particularly her father’s battle to move into a white neighborhood, provided the background for the events in the play” (314). Hansberry experienced many of the situations she placed the Younger family at first hand. Hansberry’s father, Carl Hansberry, was put in a similar circumstance when he moved his family into a predominately white community at the opposition of the white neighbors. He eventually won a civil rights case on discrimination. Speaking of the United States, Adler states, “A Raisin
in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansbury, the Younger family gets their money when Walter's father dies. But do the se things make them happy? Of course not. They are coming upon money from someone else's misfortune, someone they love. The money may have made life easier for a brief moment in time, but the novelty soon wears off and reality soon returns. The interesting thing about these two novels is that the money received by both the Maxtons and the Youngers did exactly the opposite of what everyone
starts in a darkened living room. Ruth Younger wakes her family on a Friday morning. Her father-in-law has recently died, and the family is awaiting the arrival of the insurance money. Her husband, Walter, has plans to use it to buy a liquor store, but wife doesn't believe he belongs in business. Beneatha, Walter's sister daughter, hopes to use the money for her tuition for medical school. Walter's mother, Lena (Mama), plans to use the money for a house for the family. On top of all this, Ruth has discovered
“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
underlying messages. First was from Mama’s plant. This plant symbolized all that the Younger family was; a half alive plant that is growing in all direction waiting for the spring to bloom. This is the perfect description of the Younger’s. The family is struggling with what to do with the insurance check and finally realize that by equality they will bloom into what they truly desire. Secondly I saw that the Younger’s are a family of routine. It seems that each member is caught in their own struggle and can’t
The Struggles of the Youngers in A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun depicts the struggles of three generations of the Youngers family in the 1950's of poorer Chicago. Act 2, scene 2 of the play displays an understanding of the Youngers and the atmosphere in which they live. In just a few pages, Lorraine Hansberry reveals the struggles enforced upon the characters individually as well as with their united desires as a family. Individually, each character must overcome
or even just a few lines; She addresses such themes as dreams, prejudice, and family. Mama is the head of the household where she lives with her son Walter and wife Ruth with their son Travis along with Walter’s sister Beneatha or Bennie as some like to call her. The passage tells the reader that Mama went out and did something to destroy one of Walter’s dreams. Mama explains that she did what she did to save her family from falling apart which she thought it was because everyone was yelling at each
the story of a lower-class black family’s struggle to gain middle –class acceptance in the Southside of Chicago. The Younger family of five, four adults and one child live in a cramped apartment in one of the poorer sections of town. The dream of owning your own business and having all the money you will ever need is a goal held by many in society, then and now. Walter Lee Younger becomes obsessed with his dream of a business venture that will give him financial and social independence, after getting
in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry paints an impressive group portrait of the Youngers, a family composed of powerful characters who are yet in many ways typical in their dreams and frustrations. There is Lena, or Mama, the widowed mother; her daughter Beneatha, a medical student; Beneatha's brother Walter, a struggling chauffeur; and Walter's wife, Ruth, and their young son. Crammed together in an airless apartment, the family dreams of better days. The character Beneatha knows much about her African
A Happy Ending for A Raisin in the Sun A Raisin in the Sun is about a black family stuggling through family and economic hardships. The story ended as the head of the family Walter took control, became a family man, and rejected an offer from a white businessman to stay out of a white neighborhood and to stay with all blacks. This offer disgusted the Younger family and hurt their black pride. I would like in my own words to continue this story as I see it fit to occur. Three
The concept of assimilation becomes very important to the Younger family. Neither of the members of the Younger family wanted to assimilate into mainstream America, they just want to live comfortably. The Youngers are an African American family living on the south side of Chicago in the 1950s. They were living during an era where America was extremely racist towards blacks. The Younger family was made up of Mama, the backbone of the family, her daughter Beneatha, her son Walter, his wife Ruth, and
black family, the Youngers, she talks about vital issues such as poverty, gender and racial discrimination. Hansberry's play focuses mainly on the dreams of the main characters, which motivates them. The title 'A Raisin in the Sun' has been taken from the poem "Montage of a Dream Deferred" written by Langston Hughes in which he talks about the consequences when dreams are put off for later. The title is appropriate for Hansberry?s play since it shows how ?deferred dreams? of the Younger family
The American dream has been visualized and pursued by nearly everyone in this nation. Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about the Younger family that strived for the American dream. The members of the Younger family shared a dream of a better tomorrow. In order to reach that dream, however, they each took different routes, which typified the routes taken by different black Americans. Walter Lee Younger's route, which was filled with riskiness and impulsiveness, exemplified the
but an illusion and all it brings are nothing but dreams, one family struggles to discover that wealth can be found in other forms. In the play "A Raisin in the Sun," Lorraine Hansberry uses the indirect characterization of the Younger family through their acquaintances to reveal that money and materialism alone are worthless. Living in a society where the fulfillment of dreams is based upon material wealth, the Younger family strives to overcome their hardships as they search for happiness
“fester like a sore.” Yet the play maybe more closely related to Hughes final question of the poem, “Or does it explode?” The play is full of bombs that are explosions of emotion set off by the frustration of the Younger family, who are unable to grasp the possible reality of their dreams. The family shares the dream of having a better life but compete against each other for the insurance money given to Mama after her husband’s death. The son of Mama, Walter, dreams of being a rich black man by investing
is a drama play that takes place “sometime between World War II and the present.” The family lived in Chicago’s Southside. The town was very “dusky” and as each day passed the nights got colder. The Younger family lived in a small old apartment with only two small rooms. The little one had to sleep on the couch every night. The house needed a great amount of fixing up; everyone was ready to move out. Ruth Younger is about thirty years old. She is married to Walter Lee Young and they have a son named
much like that of a family? the Younger family, to be exact. Few gardeners will spend their precious time to help a sickly plant, knowing it will never bloom, to grow into nothing more than it already is. Yet, there are those exceptional ones? ?Mama? is, indeed, the most tender of hearts to care for this sickly family that, I have no doubt, she knows will never fully blossom into a big, strong, and powerful family. The physical plant she cares for is a symbol for her family in every way. The mother
feelings and thoughts of the people of their time. Their feelings are different then what we see today in our lives. The family had to deal with poverty and racism. Not having enough money and always being put down because of the color of their skin held them back from having a lot of self-respect and dignity. I think that Mama was the one who had the most pride and held the family together. Ruth was being prevented from having a baby because of money problems, Walter was bringing him self down by trying
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
written by an African-American playwright - Lorraine Hansberry. It was first produced in 1959. Lorraine Hansberry's work is about a black family in the Chicago's South-Side after the Second World War. The family consisted of Mama(Lena Younger), Walter Lee(her son), Ruth (his wife), Travis (their son), and Beneatha (Walters younger sister). The Younger family lived in poor conditions, and can't afford to have better living standards. However, Lena is waiting to receive a $10,000 check from her