A Raisin in the Sunis a drama written by the playwright Lorraine Hansberry during the Harlem Renaissance, a period of abundant African American empowerment and creations in art and literature. The play spans around 151 pages, including the introduction, title pages, and Langston Hughes’s poem at the beginning. It was originally published, and performed, in 1959 by the publishers at Random House. The year it was performed it received the New York Drama Critics’ Award. I chose this play to read because over the summer my father recommended it, and after I read it, it affected me enormously. There is a part in the play where Beneatha is approached by her Nigerian boyfriend and he tells her that her straightened hair is self-hatred and “mutilated.” Beneatha begins wearing an afro after that even though Ruth called it wild and nappy. This may seem like a small thing to be affected by, but it got me thinking about how we disguise our self-hatred as fashion and it got me thinking about how I see myself.
The primary characters in the play are the members of the Younger family: Walter Lee Younger, Mama, Ruth, Travis, and Beneatha Younger. Walter Lee, the main protagonist, lives with his wife and son, mother, and sister. Throughout the play he is determined to provide for his family and become wealthy, in an almost negative way. When the Younger family gets $ 10,000 from Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy, he wants to invest his money in a liquor shop. He is shown as determined and even naïve at times. His intentions are overall good, but at times are gone about the wrong way; however, in the end he “[came] into his manhood” (Hansberry, 151) when he stood up to Mr. Lindner who wanted the family to stay away from the house they were moving in. He is the most developed character in the play and the theme portrays him the most. Mama is the sort of leader of the family; she is old, wise and the moral advisor of the family. When the family receives the money she wants to use it to buy a house and move out of the run-down apartment they are currently living in. She is a primary example of someone who is watching society change and the focus of life change-“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 . . .” (Hansberry, 74). Ruth, Walter’s wife, is an emotionally strong woman who takes care of the house. At the beginning of the play, she finds out she’s pregnant, and not wanting another child to be a burden on the family, she thinks about getting an abortion. Mama talks her out of it and Ruth’s pregnancy is the main reason Mama takes the money and puts a down payment on the house. Travis is the son of Walter and Ruth. He is not given the same development and story as the rest of the Youngers, but he is a symbol of the future and the family’s desire to want to move out. Lastly, Beneatha Younger is the sister of Walter and daughter of Mama. She is intelligent and in school to become a doctor and is dating a wealthy and handsome man name George, but after meeting a Nigerian immigrant, she begins to see differently and take another look at the dream she has been striving for.
Besides the Younger family, though they are the main characters of the play and the story revolves around them, a few other characters are prominent. Joseph Asagai, for instance, is Beneatha’s Nigerian boyfriend that she met during school. He shows her that she needs to be proud to be an African American and take pride in her heritage. He does not sugar-coat what he thinks, though is polite and kind, and eventually wants Beneatha to marry him and join him in Africa to teach others. George Murchison is in some ways the opposite of Asagai. He is rich and willing to submit to the white people’s culture, and after meeting Asagai, Beneatha is no longer impress by him, despite his wealth, which is the main reason the other members of the Younger family like him. He is not in the play much, but is mentioned on some occasions. His main purpose is to show the differing sides of the African American community: submissive and assertive. Mr. Lindner is another character that represents a group of people. He is part of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association and comes to the Younger’s home to try and convince them to not move into the predominantly white neighborhood. He represents the subtly racist people, who even though they are not aggressive or violent against African Americans, they still discriminate and think they are superior to them. Though I wouldn’t say he is the “villain” of the story, the antagonist would be society itself, I believe he is an obvious depiction of what is getting in the way of the Younger’s dream.
A Raisin in the Sun is a drama set in the late 1940s, post-WWII, to early 1960s in Chicago. The majority of the play is set in the run-down apartment of the Younger family. The play is a realistic depiction of the conditions and hindrances that African Americans faced through discrimination and prejudice. The play is about a poor African American family who receives insurance money from the main protagonist’s, Walter Lee Younger, father. Each of the members of the family has a different dream about what to do with the money. Walter wants to invest it in a liquor shop with his friend. Mama wants to buy a house for the family; Ruth eventually also wants to buy the house because she is having a baby and has a child already, Travis, and Beneatha wants to use the money for her medical school. When Mama finds out Ruth is pregnant, she puts a deposit on the house without any of the other’s permission, Walter is mad about this because he’s the “man of the house”, but Mama explains her reason and gives Walter the rest of the money to invest in his friend’s liquor shop as a sign that she believes in him. Walter’s friend steals the rest of the money, $6,500, which brings him into enormous distraught. Eventually they find peace with it, but during this time Mr. Karl Lindner comes to try and convince the Younger family to not move into the all-white neighborhood where Mama put the down-payment on a house. Through much ridicule, mostly from their black neighbor, and discussion, Walter stands up for his family and declares that the family will be moving no matter. Mama said that at this time he got his “manhood” because he was thinking about his family’s future more than anything else. The story ends with the family moving out of the apartment on o their new life. The story ends rather abruptly and open, which makes the play seem more like seeing a part of the Younger family’s story than the entire thing. You know afterward there will be more conflict and prejudice against them, but for now they are content and focused on their dreams for the future.
To complete my thoughts on A Raisin in the Sun, I will say that I wholeheartedly enjoyed this drama. It is a credible representation of the time period and the racial hatred that existed. The subtly racist character of Mr. Karl Linder reminds me of society today and how individuals try to act as though they are just trying to support when really they are discriminating against you. A Raisin in the Sun is a play that every person, especially African Americans, should read or see performed, but I recommend reading it beforehand. In this day and age we, as an African American race, take a lot for granted, especially the freedoms that we have now and it is important to always keep in mind the struggles our ancestors had to face to get to where we sit now. It was not that long ago when our freedoms were obscured and we were told that our lives were inferior. This play, along with the playwright’s background, proves to the audience that dreams do not have to “dry up like raisin in the sun.”
Wilder
JR HON LA
11 April 2012
What happens to a dream deferred?
A Raisin in the Sunis a drama written by the playwright Lorraine Hansberry during the Harlem Renaissance, a period of abundant African American empowerment and creations in art and literature. The play spans around 151 pages, including the introduction, title pages, and Langston Hughes’s poem at the beginning. It was originally published, and performed, in 1959 by the publishers at Random House. The year it was performed it received the New York Drama Critics’ Award. I chose this play to read because over the summer my father recommended it, and after I read it, it affected me enormously. There is a part in the play where Beneatha is approached by her Nigerian boyfriend and he tells her that her straightened hair is self-hatred and “mutilated.” Beneatha begins wearing an afro after that even though Ruth called it wild and nappy. This may seem like a small thing to be affected by, but it got me thinking about how we disguise our self-hatred as fashion and it got me thinking about how I see myself.
The primary characters in the play are the members of the Younger family: Walter Lee Younger, Mama, Ruth, Travis, and Beneatha Younger. Walter Lee, the main protagonist, lives with his wife and son, mother, and sister. Throughout the play he is determined to provide for his family and become wealthy, in an almost negative way. When the Younger family gets $ 10,000 from Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy, he wants to invest his money in a liquor shop. He is shown as determined and even naïve at times. His intentions are overall good, but at times are gone about the wrong way; however, in the end he “[came] into his manhood” (Hansberry, 151) when he stood up to Mr. Lindner who wanted the family to stay away from the house they were moving in. He is the most developed character in the play and the theme portrays him the most. Mama is the sort of leader of the family; she is old, wise and the moral advisor of the family. When the family receives the money she wants to use it to buy a house and move out of the run-down apartment they are currently living in. She is a primary example of someone who is watching society change and the focus of life change-“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 . . .” (Hansberry, 74). Ruth, Walter’s wife, is an emotionally strong woman who takes care of the house. At the beginning of the play, she finds out she’s pregnant, and not wanting another child to be a burden on the family, she thinks about getting an abortion. Mama talks her out of it and Ruth’s pregnancy is the main reason Mama takes the money and puts a down payment on the house. Travis is the son of Walter and Ruth. He is not given the same development and story as the rest of the Youngers, but he is a symbol of the future and the family’s desire to want to move out. Lastly, Beneatha Younger is the sister of Walter and daughter of Mama. She is intelligent and in school to become a doctor and is dating a wealthy and handsome man name George, but after meeting a Nigerian immigrant, she begins to see differently and take another look at the dream she has been striving for.
Besides the Younger family, though they are the main characters of the play and the story revolves around them, a few other characters are prominent. Joseph Asagai, for instance, is Beneatha’s Nigerian boyfriend that she met during school. He shows her that she needs to be proud to be an African American and take pride in her heritage. He does not sugar-coat what he thinks, though is polite and kind, and eventually wants Beneatha to marry him and join him in Africa to teach others. George Murchison is in some ways the opposite of Asagai. He is rich and willing to submit to the white people’s culture, and after meeting Asagai, Beneatha is no longer impress by him, despite his wealth, which is the main reason the other members of the Younger family like him. He is not in the play much, but is mentioned on some occasions. His main purpose is to show the differing sides of the African American community: submissive and assertive. Mr. Lindner is another character that represents a group of people. He is part of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association and comes to the Younger’s home to try and convince them to not move into the predominantly white neighborhood. He represents the subtly racist people, who even though they are not aggressive or violent against African Americans, they still discriminate and think they are superior to them. Though I wouldn’t say he is the “villain” of the story, the antagonist would be society itself, I believe he is an obvious depiction of what is getting in the way of the Younger’s dream.
A Raisin in the Sun is a drama set in the late 1940s, post-WWII, to early 1960s in Chicago. The majority of the play is set in the run-down apartment of the Younger family. The play is a realistic depiction of the conditions and hindrances that African Americans faced through discrimination and prejudice. The play is about a poor African American family who receives insurance money from the main protagonist’s, Walter Lee Younger, father. Each of the members of the family has a different dream about what to do with the money. Walter wants to invest it in a liquor shop with his friend. Mama wants to buy a house for the family; Ruth eventually also wants to buy the house because she is having a baby and has a child already, Travis, and Beneatha wants to use the money for her medical school. When Mama finds out Ruth is pregnant, she puts a deposit on the house without any of the other’s permission, Walter is mad about this because he’s the “man of the house”, but Mama explains her reason and gives Walter the rest of the money to invest in his friend’s liquor shop as a sign that she believes in him. Walter’s friend steals the rest of the money, $6,500, which brings him into enormous distraught. Eventually they find peace with it, but during this time Mr. Karl Lindner comes to try and convince the Younger family to not move into the all-white neighborhood where Mama put the down-payment on a house. Through much ridicule, mostly from their black neighbor, and discussion, Walter stands up for his family and declares that the family will be moving no matter. Mama said that at this time he got his “manhood” because he was thinking about his family’s future more than anything else. The story ends with the family moving out of the apartment on o their new life. The story ends rather abruptly and open, which makes the play seem more like seeing a part of the Younger family’s story than the entire thing. You know afterward there will be more conflict and prejudice against them, but for now they are content and focused on their dreams for the future.
To complete my thoughts on A Raisin in the Sun, I will say that I wholeheartedly enjoyed this drama. It is a credible representation of the time period and the racial hatred that existed. The subtly racist character of Mr. Karl Linder reminds me of society today and how individuals try to act as though they are just trying to support when really they are discriminating against you. A Raisin in the Sun is a play that every person, especially African Americans, should read or see performed, but I recommend reading it beforehand. In this day and age we, as an African American race, take a lot for granted, especially the freedoms that we have now and it is important to always keep in mind the struggles our ancestors had to face to get to where we sit now. It was not that long ago when our freedoms were obscured and we were told that our lives were inferior. This play, along with the playwright’s background, proves to the audience that dreams do not have to “dry up like raisin in the sun.”