Perseverance In August Wilson's A Raisin In The Sun

De jure segregation in the United States started to decline with the Brown vs Board Of Education Supreme Court ruling in the 1950s, and continued to decline through the actions of Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and others who protested against the system in hopes of being heard. But even with the passing of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s, segregation is still a prevalent force in today’s society. De facto segregation is still felt today, with riots occurring within the past ten years in Ferguson and in Baltimore, predominantly due to police brutality and income inequality. These riots, coupled with actions such as the unjustified killing of Trayvon Martin and the murder of Eric Garner while in police custody, help to show that where we are today is no better than the racist times of de facto segregation and Jim Crow. When events like these occur in today’s

In Fences by August Wilson, this same hopefulness is evident through the actions of Cory Maxson, who remains hopeful and willing to compromise despite societal and racial pressures. In Native Son by Richard Wright, Bigger Thomas remains hopeful in spite of a racist society through his search for meaning. A Raisin In The Sun implies a theme of perseverance through the character and actions of Walter Younger. The plot in A Raisin In The Sun centers around an African American family, the Youngers, who gain inheritance money while living in a poorer community of Chicago. Many within the family are welcoming to this change, due to the fact that their household leaves a lot to be desired. To them, “all pretenses but living itself have long since vanished from the very atmosphere of the room” (Hansberry 1871). As a whole, the Youngers are very unhappy with their present living conditions and wish for change, which comes in the form of