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Resilience In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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“No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That's the only way to keep the roads clear.” the wise Greg Kincaid says. This explains resilience and that you can overcome bad situations with hard work and perseverance. In A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, this kind of resilience connects with Beneatha Younger. While her family goes through difficult times after Walter Sr. has passed away, Beneatha faces many challenges. Beneatha, a resilient young woman, must try to find herself while overcoming the ridicule of others and being treated like a child, not a mature adult in the Younger’s family. Chicago in the 1950’s was also a difficult time for African Americans to face. Dealing with discrimination, segregation, and less opportunities as …show more content…

She was not like other young women that would be housewives or maids at her age but instead is independent. Looking after herself and making more of a life for herself, she attends school, tries to play guitar, and looks for a love interest. This breaks the stereotype of a “normal” woman who is a housewife or maid and shows Beneatha is different. Therefore, Beneatha overcomes this criticism of her “unnatural ways”, and proceeds to make her life successful. A Raisin in the Sun is an inspirational book/play that tells the overcoming story of an African-American family Going through the terrible struggles of Chicago in the 1950’s. Greg Kincaid once said “No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That's the only way to keep the roads clear.”. This explains Beneatha younger, a young woman who tries to find herself while dealing with others scrutinizing and being treated like a child in her family. In conclusion, Beneatha younger is an overpowering character that is shaping her life through independence, an education, and growing closer to her

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“Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” This statement is used as an inspirational message , by our coaches, to inspire the football team to work hard and give it our all. Hansberry depicts this idea of working hard in the text A Raisin In The Sun. She creates an idea that, if you don’t work hard you will not achieve great things. A Raisin In The Sun Is written by Lorraine Hansberry and is a historical fiction based on the everyday lives of African Americans, who work hard through the barriers of segregation to achieve their dreams.

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He respect his mother and father, but mostly fear his father. Even though he fears his dad, he still tries to protect his mom from his dad when he tries to hurt her. When his dad was about to hurt her, he forgot all his fear and tries to stop his dad. For Beneatha, She always tries to do new things everyday and she was the only promising person for her future in her family. But because she was a colored person, she would have a rough time through her life to become a doctor.

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The cultural confusion that Beneatha has driven her to look back into her original family heritage. She looks into the African tribal apparel, headwear, along with tribal language/chants influenced by Asagai. She first finds that maybe the tribal culture isn't for her when she gets into a conflict with her brother walter. A quote describing that incident is

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Dreams lie at the core of A Raisin in the Sun and serve to push the action of the story forward while creating tension between characters whose dreams appear to others as obstacles. The theme of ownership runs through both Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 play and the 1961 film, manifesting itself primarily in the Younger family’s individual dreams and

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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

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This “directly engages segregation struggles in Chicago as a penultimate symbol of black oppression and resistance” (Gorden 212). Gordon explains that the author Hansberry, describes the serious of how serious this was during her time in the fifties and she wanted to bring “local, individual struggles of African Americans” in the story (Gorgen

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Hardships and trials help to shape, mold, and create characters in stories, this is evident within the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Hansberry’s assertive character, Beneatha, connects to the messages from classic Motown songs of the time period such as: inequality, identity, and respect. These songs sing of some characteristics and problems Beneatha holds. Through the soulful sound of Nina Simone’s song, “Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”, a cry for equality is heard that is similar to the one from Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun.

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In the play “A Raisin in the Sun,” the family explores many issues, both within their family and with outside conflicts. This play has a historical feel to it. In Chicago 's south side a black family is living in a run-down apartment. It takes the readers back to a time that many young people don’t know of, and a time that offers respect to older generations (1959). The play takes on a few social reforms.

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The play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is written based off of her experiences with her family and her struggles with discrimination. The play takes place in the Southside of Chicago between WW II (1939) and the 1950’s. The play is about an African American family, the Youngers, and their efforts in a world of discrimination. The play’s plot is most influenced by the actions, conflicts and dialogue of Mama and her son Walter as they differ on opinions and decisions. Mama is of great importance in the development of the plot.

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Beneatha 's dream is to go to college and become a doctor. She wants to prove her family´s disbeliefs of her becoming a doctor wrong. Yet she feels defeated after her brother, Walter, goes out and gives away all of her college money to some man that ends up disappearing with the money. She faces challenges financially and faces backlash from her family.

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Walter uses his male privilege to put Beneatha down. Beneatha battles being underprivileged at home and in society by defying odds and choosing her own path. According to the matrix of domination, Beneatha being an African American woman shows that in order for her to have full privilege she has to deal with both the isms. The social construction of difference has produced racism and sexism and connected them and society has used them to justify

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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.

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1127 Words | 5 Pages

Beneatha also faced a hardship in her life, but herr 's was different from the rest. She face problems with education. Her family did not fully support her decision of wanting to become a doctor. Beneatha wants to become a doctor but her family is not that wealthy.

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732 Words | 3 Pages

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

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825 Words | 4 Pages

In Act 1, Beneatha’s quest to find her personal identity is seen in the way she expresses herself, her ambitions, her roots and the way she deviates from what is acceptable in her family. She tries to find ways to express herself such as trying different hobbies. In the past, Beneatha has been a part of a play-acting group, horseback-riding club, and in Act 1 starts guitar lessons (47). She also has the ambition to become a doctor which is looked down upon by her brother, Walter Lee (38). Additionally, her African roots are important to her search for identity.

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