A Raisin In The Sun Symbolism Analysis

Vincent Graziano
Ms. Punting
English III Honors- 5th(E) Period
9 May 2016
Symbolism in A Raisin in the Sun Symbols are often employed in order to highlight the theme of a play. Playwright Lorraine Hansberry uses several symbols in her 1959 play, A Raisin in the Sun. Though there are several symbols used throughout the play, Hansberry uses three main symbols to convey her messages. The three main symbols seen in A Raisin in the Sun are the breakfast eggs, the new house and garden, and Mama's plant. In Act I, Ruth tells Walter to eat his eggs after Walter begins to talk about his idea for owning a liquor store and how Ruth needs to support him more. The eggs symbolize the acceptance of the adversity faced in everyday life by the Youngers and Ruth's mundane approach to supporting Walter. Several times at the beginning of the first scene of the first act, Ruth shuts Walter's ideas out by telling him to eat his eggs. Walter points out that

Mama's plant symbolizes her family and the African American community during this time period. Just as the plant is sickly and dying in Acts I and II, so too is the Younger family dynamic. At the end of Act III, however, the plant begins to look healthier after getting some sun, just like the family does after deciding to move and standing up to Mr. Lindner's possible threat. At the end of the play, after everyone exits the apartment, Mama "comes back in, grabs the plant, and leaves for the last time"(Hansberry 577), symbolizing that the family has moved on from the dark, sickly times of their past to a brighter, healthier day future. The plant also symbolizes the African American community during this time period. Just as the plant struggles to flourish and must live with limited opportunities for sunlight, the African American community in the early- to mid-20th Century struggled to flourish and was plagued by limited access to