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Similarities Between Death Of A Salesman And A Raisin In The Sun

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Recommended: Comparative essay death of a salesman and a raisin in the sun

Charlotte wilson
Mr. Jacobs
American Literature Honors
March 25th, 2023
The Demise of the Working Class Through the Idea of Reminiscence
A common theme between the two plays, The Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun, written by playwrights Arthur Miller and Lorraine Hansberry utilizes the literary device of reminiscence, specifically to show how the characters are unsatisfied with the life they have, leading them to escape their emotions through the reminiscence of their imagination to exemplify the working class greed leading to an ultimate downfall within 1950s American society. Willy Loman, the protagonist of Death of a Salesman, faces many obstacles in his pursuit of success which ultimately leads him to become unhinged and reminiscent …show more content…

While in an argument with Lena younger, also referred to as Mama, the two bicker about the meaning of freedom, whether freedom is life or money. Hansberry demonstrated this by using one of Mama's experiences in the argument to show his unsuccess as a working-class man has made him a money-stricken man. This is seen when Hansberry states; “Oh so now it's life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life- now its money. I guess the world really do change” (Hansberry 74). Hansberry shows how Walter's disregard for Mama's experience shows his greed as he has only focused on the insurance money from his father's death ultimately because as a working-class citizen in America, his dreams of success were shut down by the lack of opportunity. In the end, he is only worried about it because of the capitalistic gain he could potentially make if he got the money for his deal, while Mama is focused on the past and the struggles they as a family have faced. The use of reminiscing in the past with the channeling of emotions emphasizes how Walter portrays the image of the unsuccessful working class who uses emotion to escape failure. The literary device of reminiscence shows how the two playwrights have similar depictions in character as they both represent a similar commentary of the 1950s American

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For instance, Walter can be seen making a deal with Bobo and Willy at the Green hat, as well as seeing him in a state of frustration inside the bar after his argument with Mama and Ruth over his investment. All of these scenes weren’t added inside the play. Above all, in the very end in the movie, Walter was the last one seen in the house. He also handed Mama’s plant to Mama as well. This represents how Walter has developed because the plant also represents Mama’s dreams, and Walter is seen handing Mama the plant (or, her dreams) unlike the book, where Mama is the last one seen inside the apartment.

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry both display the topic of parenthood. Atticus the father of Scout, 8 in To Kill a Mockingbird and Ruth the mother of Travis, 10 in A raisin in the Sun both parent their kids differently. In both these books the family deals with their own struggles while trying to raise their kids to navigate the world; however Atticus does a better job being transparent about the struggles leading to Scout having a better understanding of the world around them, where as because of Ruth's lack of communication Travis is more aloof and confused. Harper Lee shows heavy communication about the topic of how to understand people better between Scout and Atticus.

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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.

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Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller, is about the dysfunctional Lowman family. The family consists of salesman father Willy, homemaker mother Linda, son and sports star Biff, and youngest son and daddy’s boy Happy. It became apparent through the course of the story, that the “Men” of the story were actually boys. By analyzing the males of this story the reasons for their immaturities become clear.

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In Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, we see the story of a young man who believes having money is the key to happiness. In the story, Walter recieves a check and with it, his excitement grows. However, his mother and wife do not share the same passion he does. " WALTER: A job.

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“People might not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly work for all they get” – Fredrick Douglass. The Life of Fredrick Douglass by Fredrick Douglass was published in 1845. He was a slave who ran away to the North to be labeled as free in America. He soon became an abolitionist who was the voice of civil and political rights of slaves. On the other hand, a play called, A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, expresses how wealth is a dream in Walter’s eyes.

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For Walter, society is suppressing his dreams from becoming a reality and causing him to live a life he doesn’t want. This is exhibited through Hansberry’s use of the phrase “rich white people”. It shows how the predominately white society of the 1950’s did not allow people like Walter, who were of a different race, the opportunity to have the same luxuries and success that they have. This causes Walter to believe that he will forever be stuck in a bad job and a small apartment where his son has to sleep in the living room, which means he will forever

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Lorraine Hansberry explores how one person's actions can have a negative effect on others through the characters of Walter, Beneatha, and Mama. Walter Younger shows how his actions negatively affect others. He shows this by investing all of Big Walters life insurance losing it. Mama responds in anger and disappointment saying, “I seen . . . him . .

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A final way Hansberry the audience recognizes the terrible impact of greed on people is through Lena’s response to Walter’s constant begging for money. Lena, a sapient woman, says to Walter, “... so now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life -- now it’s money”

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The change in diction towards Walter from “rat” to “man” conveys that she has learned a hard lesson about family togetherness. Mama’s message to Beneatha is the same theme Hansberry is relaying to her readers. Each member of the Younger family demonstrate change in relation to the theme before and after the

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American Dream Lost The American Dream is the idea that life should be better, with opportunity for everyone; regardless of age, class, or race, to live a fuller and richer life. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald there are two very different characters, Walter Younger Junior and James Gatsby, but they are both aiming to reach their American Dream. Walter is aiming for a new life while trying to break the color barrier, and Gatsby is trying to reconnect with his young love. They may seem like two different dreams, but for many reasons they both fail for the same exact reasons.

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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?”

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Today, mental health is a well-respected and discussed topic. However, this has not always been the case. Wrongful diagnoses and a lack of understanding have long caused much to be dismissed from traditional practices. In Arthur Miller’s work Death of a Salesman, the protagonist, Willy Loman, battles his undiagnosed mental condition throughout the story. Similarly, R. P. McMurphy from Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s

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Her family was her prominent inspiration to write the play, and she wants to depict how Black people were mistreated in the 1950s. The Chicago Public Library states in an interview with Hansberry that she “noted similarities between Nannie Hansberry and Mama Younger and between Carl Hansberry and Big Walter. Walter Lee, Jr. and Ruth are composites of Hansberry’s brothers, their wives and her sister, Mamie” (Chicago Public Library). Incorporating personal experiences and truth into the play, Hansberry is able to have a stronger outcry about the mistreatment of Blacks. The characters are relatable to the audience, and it is evident that Hansberry poured her soul into writing this play.

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In history, there have been an innumerable amount of plays written, but none so flawlessly encapsulate the realities of achieving the American dream than Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun by Arthur Miller and Lorraine Hansberry respectively. Although the two plays are very different, the characters and the issues they face, at its core, parallel each other because they both deal with the failure of dreams. Both set in the 1940s, Death of a Salesman deals with a white family’s unrealized dreams while in Brooklyn, New York, whereas A Raisin in the Sun concerns the turmoil of an African American family living in the southside of Chicago about agreeing on the same dream. As Terrence Smith and Mike Miller wrote, “The purpose of drama is not to define thought but to provoke it,” essentially stating that drama is not merely meant to entertain and instruct the viewer what to think, but to pose as a form of expression to inspire people to reevaluate rigid opinions and make society examine itself in a mirror.

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