Analysis Of The Play A Raisin Of The Sun - 1343 Words

In the play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, money plays an essential role in character development. The play is set in the South Side of Chicago in the late 1950s. Raisin follows the lives of a poor, urban, African-American family, the Youngers, during this period of heightened racial tension in the United States. The story begins after the death of the patriarch of the family, Mr. Younger. With his death comes a $10,000 check representing the proceeds of his life insurance policy. Since the remaining Younger family members hold differing views about the role of money, their household is nearly torn apart from conflict over what to do with the $10,000 windfall. Specifically, Mama, her adult son Walter, and her 20-year-old daughter Beneatha, have singular agendas about how best to spend that check. Each of these characters initially allows that money to psychologically entrap them, with ruinous potential consequences. Ultimately, it is only by removing money’s pow er to control them, that these family members are liberated from detrimental mindsets and able to constructively transform themselves. Lena Younger, also known as Mama, and the eldest member of the Younger family, is a dominant figure in her multigenerational household. At the beginning of the play, Mama serves as the head of the household even though as a traditionalist, she believes the eldest adult male should act in this capacity. Mama for most of the play, appears reluctant to trust her adult sonShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Play A Raisin Of The Sun 896 Words   |  4 PagesThe play A Raisin in the Sun is a drama that was written by Lorraine Hansberry, who loosely based it off of her own family. It’s about an African American family made up of five people that each have their own individual dreams. Dreams is the main theme of this play. The main character to be focused on though is Walter. His dream is able to show how oppression of a dream or a deferred dream can tear a person down until Walter is able to change and not have a dream that is self-centered. The playRead MoreAnalysis of Plays, Fences and A Raisin in the Sun Essay2025 Words   |  9 PagesJose Morales English 164 Dr. Kidd 08/03/2012 â€Å"Fences† and â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† Plays, â€Å"Fences† and â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† share similar plots. They take place in the mid-western United States in the 1950’s and explore the family dynamics of the African-American Family and the paradigmatic shift it experienced between two generations. The older generation, who could remember slavery by first-hand experience or by being born during a time when success for the average African-Americans wasRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Walter Younger From The Classic Play A Raisin Of The Sun 1108 Words   |  5 PagesIn the majority of households, the man is always looked at as the head of the house. However, not every man can handle this position. Walter Younger from the classic play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, finds it very difficult to rise up as the man he’s supposed to be. The story shares the life of a family living in Chicago in a small apartment. It highlights mainly the financial issues the family faces which puts Walter in a bind. He faces obstacles and his actions determines his manhoodRead More Analysis of A Raisin in the Sun Essay1267 Words   |  6 PagesA Raisin in the Sun Analysis Upon walking out of Krannerts production of A Raisin in the Sun, an eerie silence drizzled about the audience as people murmured and slowly shuffled towards the exits. After witnessing such a powerful yet melancholy piece of theater work, words seemed inappropriate. For three hours, A Raisin in the Sun encompassed us with racial, economic, and social issues of the 1950s. Swirling portions of humor, disgrace, pride, and sadness into a smooth blend, the play developedRead MoreThe Last Critic That Will Be Evaluated844 Words   |  4 Pagescritical analysis is titled A Raisin in the Sun: Anniversary of an American Classic. Wilkerson’s critical analysis discusses the â€Å"various social, historical, and artistic factors that have contributed to the play’s contemporary relevance and popularity, with particular focus on script revisions.† (Wilkerson 442) Wilkerson states that critics claimed that plays about the Black experience were seen as unattractive and of tempo rary or limited appeal to the theatre audiences. A Raisin in the Sun was differentRead MoreInitial Expectation And Purposes Of Theatre845 Words   |  4 PagesTheatre â€Å"Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (1959) probes the racially charged politics of home ownership in post–World War II Southside Chicago† (Matthews). Before going to see this performance, I made a quick research about this play and that research formed an initial view about this performance. I have read about the play in general, a short synopsis a historical and influences upon American society and theatre. Lorraine Hansberry’s â€Å"A raisin in the Sun† is a play that tells the story of a blackRead MoreA Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Essay1343 Words   |  6 PagesA Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a play that displays housing discrimination in Chicago during the 1950s. Housing discrimination was partially an effect of the Great Migration. This was an event during the 1950s that resulted in about six million African Americans â€Å"migrating† from the south to the north, Midwest, and west regions of the Unite d States. This caused the population of black people in major northern cities to increase rapidly. They are then only able to live in certain neighborhoodsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Harlem 1303 Words   |  6 Pagesbody’s rest. Because it does happen mainly during the rapid-eye movement, or REM, stage of sleep, when brain activity is high and most resembles that of being awake, dreams can be ferociously active and wildly vivid; often leaving them open to intense analysis and interpretation. Thematically, a dream can also act as a physical representation of â€Å"crossing boundaries.† As one wakes from a dream state to an awoken state, they have crossed a border from an unconscious to conscious state. Hughes’ poem canRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Beneatha In A Raisin In The Sun1487 Words   |  6 PagesCharacter Analysis â€Å" A Raisin in the Sun† is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry about the life of an African American family during the era of segregation. The play starts off with the Younger family receiving a 10,000 dollar check from Mr. Younger’s insurance policy. The family argues over what they are going to do with it. Mama wants to buy a house with it, Walter wants to invest in a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to use the money to go to medical school. The contrast of the characters’ personalitiesRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Lorraine Hansberry s A Raisin990 Words   |  4 PagesCharacter Analysis: A Raisin in the Sun The play A Raisin In the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry is a classic, revolutionary play written in the times of segregation and discrimination of skin tones. Throughout the story, the Youngers display how they are just like an ordinary family; everybody has their own special personality. This caused many conflicts when it was time to decide what to do with the check coming in the mail for ten thousand dollars. Walter Lee Younger, the son and oldest child of mama