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What Is A Dream In A Raisin In The Sun

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In Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks made the powerful decision to disobey the instructions of a white man who told her to move to the back of the bus after she had finished a long day of working. Rosa Parks was then arrested and became one of the most influential leaders of the Civil Rights movement, along with Martin Luther King jr., in leading us to today’s society of social equality and justice. The activists of the movement were fighting so that one day there would be no racial discrimination in the United States of America. In her play, A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry communicates some of the challenges of being African American in the 1950’s. The reader sees the dreams and hopes of the characters, Walter, …show more content…

Hansberry’s A Raisin in the sun explores the dreams of Walter, Mamma, and Bennie, and raises the question on whether or not it is acceptable to crush someone’s dream in order to further their own. Walter Younger aspires to be able to provide for his family by becoming the owner of a liquor store. In order to do so he will need to acquire the money that his father has left behind so that Walter will be able to put a down payment on the store that he is planning to open with two of his friends. The only problem is that Mamma won’t give Walter any of the money. In the movie, A Raisin in the Sun, there is a scene where Walter and Mamma are sitting down. Walter says to his mom, Momma, you are always telling us to have a dream, and now that I finally have mine, you won’t support me. Walter is crying because of the hurt and betrayal he

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Compare And Contrast The Movie A Raisin In The Sun

1449 Words | 6 Pages

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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Examples Of Sacrifice In A Raisin In The Sun

1010 Words | 5 Pages

They do not want to sacrifice their own dreams to please the others. Unwilling to make a sacrifice proves to bring more animosity in a family as shown in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry through conflict involving money and how the characters handle their actions. Walter’s dream is to use the money to open up his own business even if it goes against his family’s wishes. Walter argues, “.... he’s

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Similarities Between A Raisin In The Sun And The American Dream

714 Words | 3 Pages

“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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Decisions In A Raisin In The Sun

973 Words | 4 Pages

Mama made a decision that put Walter in charge of the remaining money, however she did not know that this decision might not have been the best for the Younger family. Walter was hesitant in taking the money, but Mama reassures Walter by saying, "I ain't ever stop trusting you" (Hansberry 546). This line from Mama foreshadows the possibility that Walter will not obey her and do something foolish with the money. Walter proves this foreshadowing as he is talking to Travis and says, "... your daddy's gonna make a transaction... a business transaction that's going to change our lives" (Hansberry 547).

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Theme Of Selfishness In A Raisin In The Sun

811 Words | 4 Pages

In the text “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, the author uses the writing strategy of conflict to develop the central idea of how oneself can become selfish when trying to achieve the American dream. The text shows that the central idea is selfishness because circumstances are presented where various characters fail to take into consideration others while seeking their dreams. For example, Walters says, “ Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ’bout messing round with sick people, then go be a nurse like other women-or just get married and be quiet…. ’’. This example of greed shows that the ambition to obtain a dream brings out the selfishness is true in the instance of Walter.

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Loss Of Hope In A Raisin In The Sun

705 Words | 3 Pages

Some awful pain inside me.” (95) Additionally, Walter even decides that he can’t trust anybody anymore, “.. Mama you know it’s all divided up. Life is. Sure enough.

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Raisin In The Sun Character Analysis

1500 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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A Raisin In The Sun And I Have A Dream Analysis

1127 Words | 5 Pages

In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry and the speech, “I have a Dream”, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have many similarities to having many dreams, a urge for power, and a want to make a change in the world for the many years to come. In Lorraine’s play, Lena Younger, is a mother who has two children and a step daughter with a kid all living in a two bedroom apartment. Lena wants nothing more than to give her family a better life. In Dr. Martin Luther King speech he wants nothing more than to give the world a better life.

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A Raisin In The Sun Film Analysis

1601 Words | 7 Pages

“A Raisin in the Sun,” written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, was the first play ever produced on Broadway by an African-American woman and was considered ground-breaking for it’s time. Titled after Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” sometimes known as “A Dream Deferred,” the play and the subsequent film adaptations are honest examinations of race, family, poverty, discrimination, oppression and even abortion in urban Chicago after WWII. The original play was met with critical praise, including a review by Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times where he wrote, “For A Raisin in the Sun is a play about human beings who want, on the one hand, to preserve their family pride and, on the other hand, to break out of the poverty that seems to be their fate. Not having any axe to grind, Miss Hansberry has a wide range of topics to write about-some of them hilarious, some of them painful in the extreme.” The original screen adaptation released in 1961 was highly acclaimed in its own right, and was chosen in 2005 for preservation in the United States of America National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural and historical significance.

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Hardships In A Raisin In The Sun

1127 Words | 5 Pages

All Walter wanted was to have money and open his own liquor store but it was not possible. Walter’s dream was unfortle not able to come true

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A Raisin In The Sun Symbolism Analysis

1104 Words | 5 Pages

The Role of Symbols in A Raisin In The Sun A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a play that explores the theme of racial discrimination in American society. The play does this by illustrating the lives and struggles of the Youngers, a working class African American family in downtown Chicago during the 1950s. This was a period when the Black Civil Rights Movement was emerging to challenge the unjust society, in which African Americans were the victims. In order to develop the theme of racial discrimination and portray contrasting ways African Americans reacted to the embryonic movement, Hansberry utilizes symbols associated with main characters, such as Rosa’s command to her husband and Beneatha’s hair.

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Raisin In The Sun Symbolism

793 Words | 4 Pages

Trusting Walter, her son, she mistakenly gave him the money. Mama specifically told Walter to put away some money away for Beneatha Walter's sister. Like Walter Beneatha has big dreams. She wants to go to medical school

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Social Issues In A Raisin In The Sun

816 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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Theme Of Feminism In A Raisin In The Sun

1502 Words | 7 Pages

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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A Raisin In The Sun Walter's Dream Analysis

466 Words | 2 Pages

In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Loraine Hansberry, both Walter and Mama have great dreams and encounter barriers on the path to achieving their dreams. Walter dreams of owning a liquor store and being able to better provide for his family, a dream that changes when he faces the barrier of his money being stolen by Willy Harris. Mama dreams of living in a real house with a garden and also encounters barrier of her money being stolen by Willy Harris. Walter dreams of owning a liquor store and being able to financially support his family. Walter’s dream is shown in act 1, scene 1 when he explains to Ruth how the liquor store he and his friends are buying will help their family have enough money to do more than just make ends meet (32,33).

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