals seem unattainable due to the extreme African-Americans faced in pre-civil-rights Chicago.
Lorraine V. Hansberry Author Lorraine Hansberry, who is considered one of the Great American authors, wrote during the Modernist period. She wrote “A Raisin in the Sun” in 1959. In this work, we can see evidence of the characteristics, themes and style identified with the Modernist movement which was extant in American letters between 1850’s and after WWII. Lorraine Hansberry wrote during this time period of American literature, and such, remains one of the most identifiable and iconic writers of her time. Lorraine Hansberry was born on May 19, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois.
When Dreams Meet Reality The United States was believed to be a prosperous time for all American citizens in the 1940s. However, this was a dream that could not be farther from the truth. There are two plays that are set in the 1940s that show the truth of the era. The first play is titled A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.
Does society care about people who gets discriminated or the fact that there are many people in poverty of money problems? Well that's a question to be answered by our societies , that many people who’d wish to live a life without money problems nor living in poverty, or it could just be the fact that they don’t like being discriminated by other people, they would want that question to be answered the most. That’s what “Raisin in the Sun” is all about, a poor family from Chicago South Side during the late 1950’s and they high hopes of living a more happy life than living a more uncomfortable and depressing life. The family is consisting of five people, Walter, Mama, Beneatha, Ruth, and Travis.
The character purchased a house for her family to enrich and grow in life, regardless of the challenges they face just like the plant with little sunlight to survive. The family soon held together once they moved into their new house which also meant a new beginning. Susan Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, themes identified are dreams and faith that each character signifies throughout the entire play. The family was slowly falling apart from the challenges that they faced that pushed their dreams away and faith was slowly leaving as well. Through these trials, Lena Younger did what she felt was the right and new beginning for her
