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raisin in the sun beneatha character analysis
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economic and social hardships in a raisin in the sun
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"Life"
In the novel "A Raisin in the Sun" an African American family suffers the loss of one of their family members. He was the oldest person in the family and had always had dreams of his family having a better life. When he died the life insurance company sent the rest of the family a check for ten thousand dollars. The family argues impatiently about how they should spend the money when they finally recieve the money. Walter Lee, the oldest son, wants to invest the money into a liquor store but his younger sister, Beneatha, wants to save most of it to help pay her college tuition. Walters' wife, Ruth, does not know how the money should be spent. The following paragraph will be told in her point of view.
My name is Ruth Younger, I am married to Walter Lee and I love him dearly. He is a good husband but he can also cause me much grief. He is always explaining to me his newest dreams about how he is going to make life better for me and the rest of the family. Walters' father just passed away and the life insurance company sent us a hefty check for ten thousand dollars in the mail. No one can decide how to spend the money. I think that Walters' mom should spend the money and go on a trip somewhere far away. Walter keeps telling me about his newest dream of buying a liquor store and how I should try to persuade his mom into letting him spend the money on it. I don't know how we should spend the money so I joined Walters' side and tried to get Mama to let him spend it on his dream. Apparently I joined the wrong side because as soon as Walter gave the money to Willy Harris, one of his buddies who wants to go into business with him, he ran off with the money.
Burns’ costumes were executed in way I had never seen in a play before. Instead of sticking with one style for costumes, it evolved through out the play. In Act 1, the characters were in the first stages of an apocalypse. The clothes they wore were average and looked like something that would be in a Sear’s catalog. Actually, I did not even think they were in a high stress situation until later in the act. I thought they were just some young adults out having a good time in the woods or some abandon lot. Their clothes helped me connect them to our current time. However, in Act 2, the characters’ costumes took a turn for the worse. It was obvious with the state of the clothing that a considerable amount of time passed in the play. The clothes they wore were in horrible condition. They were dusty, had holes littered through out, and ill fitted. Yet, this was perfect costuming for the chapters. It showed how the world became destitute and the people in it scavengers. A lot of the pieces looked like they came from dumps or maybe places that were once on fire. A remarkable thing about their distressed clothing was that it stilled looked colorful and cheery. It perfectly captured the essence of the scene. Lastly, Act 3 had the most ostentatious and gaudy costuming out of all the acts. In thus act, the characters’ lives were not shown, instead it showed the play that they participated in. The costumes were flamboyant and paid homage to theater from the past. Gold and heavy fabrics were used for the Simpsons, to make them stand out and show their importance. On the other hand, the chorus wore simple white togas that made them look
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the theme of the story is dramatically illustrated by Jackson’s unique tone. Once a year the villagers gather together in the central square for the lottery. The villagers await the arrival of Mr. Summers and the black box. Within the black box are folded slips of paper, one piece having a black dot on it. All the villagers then draw a piece of paper out of the box. Whoever gets the paper with the black dot wins. Tessie Hutchinson wins the lottery! Everyone then closes in on her and stones her to death. Tessie Hutchinson believes it is not fair because she was picked. The villagers do not know why the lottery continues to exist. All they know is that it is a tradition they are not willing to abandon. In “The Lottery,” Jackson portrays three main themes including tradition, treason, and violence.
Shirley Jackson?s insights and observations about society are reflected in her shocking and disturbing short story The Lottery. Jackson reveals two general attitudes in this story: first is the shocking tendency for societies to select a scapegoat and second is the idea that communities are victims of social tradition and rituals.
The novel “Beautiful Boy” written by David Sheff is a non-fiction story told through his perspective based on his experience of with addiction. His son Nicholas Sheff has an addiction; his drug of choice is methamphetamine, documented to be one of the hardest drug addictions to combat. The novel shows the progression of Nic’s life told through the eyes of his father, from the moment he was born until he was twenty three years of age. Before Nic’s addiction he started off as a well-rounded child who enjoyed many activities and was quite intelligent. Through the progression of the book Nic started getting into trouble with substance abuse, he was admitted to rehab which failed. He returned again, but had the same result he was in and out of rehab for the majority of the novel.
Every civilization in history has had rules, and citizens who break them. To this day governments struggle to figure out the best way to deal with their criminals in ways that help both society and those that commit the crimes. Imprisonment has historically been the popular solution. However, there are many instances in which people are sent to prison that would be better served for community service, rehab, or some other form of punishment. Prison affects more than just the prisoner; the families, friends, employers, and communities of the incarcerated also pay a price. Prison as a punishment has its pros and cons; although it may be necessary for some, it can be harmful for those who would be better suited for alternative means of punishment.
Tradition is huge in small towns and families and allows for unity through shared values, stories, and goals from one generation to the next. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” carries that theme of tradition. The story follows a small town that performs the tradition of holding an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. It (tradition) is valued amongst human societies around the world, but the refusal of the villagers in “The Lottery” to let go of a terrifying long-lasting tradition suggests the negative consequences of blindly following these traditions such as violence and hypocrisy.
“The Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf and “The Death of a Moth” by Annie Dillard are two personal essays that are on the same topic, yet very different. Virginia Woolf was a pessimistic woman who was very serious and admired the simplicity of life, while Annie Dillard is an independent woman who is curious about life and finds it humorous. Life and death are perceived differently by these two authors; Woolf believes that death overpowers life and Dillard believes that death isn’t the final step of the life cycle
In life some have it all, and some also have nothing, but what truly matters is what you do with what you have. In Lorraine Hansberry’s story, “ A Raisin In The Sun”, She guides us through the trials and tribulations of an African American family of 5 in Chicago during the 60’s. This story truly shows that with family, faith, and hard work anything is possible. Although the story was based on a family of color in the 60’s, life lessons learned within the story still pertain to todays society. The story begins with Langston Hughes poem titled “Harlem”, this Poem helps readers understand the overall setting before the first scene, leaving the audience wondering where it will lead them next. It seems as if Walter Lee is
Since its first paragraphs, the “A Raisin in the Sun” focuses on a fundamental issue – poverty and how it’s related to race. Hansberry is drawing the portrait of a stereotypical situation, in the mid-20th century, when racial discrimination was linked to lack of money and vice versa. The plays spins around a check of $10000 from the insurance company, granted for the death of Mama’s husband. The story goes with discussing the investment choices about that sum of money. The main male character, Walter Younger, Mama’s son, is presented as man who is eager to get rich fast, over-appreciates money, and has little ethical bias. The phrase “Check coming today?” (p.1294) written in the beginning of the act one, scene one, shows Walter’s impatience and the idea that he places a greater value on material stuff, rather than interpersonal relations.
The play A Raisin in The Sun the author shows us how a black family that is hard working tries to survive after one person receives a lump sum of money. In black families people do not acquire
It is said that prison should be used for more serious crimes such as rape, assault, homicide and robbery (David, 2006). Because the U.S. Prison is used heavily for punishment and prevention of crime, correctional systems in the U.S. tend to be overcrowded (David, 2006). Even though prisons in the U.S. Are used for privies on of crime it doesn 't work. In a 2002 federal study, 67% of inmates that
Burns was a interesting and creative production that was thrilling to go see The three main parts of this production involved lighting, costumes, and sets and props. The way she produced the play was marvelous. The lighting was great because it really gave the audience a better understanding of the scene. I thought the lighting was cue for every act in this production. The costumes in this play were, also key because it showed the different time periods throughout the play. Act one through three was almost a century apart so it was very important that the costumes symbolized that. Sounds and music was my favorite part of this production because it really helped the audience identify things that they wouldn’t have identified if those sounds used weren’t used. I thought that was the most effective tool the cast members used to produce this play. Overall, Mr. Burns was a very effective production because the use of lighting, costumes, and
In the 1970s and 1980s, a massive amount of inmates began fillin up the United States prison systems. This huge rate of growth in this short amount of time, has greatly contributed to the prison overcrowding that the United States faces today. In fact, the prisons are still filled to the seams. This enormous flood of inmates has made it practically impossible for prison officials to keep up with their facilities and supervise their inmates. One of the main reasons why many prisons have become overcrowded is because of states’ harsh criminal laws and parole practices (Cohen). “One in every 100 American adults is behind bars, the highest incarceration rate in the world” (Cohen). The amount of inmates in corrections systems, throughout the nation, sky-rocketed to 708 percent between 1972 and 2008. Today, there are about 145,000 inmates occupying areas only designed for 80,000 (Posner). Peter Mosko, “an assistant professor of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice” (Frazier) stated, “America, with 2.3 million people behind bars, has more prisoners than soldiers” (Frazier). There have been studies that have shown “there are more men and women in prison than ever before. The number of inmates grew by an average of 1,600 a week. The U. S. has the highest rate of crime in the world” (Clark). Because of this influx in inmates, many prisoners’ rights groups have filed lawsuits charging that “overcrowded prisons violate the Constitution’s 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment” (Clark). It is clear that the United States corrections system needs to be reformed in order to eliminate this problem. Prison overcrowding is a serious issue in society due to the fact it affects prison ...
“The history of correctional thought and practice has been marked by enthusiasm for new approaches, disillusionment with these approaches, and then substitution of yet other tactics”(Clear 59). During the mid 1900s, many changes came about for the system of corrections in America. Once a new idea goes sour, a new one replaces it. Prisons shifted their focus from the punishment of offenders to the rehabilitation of offenders, then to the reentry into society, and back to incarceration. As times and the needs of the criminal justice system changed, new prison models were organized in hopes of lowering the crime rates in America. The three major models of prisons that were developed were the medical, model, the community model, and the crime control model.
Students need to be inspired to think critically. By this they comprehend what has been learned and be able to use it. I hope my students will be able to achieve their greatest potential that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. We can give our children these building blocks thru education to use in decision making situations, moral value of their thoughts and actions. This will guide them to realize how their actions and decisions will affect themselves and others.