“A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry is a play about an African-American family, who faces discrimination and financial struggles, but still remains united throughout their journey in buying a new home. Just like the Youngers, people create lifelong goals and dreams, in which they want to accomplish. When they do not fulfill their dreams, it simply becomes “a raisin in the sun” because just like a raisin loses its juice when kept outside for too long, a dream loses its significance as well. The Younger family all have distinctive dreams and throughout the play, they do not realize the importance of family until their dreams became deferred. The title “A Raisin in the Sun” is a representation of all the characters’ dreams being deferred.
In addition, the title of Lorraine Hansberry’s play, “A Raisin in the Sun”, was inspired by one of Langston Hughes’ poem, “Harlem.” Hughes asks, “What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?” (1-3). This line is significant because it represents what the play is initially about. In the play, he Younger family has distinctive dreams, but only one dream is fulfilled. Hansberry decided to use “a raisin in the sun” as her title because the characters’ dreams were all “raisins” that lost their “taste” because some dreams “exploded,” while others were “syrupy sweet” (Hughes 8). According to Edythe McGovern, author of “A Raisin in the Sun” from the Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series, Langston Hughes’ “Harlem” poem needs to be considered pivotal in interpreting Hansberry’s play because she managed to create distinctive characters who relate “to such deferment of dreams.” Therefore, Hansberry chose A Raisin in the Sun as the title of her play, inspired by La...
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Hansberry, Lorraine. "A Raisin in the Sun." Literature for Composition. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto and William E. Cain. 10th ed. New York: Pearson, 2014. 1155-1208. Print. 8 Apr. 2014.
Hughes, Langston. “Harlem.” Literature for Composition. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto and William E. Cain.10th ed. New York: Pearson, 2014. 136. Print. 8 Apr. 2014.
McGovern, Edythe M. "A Raisin In The Sun." Masterplots II: Women’S Literature Series (1995): 1-3. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Tackach, James. "A Raisin In The Sun." Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Literature Series, Supplement (1997): 1-2. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Wang, Qun. "A Raisin in the Sun: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature. Ed. Jim Kamp. 3rd ed. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
Print Mays, Kelly. A. “The Historical Significance of a Raisin in the Sun.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. The. Ed.
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2002.
A Raisin in the Sun is written by a famous African- American play write, Lorraine Hansberry, in 1959. It was a first play written by a black woman and directed by a black man, Lloyd Richards, on Broadway in New York. The story of A Raisin in the Sun is based on Lorraine Hansberry’s own early life experiences, from which she and her whole family had to suffer, in Chicago. Hansberry’s father, Carol Hansberry, also fought a legal battle against a racial restrictive covenant that attempted to stop African- American families from moving in to white neighborhoods. He also made the history by moving his family to the white section of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood in 1938. The struggle of Lorraine Hansberry’s family inspired her to write the play. The title of the play comes from Langston Hughes’s poem which compares a dream deferred too long to a raisin rotting in the sun. A Raisin in the Sun deals with the fact that family’s and individual’s dreams and inspirations for a better life are not confined to their race, but can be identified with by people with all back grounds.
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2011. 950-1023. Print.
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 ‘A Raisin in the Sun’, Lorraine Hansberry describes each of the family’s dreams and how they are deferred. In the beginning of the play Lorraine Hansberry chose Langston Hughes’s poem to try describe what the play is about and how, in life, dreams can sometimes be deferred.
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2002. 987-1042.
Cocola, Jim and Douthat, Ross. SparkNote on A Raisin in the Sun, 16 Sep. 2008.
A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry. The primary focus of the play is the American Dream. The American Dream is one’s conception of a better life. Each of the main characters in the play has their own idea of what they consider to be a better life. A Raisin in the Sun emphasizes the importance of dreams regardless of the various oppressive struggles of life.
Work Cited:.. Hansberry, Lorraine. A. A Raisin in the Sun. 1958.
25 Apr. 2011. The. Hansberry, Lorraine. A. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: French Publishing, 1984.
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.
(Sapiro 441) A Raisin in the Sun anticipates the massive changes in gender relations-principally, the rise of feminism and the sexual revolution. Hansberry explores controversial issues such as abortion, the value of marriage, and morphing gender roles for women and men. Asagai argues that love should be enough for women, but Beneatha argues that she needs more- a career, for instance.
The late 1950s was filled with racial discrimination. There were still sections living as well as public signs of Colored and Whites. Blacks and Whites are not for any change, or at least not yet. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, tells the story of a black family that is struggling to gain 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.
Hughes, Langston. "Harlem." [1951] Literature. 5th ed. Eds. James H. Pickering and Jeffery D. Hoeper. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 1027-28.