The play A Raisin in the Sun and the play Fences both share uncanny parallels which highlight the racism against African Americans during the twentieth century. A Raisin in the Sun follows the life of the Younger family who struggle with poverty but have a financial relief from the check consequential to the death of the father of the family. Similarly, the play Fences depicts the Maxson family who also struggles with money and the oppression that being African American had on people. The father Troy is the main character of Fences who struggles with accepting the fact that he was unable to achieve his dreams of becoming a star baseball player, raising tensions in his family and with his son Lyons. Walter, the trusted “head of the family” in …show more content…
Walter, however, was taken advantage of due to his naive nature of believing as a black man that he could become rich. Walter has the ideal life planned out for his family because he has the dream of being able to provide for them and become rich, for example sending Travis off to any college of his choosing. One of these dreams aso includes being able to live in the house that Mama plans on having the family move into. The Younger family believed that they were going to get the house, but a man of the name Mr. Lindner attempts to stop the family from moving in and crush their dreams by not wanting them to move into the new neighborhood. This was solely due to the Youngers race and was very oppressive for Walter and all of his dreams that he had planned out. Mr. Lindner explains to the family that, “It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities” (Hansberry 100). Since the neighborhood doesn’t want the Younger family based on their race, they are making Walter realize his American Dream for his family very difficult to be obtained since he has imagined so many good things to happen. This oppressive and racist views from Mr. Lindner and the new community emphasize the setback …show more content…
During Troy’s younger years he aspired to be a professional baseball player, however, at that time, African Americans were not allowed to play baseball in the major league. This racistic “rule” did not allow Troy to fulfill his American Dream. Troy tells this to Rose and Corey while they are outside and he is hitting the ball tied to the string on the big tree. Troy was always bitter about this, giving him a pessimistic view on life. Since Troy’s dad was also a bad man, this unfavorable upbringing also influenced his views in life. This perspective is why he told his son that he shouldn’t pursue his dream of becoming football player because he knows thaa in their world it is very difficult for African Americans to break out of their oppressive surroundings and move past their ethnicity. Troy knows that being black will always be a struggle for Corey and for that reason tells him that it is unrealistic to follow through with his
While the Younger family of “A Raisin in the Sun” finally realize the suburban dream of a home with “three bedrooms. and a nice big basement” African Americans of the play; rather, the younger family is met with disrespect and derision. Hansberry uses the characters of George Murchison and Mrs. Johnson to illustrate class stratification amongst African Americans during the post-war period. The scenes with these particular characters highlight the class conflict that occurred within the African American community throughout this period of suburbanization. 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.
Troy's wife Rose tries to explain that, "They got lots of colored boys playing ball now. Baseball and football." Even Bono tries to convey the same thing to him, "Times have changed, Troy, you just come along too early." Cory names some current black baseball players to his father, like Hank Aaron. Troy ignores this and says to Cory, "The white man ain't gonna let you get nowhere with that football noway." Cory blames his father of doing this out of resentment, saying, "You just scared I'm gonna be better than you, that's all." But Troy says to Rose, "I got sense enough not to let my boy get hurt playing no sports." It seems that Troy puts an end to Cory's football dream out of both his own disappointment and his desire to protect his boy. It's these wrestling of movies inside Troy that make him a complex and tragic
The play, “Fences” by August Wilson describes the life of an African-American family that is por. Troy Maxson, the father of the family, was a baseball player in the Negro League but never made it to the Majors League. The play is about Troy’s struggle with his children and wife. He has a son named Lyons who doesn’t live with the family but still begs Troy for money. Troy’s main trouble is with his son Cory. Cory wants to become a football player but Troy disagrees. Cory gave up his job and school studies to focus on football but Troy doesn’t like this and he kicks him out of the house. During all of this, Troy is dealing with racial prejudice at his work. His boss will not allow blacks to drive the garbage trucks, but after Troy’s pleading, his boss allows him to drive the truck and he becomes the first black man to drive a truck in the entire city of Pittsburgh. Cory leaves the house and doesn’t return until 8 years later when his father dies. August Wilson wrote this play because he wanted to show the racial tensions as well as the family tensions he experienced while he was a kid.
Throughout the play, pieces of Troy’s background are exposed to the reader. It quickly becomes clear that he was a talented baseball player who could have played professionally if not for the color of his skin. Instead of going on to a successful baseball career, Troy was forced to move on with his life and settle down as a garbage man. Although this is not what he truly wants in his life, it provides stability for him and his family. Similarly to his father, Troy’s son, Cory, is a talented football player who is being scouted for college. However, instead of encouraging him, Troy constantly scolds him, telling him he has to find a ‘real job;’ Troy even tells the scout to leave. This is ultimately because of his jealousy towards Cory’s success in sports, and the fact that Cory possesses the life Troy dreamed of. Many feuds and disagreements are born between the father and son because of their different views.
She’s considering having an abortion. On the other hand the daughter wants to get merry to her African boyfriend he wants her to move with him to Africa. Momma is very excited to own her first home and they also refuse to take the money from Mr. Linden, they are tired of living in the apartment, momma thinks a house is the best investment. The son is going through some extremely hard times after losing all that money trying to open a liquor store. In the story the son faces more problems the son has the most problems for example he’s in charged of the house after his father die he took over all the responsibility he’s father had. During the 1950s after the father die the son usually took over the family and all its
Walter wants to open a liquor store until the money is lost “Man, please, not with that money he … Oh, God Don’t let it be true …” Hansberry, Lorraine (2011-11-02). A Raisin in the Sun (p. 128). Ruth and the mother desire to move into a house and Beneatha’s money for the school to pursue her dreams as a doctor. Finally, the family realizes in the end if the work together as a team can accomplish goals. During the ear in which the Younger and the Garcia girls both family face racism this sometimes hinder their goals. For instance, the Younger faced this issue with Mr. Linder, a representative from the community where the Younger desired to live and had placed a down payment on the
The rude tone proves that he isn’t a sophisticated man. Later, Walter undergoes a turning point where he shows off his new, grown addition. Mr. Lindner, a white man from the Youngers’ new neighborhood, introduces himself. Mr. Lindner tells the family that he is the leader of the “Clybourne Park Improvement Association” and attempts to convince the family that he is helping them. He tries bribing the Youngers out of the white neighborhood and he claims that African American families are happier in their own black communities.
As a result of Troy being unable to find a place to live or a job he started stealing to get by. Eventually the situation escalated and he murdered someone in a robbery gone wrong; this led to him being sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prison is where he found his love for baseball. He became quite good with a bat and hoped that when he got out he could play professionally. Unfortunately due to the segregation of the MLB Troy was never able to pursue that career and he is resentful of the situation his whole life.This caused him to be a very bitter person for the remainder of his life and this also caused him to shoot down the hopes and dreams of his son Corey by telling him things like “...The white man ain’t gonna let you go nowhere with that football
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?
The day they move into their new house a guy named Mr. Linder from the Clybourne Park community came and talks to them about how the neighborhood members would like them to not move in because they are not comfortable with blacks in the white area. Walter confidently states, “And we have decided to move into our house because my father- my father - he earned it for us brick by brick....We don’t want your money” (P.148). Walter wants everyone to know that his father got them to where they are right now. He is more confident about himself, he shows that during the moving of the house. During the end of the play he realizes his family is way more important than the other things in his life. Additionally, during the talk with Mr. Linder Walter is frustrated with the racism around them and just wants to live a happy life in a great neighborhood that does not care about what color their neighbors are. Walter angrily shouts, “... You got any more to say ‘bout how people ought to sit down and talk to each other? . . . Get out of my house man”(P. 118). He is very angry because he does not want to move just because some white people want them to leave their place. Walter is very confident and stands up for his family and what they want. He has changes significantly throughout the whole play, he changes into a great man for his
Family’s loyalty is essential to keep order in the family. In both play Raisin in the sun and Fences, the father leads their family through tough struggle. In Raisin in the sun, Walter and his family receive an insurance check from his deceased father, which became the focus of the plays. Through tough conflicts and decisions, the insurance check becomes the center of the family. In Fences, Troy and his family deal with money concerns, but also life issues. The authors from both Raisin in the sun and Fences express the theme, ‘Disloyalty in the family spells disasters and dysfunction in the family’ through symbols like the insurance check from Raisin in the sun and fences from the Fences.
“A Raisin in the Sun” is set at in an area where racism was still occurring. Blacks were no longer separated but they were still facing many racial problems. The black Younger family faced these problems throughout the play. The entire family was affected in their own way. The family has big dreams and hope to make more of their poor lives. Walter, the main character, is forced to deal with most of the issues himself. Ruth, his wife, and Travis, his ten-year-old son, really don’t have say in matters that he sets his mind to. Beneatha, his sister tries to get her word in but is often ignored. Lena (Mama) is Walter’s mother and is very concerned about her family. She tries to keep things held together despite all of the happenings. Mama’s husband had just recently died so times seemed to be even harder. They all live in a small apartment when living space is very confined (Hansberry 1731). They all have dreams in which they are trying to obtain, but other members of the family seem to hold back each other from obtaining them (Decker).
A Raisin in the Sun is a play telling the story of an African-American tragedy. The play is about the Younger family near the end of the 1950s. The Younger family lives in the ghetto and is at a crossroads after the father’s death. Mother Lena Younger and her grown up children Walter Lee and Beneatha share a cramped apartment in a poor district of Chicago, in which she and Walter Lee's wife Ruth and son Travis barely fit together inside.
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.
Dreams of owning a business and having money to accomplish goals are two key parts played out throughout the whole process. Walter Younger is determined to have his own business and he will go to ends meet to see that dream come true. Financial bridges are crossed and obstacles arise when Walter makes a bad decision regarding money that could have helped the family and not only himself, if he had thought smarter. His pride and dignity are tested throughout the story and he is forced to set up for his family. The Raisin in the Sun helps readers to understand the 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.