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Similarities Between Raisin In The Sun And Hamlet

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Gender
The terms gender and sex are often used interchangeable; however, the definition and concept of these two terms are not substitutable. The term gender refers to the society’s definition of which, what could be described as a female to male categories. The term sex refers to the chromosomal differences in a person’s body of a male and female. William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, is a historical tragedy play. Hamlet was written in the early 1600’s, which includes characters of the royal family and its subordinates. While Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, is a domestic tragedy play. A Raisin in the Sun was written in 1959 that includes the characters of African American middle class citizens. The societies of both plays demonstrated …show more content…

Both authors’ characterized males as the head of the family and that they are the one who should protect the females. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, social behaviors for males are to be manly, true to themselves, and controlling. For example as Polonius a kings men stated to his son Laertes, “And, above all, be true to yourself” (Shakespeare 1376). Polonius the head of his family is telling his son to go explore and find friends, which are either female or male and to test out whom they are. He is telling his son to be friendly with people, but to not become too attach to them, while being in dominate of the society by being true to himself. Moreover, Polonius is also being in control of his daughter, stating what she can and cannot do, in order to protect her from Hamlet. In addition, the masculinity of gender is also shown in Raisin in the Sun. Hansberry exemplifies how males are suppose to be the on in dominate of the society and how they should do what is best for their women. The protagonist of Raisin in the Sun, Walter stated, “ I tell you I am a man- and I think my wife should wear some pearls in this world!” (Hansberry 1530). This statement refers to what the protagonist deemed as manly, which is earning an income for the family and how he should support his women. Walter wants to do what is best for his

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Compare And Contrast The Movie A Raisin In The Sun

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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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In the play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, there are many examples of sexism throughout its entirety. The character, Walter, demonstrates the acts of a sexist human being. Walter is sexist to not only women in general, but to the women in his family. Not taking into consideration of other people’s sayings and their feelings, Walter generally only thinks about himself, says what he believes, and truly only cares about money. Walter constantly is fighting with all of the women in the family as well.

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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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