A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a play that displays housing discrimination in Chicago during the 1950s. Housing discrimination was partially an effect of the Great Migration. This was an event during the 1950s that resulted in about six million African Americans “migrating” from the south to the north, Midwest, and west regions of the United States. This caused the population of black people in major northern cities to increase rapidly. They are then only able to live in certain neighborhoods, which keeps their communities segregated.
Clybourne Park is a play that was written by Bruce Norris. It was written in response to Hansberry’s play. In Clybourne Park, gentrification is displayed within the dialogue. Gentrification is one of the causes of housing discrimination in today’s society. This is when wealthy people restore homes in order to raise the value of the property and neighborhood. This play not only demonstrates discrimination towards the current home owners of the community, but also discrimination towards the buyers. This is displayed when a character from the previous play makes an appearance in the first act, and when the tables are turned in the second act. The text of the plays that demonstrate housing discrimination, an analysis of both plays, and an analysis of the switched roles of inequality will be discussed.
Three important quotes can be found within the text of A Raisin in the Sun. The first quote, stated by Walter, was made when he was complaining to mama about the advantage the white race has compared to them. In the following quote, he makes it clear that there is an obvious racial divide: “Mama – sometimes when I’m downtown and I pass them cool-quiet-looking restaurants where them white boys...
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...on does not become a problem because the residents make sure to keep different ethnic group out of their neighborhood. These two plays, though written by different people, work together to demonstrate housing discrimination and its relationship with gentrification.
Works Cited
Adler, Ben. "What “Clybourne Park” Misses About Gentrification." Next City. N.p., 2 Aug. 2012. Web. 04 May 2014.
Biro '08, Jessica. (2007). "Gentrification: Deliberate Displacement, or Natural Social
Movement?," The Park Place Economist: Vol. 15.
Hunt, Bradford D. "Redlining." Encyclopedia of Chicago. N.p., 2004. Web. 04 May 2014.
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Vintage, 1994. Print.
Norris, Bruce. Clybourne Park:. New York: Faber and Faber, 2011. Print.
Williams, Chad. "African Americans and World War I." African Americans and World War I. N.p., 2011. Web. 01 May 2014.
Each character in A Raisin in the Sun has grown through out the play. The first character I will begin to talk about is Walter Lee Younger (brother). He is Passionate, ambitious, and bursting with the energy of his dreams, Walter Lee is a desperate man, influenced by with poverty and prejudice, and obsessed with a business idea that he thinks will solve all of his problems. He believes that through his business idea, he will collect all the money he will ever need. Once he has done so, he will improve himself socially and be able to impress others.
Before seeing how class differences play an important role in “A Raisin in the Sun,” one must examine the location in which the play takes place. Hansberry defines the play’s setting as “Chicago’s Southside, sometime between World War II and the present.” (Hansberry 22) The play was written in 1959, prior to the civil rights movement in America. Even so, this post-war timeframe “exemplified a new wave of black suburbanization” (Wiese 100). As more African Americans made the transition fro...
The play focusses on three generations of Women, Nan Dear, Gladys and Dolly and where they felt as though they belonged. Nan Dear knew where she belonged and that was the humpy in the flats with her daughter and granddaughter. Nan Dear knows that she won't be accepted into white society just because she is an Aboriginal and those of a different colour or foreign country weren't accepted. Gladys and Dolly both wanted to be accepted into white society, they wanted to feel as though they belonged there.
Then, in the play, Wilson looks at the unpleasant expense and widespread meanings of the violent urban environment in which numerous African Americans existed th...
The chasing of a mirage is a futile quest where an individual chases an imaginary image that he or she wants to capture. The goal of this impossible quest is in sight, but it is unattainable. Even with the knowledge that failure is inevitable, people still dream of catching a mirage. There is a fine line that separates those who are oblivious to this fact, and to those who are aware and accept this knowledge. The people who are oblivious represent those who are ignorant of the fact that their dream will be deferred. This denial is the core of the concept used in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. The perception of the American Dream is one that is highly subjective, but every individual dream ends in its own deferment.
A Raisin in the Sun is a set in 1950s after the Second World War which was an age of great racism and materialistic in America. It is about a black family living in south side of Chicago and struggling through family and economic hardships, facing the issues of racism, discrimination, and prejudice. The family consists of Lena Younger known as Mama; Walter Lee Younger who is an intense man, Ruth Younger who is wife of Walter Lee, Travis Younger who is son of Ruth and Walter, and Beneatha Younger who is Walter’s younger sister. The whole family lives in a two bed room apartment and don’t have money to live a better life. youngers are tired from their struggle to ...
A Raisin in the Sun is a very important part of African American literature. A Raisin in the Sun is basically about the characters wanting to be who they want to be. A Raisin in the Sun displays all of the tension between white and black society. The play portrays a lot of different things through the characters actions. The play has a lot of greed in it, when it comes to mamas’ money. Mamas’ son wants the money all to himself, and mama wants to give it to the whole family.
In Fences, the setting is a big element which shows that racism can take a toll on the characters’ quality of life. The play begins with an introduction informing the readers as to where the play is taking place, “The
It becomes obvious to the reader that the racial tension Hansberry experienced growing up reflected on the way her literature is written. Moss and Wilson state that, “Lorraine Hansberry’s South Side childhood, particularly her father’s battle to move into a white neighborhood, provided the background for the events in the play” (314). Hansberry experienced many of the situations she placed the Younger family at first hand. Hansberry’s father, Carl Hansberry, was put in a similar circumstance when he moved his family into a predominately white community at the opposition of the white neighbors. He eventually won a civil rights case on discrimination. Speaking of the United States, Adler states, “A Raisin in the Sun is a moving drama about securing one’s dignity within a system that discriminates against, even enslaves, its racial minorities” (824).
Differences in generations can cause people to have different viewpoints in life. A Raisin In The Sun is a play set in the 1950s written by Lorraine Hansberry. The Youngers are a black family who lives in a cramped apartment in the South Side of Chicago. When Mama receives a check of insurance money, members of the family are divided in their own hopes of what it will be used for. Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha are the three women of the Younger household and their generational differences clearly show through their actions. The difference between generations is why Mama is the most devout, Ruth is an agreeable person, and Beneatha is outspoken and has modern views.
In the words of Jim Cocola and Ross Douthat, Hansberry wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun to mimic how she grew up in the 1930s. Her purpose was to tell how life was for a black family living during the pre-civil rights era when segregation was still legal (spark notes). Hansberry introduces us to the Youngers’, a black family living in Chicago’s Southside during the 1950s pre-civil rights movement. The Younger family consists of Mama, who is the head of the household, Walter and Beneatha, who are Mama’s children, Ruth, who is Walter’s wife, and Travis, who is Walter and Ruth’s son. Throughout the play the Youngers’ address poverty, discrimination, marital problems, and abortion. Mama is waiting on a check from the insurance company because of the recent passing of her husband. Throughout the play Walter tries to convince Mama to let him invest the money in a liquor store. Beneatha dreams of becoming a doctor while embracing her African heritage, and Ruth just found out that she is pregnant and is struggling to keep her marriage going. The Youngers’ live in a very small apartment that is falling apart because of the wear and tear that the place has endured over the years. Mama dreams of having her own house and ends up using part of the insurance money for a down payment on a house in an up-scale neighborhood. The Youngers’ meet Mr. Lindner, who is the head of the welcoming committee. Mr. Lindner voices the community’s concerns of the Youngers’ moving into their neighborhood. Is the play A Raisin in the Sun focused on racial or universal issues?
Living in Grover’s Corner can be an eye opener to wanting to modernize and live in the a world where new things happen to help instead of hinder, or it can be a lesson that teaches you how being close and doing things that your family approve can be a good quality in life. The Play “Our Town” lets you see the play in your own point of view. Either you can see living in a small community and not having much privacy as a good quality or you can think that being so close to your neighbors is a bad thing. Either way the play shows us that caring for each other and helping each other out is something you have to work on and become better. The play lets us know as long as we live our life as we want no one can take that from us.
life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father, Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of this conflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about segregation, triumph, and coping with personal tragedy. Set in Southside Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the individual dreams of the Younger family and their personal achievement. The Younger's are an African American family besieged by poverty, personal desires, and the ultimate struggle against the hateful ugliness of racism. Lena Younger, Mama, is the protagonist of the story and the eldest Younger. She dreams of many freedoms, freedom to garden, freedom to raise a societal-viewed equal family, and freedom to live liberated of segregation. Next in succession is Beneatha Younger, Mama's daughter, assimilationist, and one who dreams of aiding people by breaking down barriers to become an African American female doctor. Lastly, is Walter Lee Younger, son of Mama and husband of Ruth. Walter dreams of economic prosperity and desires to become a flourishing businessman. Over the course of Walter's life many things contributed to his desire to become a businessman. First and foremost, Walter's father had a philosophy that no man should have to do labor for another man. Being that Walter Lee was a chauffeur, Big Walter?s philosophy is completely contradicted. Also, in Walter?s past, he had the opportunity to go into the Laundromat business which he chose against. In the long run, he saw this choice was fiscally irresponsible this choice was. In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee's dreams, which are his sole focus, lead to impaired judgement and a means to mend his shattered life.
The late 1950s was filled with racial discriminations. There was still sections living as well as public signs of Colored and Whites. Blacks and Whites were not for any change or at least not yet. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, tells a story of a black family that is struggling to gain a middle class acceptance in Chicago. The family of five, one child and four adults live in a tiny apartment that is located in a very poor area. Dreams of owning a business and having money to accomplish goals is two key parts played out throughout the whole play. Walter Younger is determined to have his own business and he will go to ends met to see that dream come true. Financial bridges are crossed and obstacles arise when Walter makes a bad decision regarding money that could have help the family and not only himself, if he would have thought smarter. His pride and dignity are tested throughout the story and he is forced to setup for his family. The Raisin in the Sun helps readers to understand history of racial discrimination and how racial discrimination has an effect on the people in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as how that has an effect on the characters within the play.