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Essay for a raisin in the sun by lorraine hansberry
A raisin in the sun and lorraine hansberry essay
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Struggles within the Younger family in the play A Raisin in the Sun
A Raisin In The Sun
Rolling in the Dust
“Oh- so now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to
be life- now it’s money. I guess the world really do change…” (74).
This quote reveals the economic struggles within the Younger family in
the play A Raisin in the Sun. Throughout the play, Mama’s views are at
odds with Walter’s views. For Walter, who feels enslaved in his job
and life, money is the truest freedom. To him, money seems to be the
answer to everything. Money, he believes, allows people to live
comfortable and carefree lives. It also seems to him that money
defines a man by measuring his success and ability to provide for his
family. As for Mama, anything is more valuable than material wealth.
The lack of money in the Younger family inhibited the growth of
success. It is not easy for people to rise whose qualities are
thwarted by poverty, exactly what happened with the Younger’s.
To the characters in the play, lack of money is the root of all evil.
Success is absent from the Younger family due to the lack of money. It
comes from dreams that have been fulfilled, but for the Younger’s, it
was impossible to fulfill any dreams without money. Walter had a dream
of investing money in a liquor store to raise the standard of living
for his family. Even if he wasn’t successful, he would always know
that he tried his best, which would give him the pride and joy of not
giving up again. Unfortunately, the family had no money that he could
use for investing. “Yeah. You see, this little liquor store we got in
mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment
on the place be ‘bout thirty thousand, see. T...
... middle of paper ...
... friends to some
financial issues. Another time when I was affected by lack of money
was on my golden birthday. I was turning 5 and I had never been to
India before. All I wanted to do for my birthday was go to India and
see what it was like. It would’ve been like a dream come true to go.
Unfortunately, my family did not have enough money at that time for
all 10 of my family members to go, so I spent the birthday at home.
In summary, success is not reached without the aid of money. In A
Raisin in the Sun, no one was able to accomplish his or her dreams
because their family lacked one thing, money. For that reason, the
Younger family’s growth of success was inhibited. It is hard for
people to succeed whose qualities are let down by poverty. Now days,
thousands and thousands of people cannot complete their dreams for one
simple reason- they have no money.
I. Conflicts in the Play - There are many types of conflict evident in this play. Some are as follows:
“A Raisin in the Sun,” by Lorraine Hansberry, is a play about an African American family, who struggles finically, but finally comes across some money. The insurance company sent a ten thousand dollar check for the death of Mr. Younger. Everyone has a different idea on what to they would like to do with the money. Mama, the head of the house, wants to buy a new home for the family. The new house would benefit the entire family, because the family is running out of room in their old house. Walter wants the money for a business investment. Beneatha wants the money for the money for medical school. Everyone wants something, but Mama is the only one thinking about everyone. Many things can tear a family apart, but Hansberry teaches us what is really important in life. Hansberry wrote this play with three very important themes.
The perspective of evil is also infrared in this play, but it is ignorance of unfolding events that makes potentially good characters loathsome. These characters do not deliberately choose to be on the wrong side of the system, but they are ignorant of events behind the scenes, and this ends up shaping their character. Danforth and...
Everyone encounters struggle and “ain’t nobody bothering you” but yourself (1872). Many African Americans encounter hardships and conflict in their own lives because of their race. Before integration, not only were African Americans facing internal struggles but also the external struggles caused by prejudices. A Raisin in the Sun elaborates on the conflicts of African Americans when dealing with segregation, discrimination, and few opportunities to improve their lifestyle. Hansberry expresses her hardships as an African American woman without civil rights in the 1950’s through the Younger family and the decisions they make when confronting their own struggles.
Throughout History, greed has exhibited a capacity of good and evil. The story begins as a respected and loyal hero of Scotland during the middle ages takes a turn for the worse. Greed causes him to make sinister decisions, violence made him hated by the community, and hallucinations made him become sickened. “Macbeth and another of the king’s general’s, Banquo, encounters three witches, who greet Macbeth as thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor, and future king”( Dominic, Catherine C., Ed “Shakespeare’s Characters for Students New York: Gale, 1997 Print). This is when the evil thoughts of greed nature begin within Macbeth. “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt to be king hereafter” (Shakespeare, William 1.2 62-64). The three witches predict Macbeth
Everyone dreams of having the perfect life. For hundreds of years, America has remained the land of opportunities. The American Dream is simply what lured millions to start the lives in America. It’s theoretically the basis of American life. However, in post World War 2, the American Dream seemed to be only targeted to white males. The American Dream seemed unattainable for racial minorities. Not only was life hard for non-white Americans, women also had a difficult time fulfilling their dreams. White males reigned supreme while everyone else was left in the dark. A Raisin in the Sun does a stupendous job of painting a picture of what hardships and injustices non-whites and women faced in the segregated 1950’s. A raisin in the sun focuses on
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.
The love of money is the root of all evil, a statement that has proved itself true through the centuries. Loving money traps us, as human beings. It is not a bad thing to enjoy what money can do; however, the love of money is a wasted effort that can put all in grave peril. It is at our advantage that we have the ability to choose whether we ‘want’ to fall into that trap. Unfortunately, that choice is difficult since society associates one’s character with wealth and financial management. The mishaps, deaths, and hardships that occur from the beginning of the tale are the result of deliberate deception for personal gain. In Treasure Island, greed sends the characters on a voyage. Robert Louis Stevenson makes a social commentary on the role that money has come to play in our society.
A Raisin in the Sun The creativity of Hansberry played a crucial role in the development of African-American drama since the Second World War. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play by an African-American author to be set on Broadway and was honored by the circle of New York theater critics. Drama of A Raisin in the Sun (1959) brought Hansberry to the Society of New York Critics Award as the best play of the year. A Raisin in the Sun shows the life of an ordinary African-American family who dreams of happiness and their desire to achieve their dream.
In Lorraine Hansberry “A Raisin in the Sun”, the issues of racial discrimination, the debate of heroism, and criticism is vividly displayed. The play, which was written in the late 1950’s presents itself in a realistic discerning matter that implicates the racial division among the black family and white America. The play insinuates Walters’s heroism as well because of the black family’s struggle not to become discouraged in trying to obtain the world riches and still maintaining human dignity. When Hansberry wrote “A Raisin in the Sun”, many critics questioned the motive behind her play because it showed the America the world wants to grow oblivious to. This presents the reality of racial discrimination and heroism for the black man among
Conformity and rebellion are two characteristics that cannot exist without each other. If no one were to conform then there would be no set standard for anyone to rebel against. Without rebellion conformity would not be challenged. Madness comes into play when describing those that rebel against the norm. Dickinson describes anyone with a rebellious attitude as “demur you’re straightway dangerous and handled with a chain” society treats people like this because the idea of change can scare a lot of people. Many of these themes are seen throughout literature.
In the beginning of the play, Walter is foolish and quarrelsome, with his heart set on becoming affluent. As he grasps how hard work his father worked and how hard his family works, he reasons that living by his standards is more important than gaining wealth, and he stops feeling resentful towards them. This play highlights how many members of society focus more on making money than living by their ethical
A Raisin in the Sun follows the events of an African-American family living in Chicago during the 50’s. It becomes apparent from the first scene that the family has financial issues. Walter who is discontent with his living situation, believes that an insurance check that his mother will be receiving will solve all of the families problems and allow for a better life. Mama uses a fraction of the check to purchase a house in a all white neighborhood. A representative of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association comes to visit the Youngers and offers to buy back their house at a financial gain and insists that Clybourne is no place for an African-American family. Meanwhile, Walter had already lost the rest of the insurance money ($6500) to his friend Willy Harris who runs away with the money leaving Walter and his family at a loss. This is particularly devastating because the money represents Mama’s husbands entire life of hard work as a laborer. In the end of this story, the Youngers are genuinely more happy and optimistic that they can live more fulfilling lives. The Youngers problem is one that exists in modern day families of the United States. Money management is a physiological issue between spouses and families.
In the 1950’s through the 1960’s women were not respected in there everyday lives, in the job field or in general. They did not have the rights they deserved, so during this time the “women’s movement” began. Women fought for their rights and fought for the self-respect that they thought they deserved. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the character Mama, expresses her feelings of pushing or extracting a new side for a woman. Her role explains that woman can be independent and can live for themselves. Through her behavior in this play she demonstrates that women can support and guide a family. Mama is in charge of the family, which is unusual, since men are traditionally the “head of a family”. Through Mama’s wisdom and dialect she expresses and portrays an image of pro-feminism. Mama’s experience in the play A Raisin in the Sun illustrates the expressions, the emotions, and the feeling with which Mama and women had to cope. She was able to characterize this through her passionate dreams, her control and her strong willed attitude.
Margam Park with my father. I must have been around the ages of two or