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. This shows the family such as Mama and Ruth that they can’t trust Walter with anything now because he lost all of the portion of the money. He is looked down upon for not becoming the “Man” of the house and taking full responsibility when he is supposed to. Another traditional gender role that I see Hansberry challenging is Beneatha in the middle of the book. Beneatha explains how she has started taking guitar lessons Mama and Ruth laugh out loud making fun of her and asking why she wants to play the guitar. All of sudden she gets upset when Mama and Ruth don’t take it seriously “How come you done taken it in your mind to learn to play the guitar?” (Hansberry pg 47). This shows that Mama does not take Beneatha seriously when
A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry and whose title was derived from the poem Harlem by Langston Hughes, is a tragic play taking place in South Side, Chicago, where it portrays the life of an African American family known as the Youngers in the 1950s. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, reflects modern thought by reconstructing the ideals of a modern family in American society through the idea of assimilation and its cause of cultural clashes, how wealth plays a role in social status, and how racial discrimination is still pervasive today even after movements that brought such changes of better equality to light. The assimilation movement that appears as the primary contender for cultural clashes within the play presents the social struggle
In the social drama Raisin in the Sun, Written by the playwright, Lorraine Hansberry shows how a struggling family in Southside Chicago act because of money. In the 1950’s a son puts pressure on his family in order to own a business so he can provide. Sacrifices were made in order to try to repair the family. This popular story has been made into movies and stories. The stories were not altered but the appearance and attitudes were sure different.
In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, thoughts of femininity and masculinity are woven throughout the play. The play is set in the 1950s, a time where racial tension still existed among black and white Americans even though segregation no longer existed. A Raisin in the Sun is about the Youngers, an African American family living in the slums of Chicago. The father has just passed away, and the family is about to receive an insurance check for $10,000. Each family member has his or her own idea as to how the money should be spent.
In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, she discusses many types of dreams and familial situations. The drama shows how life was in 1950s Chicago for a lower-income, African-American family: the Youngers. Composed of Walter, his wife, son, mother and sister, the Younger family faces many trials as they try to move up in status, figure out what to do with the ten thousand dollar life insurance check, and attempt to achieve their dreams. In the story, Walter plays both the protagonist and antagonist, in a very antihero sort of way, aiming to help the family, but ultimately losing some respect from his family, along with most of their money. Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Younger grows from a money-obsessed man into a more caring
The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry debuted on Broadway in 1959, and the movie was made in 2008. “A Raisin in the Sun” is about the Younger family, the fifth generation of lower-class African-Americans living in Chicago’s Southside. They are faced with problems such as racial discrimination, poverty, and conflicting dreams. As the family decides on how to spend the insurance check of $10,000 from Walter’s father’s death, these problems cause many conflicts to rise. Reading the 1959 play and the 2008 movie, I have realized certain similarities and differences in how the story plays out.
Every hero has a some short of hard work in his or her success. In the story, “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, Len Younger (Mama) is down to earth, hardworking black woman who does not suffer fools. She had dedicated her life to her children and struggles to install her values in them. Throughout the play, Mama struggles to connect with her grandchildren, Beneatha and Walter. Mama’s faith was put to the test near the end of the play when she entrusts Walter with the $6,500 that is left from the insurance check.
A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry about the struggles, dreams, and views of a black family in the 1950s. The Younger’s get a large check, which changes everyone. It fuels their greed, dreams, and actions. Beneatha wants to be a doctor and wants to marry a man who will respect her, Walter wants to run a liquor store, and Mama wants everyone to get along. They have their own ambitions but share a common goal; happiness.
A Raisin in the sun is a play that portrays a black family living in the bad side of Chicago. The family comprises of Mama; the matriarch of the family, her son Walter, daughter Beneatha, Walter wife Ruth and their son Travis. The family is living in a cramped apartment, with limited privacy and space as well as a shared bathroom with another tenant. The two members of the family that are actively working in the job market hold low paying jobs in the service industry. The family has money problems.
Claudia Arevalo English 1 Mr.Paul 3/22/23 In the play “Raisin in the Sun'' by Lorraine Hansberry, the author conveys the idea that people can become selfish when trying to achieve the American Dream. This is shown through multiple events throughout the play when the characters search for a better way of life. For example, when Walter made a misogynist comment and told his sister to settle on becoming a nurse like all women instead of a doctor.
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.
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.
Another way Hansberry elucidates the impact of being greedy is when Ruth goes to get her baby aborted and Walter says nothing about it. Once the audience learns that Ruth is going to abort her baby, Lena says, “When the world gets ugly enough -- a woman will do anything for her family. The part that’s already living” (Hansberry 198). Ruth rationalizes her decision to kill her baby by stating that killing the child will leave more money for the family, and since Walter only wants to be rich, he is not willing to save his child. Hansberry uses Ruth’s attempt to abort her baby to show the reader that being too money focused can lead a person to sacrifice their own family members for the sake of earning more money.
A Raisin in the Sun addresses major social issues such as racism and feminism which were common in the twentieth century. The author, Lorraine Hansberry, was the first playwright to produce a play that portrayed problematic social issues. Racism and gender equality are heavily addressed throughout the play. Even though we still have these issues today, in the 1950’s and 60’s the issues had a greater part in society. Racism and gender have always been an issue in society, A Raisin in the Sun is an important piece of American history during that time period.
Reader Response: 3 “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, is a play about a black families experience in 1950s South Side Chicago. The story revolves around what happens to the family when Lena Younger, the matriarch of the family, receives a ten thousand dollar life insurance check upon the death of her husband. Everyone from the family has different plans for what they want to do with the money. Lena Younger serves as the head of the family. She is Walter and Beneatha’s caring mother so they and Ruth call her Mama.
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.