Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
A Raisin in the Sun
Lyric Hammersmith, London
Rhona Foulis posted 14 March 2005
'What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?' Langston Hughes's poem offers food for thought in Lorraine Hansberry's play about race relations and the disillusionment of the American Dream in 1950s black America.
The Young Vic have revived their 2001 production of this landmark play, which won its playwright a New York Drama Critics Circle Award at the tender age of 29. Indeed, A Raisin in the Sun's original Broadway production in 1959 was socially, politically and dramatically remarkable. The play broke ground in its representation of a working class African American family, placed at the heart of the narrative, thereby providing …show more content…
A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), is a dramatic play of pride, hope and “dreams deferred”. “Raisin” tells the story of the Youngers, three generations of an African-American family struggling together in an apartment on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s. The head of the family is Lena Younger. After her husband, Big Walter, dies, Lena learns that she will get an insurance check for $10,000 (which was a lot of money back in the day). The money drives this tight-knit family apart as each person dreams of how to spend it:
Lena’s dream is to move out of their crowded, run-down apartment and buy a house with a garden.
Her son, Walter Lee, feels like he’s “choking to death” working as a chauffeur and dreams of investing in a liquor store with what his sister calls his “good-for-nothing loudmouth friends”.
Walter Lee’s sister, Beneatha, wants to use the money to pay for her tuition; her dream is to become a doctor even though her brother Walter says she’s crazy.
Travis dreams of becoming a bus driver one day - a dream his father says "ain’t big …show more content…
With ambition and determination, it can come true in time. Lorraine Hansberry illustrates this theme of achieving success in her play A Raisin in the Sun. The play is about the problems that the economically impoverished African American Younger family faces in trying to make their dreams come true, and the means by which they finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. Lena is Walter and Beneatha’s mother. Walter is married to Ruth and has a son whose name is Travis. Lorraine Hansberry shows how Lena’s dream of having a house in a good neighborhood finally comes true in spite of the multitude of difficulties that she faces. The ambition and determination exemplified by Lena, Walter and Ruth makes this happen. *BODY 1* Keeping the dream of stability and wellness constantly in mind, and working towards it, Lena is surely the protagonist in the play. Her husband’s decease is a big setback for her but she still continues to struggle towards achieving stability. Her moral values of self-pride and encouragement help Walter to produce strength in him to do the right thing. Her installation of love in Beneatha for the members of her family makes Beneatha not hate her brother Walter when he makes some terribly wrong decisions. She has a dream of moving into a bigger and better house since many years. Even after a large amount of the money was lost, she still adamantly acted on that dream and made it come true. This was
Lyric Hammersmith, London
Rhona Foulis posted 14 March 2005
'What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?' Langston Hughes's poem offers food for thought in Lorraine Hansberry's play about race relations and the disillusionment of the American Dream in 1950s black America.
The Young Vic have revived their 2001 production of this landmark play, which won its playwright a New York Drama Critics Circle Award at the tender age of 29. Indeed, A Raisin in the Sun's original Broadway production in 1959 was socially, politically and dramatically remarkable. The play broke ground in its representation of a working class African American family, placed at the heart of the narrative, thereby providing …show more content…
A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), is a dramatic play of pride, hope and “dreams deferred”. “Raisin” tells the story of the Youngers, three generations of an African-American family struggling together in an apartment on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s. The head of the family is Lena Younger. After her husband, Big Walter, dies, Lena learns that she will get an insurance check for $10,000 (which was a lot of money back in the day). The money drives this tight-knit family apart as each person dreams of how to spend it:
Lena’s dream is to move out of their crowded, run-down apartment and buy a house with a garden.
Her son, Walter Lee, feels like he’s “choking to death” working as a chauffeur and dreams of investing in a liquor store with what his sister calls his “good-for-nothing loudmouth friends”.
Walter Lee’s sister, Beneatha, wants to use the money to pay for her tuition; her dream is to become a doctor even though her brother Walter says she’s crazy.
Travis dreams of becoming a bus driver one day - a dream his father says "ain’t big …show more content…
With ambition and determination, it can come true in time. Lorraine Hansberry illustrates this theme of achieving success in her play A Raisin in the Sun. The play is about the problems that the economically impoverished African American Younger family faces in trying to make their dreams come true, and the means by which they finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. Lena is Walter and Beneatha’s mother. Walter is married to Ruth and has a son whose name is Travis. Lorraine Hansberry shows how Lena’s dream of having a house in a good neighborhood finally comes true in spite of the multitude of difficulties that she faces. The ambition and determination exemplified by Lena, Walter and Ruth makes this happen. *BODY 1* Keeping the dream of stability and wellness constantly in mind, and working towards it, Lena is surely the protagonist in the play. Her husband’s decease is a big setback for her but she still continues to struggle towards achieving stability. Her moral values of self-pride and encouragement help Walter to produce strength in him to do the right thing. Her installation of love in Beneatha for the members of her family makes Beneatha not hate her brother Walter when he makes some terribly wrong decisions. She has a dream of moving into a bigger and better house since many years. Even after a large amount of the money was lost, she still adamantly acted on that dream and made it come true. This was