Preview

American Dream In Loraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
272 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
American Dream In Loraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
What is the true purpose of the American Dream? Through her play A Raisin in the sun, Loraine Hansberry tries to educate readers that we not only dream for the sake of accomplishment, we also dream for the promise of hope. Each person has a different vision in regards to the American Dream, but one commonality between every goal is the motivation it brings. We all deal with difficulties in life and, as reflected in the title, we are like raisins in the sun, shriveling up unless we have a cloud of imagination to protect us from doubt and despair. In every society there are those who "only see the circle," the repetitive cycle represented by the sun that prevents dreams and improvement; but the circle does not exist. As Asagai explains, the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, she tells the value and purpose of dreams and how oftentimes dreams do get deferred. Hansberry got the title for the play based off of Langston Hughes’ famous poem A Dream Deferred. The language Hansberry uses reflects the deeper meaning of Hughes’ poem. Although the Younger women have lived in the same apartment for generations, they each face their unique trials and tribulations. Mama is faced with the decision of how to spend the money she received from her deceased husband’s insurance settlement; Ruth has to choose if she wants to have an abortion; and Bennie continues her aspirations of being a doctor and young feminist in the 1940s. All three women’s stories fall back on one common factor: a dream deferred.…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a story about a family whose continues to struggle while reaching towards the American Dream. The American Dream is described as “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” The Youngers are a hardworking family who all have different interpretations of the American Dream. Mama, Walter, and Beneatha’s shared powerful dreams that give the a look into the American Dream. Through hardships, exciting moments, and fighting between the family gives a look that not all dreams are easy to reach, but it gets achieved one way or another.…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In John Steinbeck's Novella, “Of Mice and Men”, the author ties the American Dream into the text to show that many people had hope during the Great Depression.The story takes place in California, and is about two men named George and Lennie who are headed to their new jobs at a ranch. Once they are there, they meet many people and build relationships with them. While they are there, their version of, “The American Dream”, is always mentioned or thought about, that shows that they are hopeful for what they want, and it keeps them going in the story. Even though his life had been tough, Lennie was always staying positive and hopeful for the future. In the beginning of the story, Lennie gets upset, so he asks George to tell him about their dream…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In order to better understand your texts for this unit, you will need an appreciation of their historical and cultural contexts. The following information has been sourced from Wikipedia. The citation numbers have been left in the text in the event that you wish to view the sources cited. Read the content and answer the questions at the end of the document.…

    • 4763 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Some people have the opportunity and easier access to make the American dream a reality, for others it remains just a dream. A dream that is deferred by many obstacles and such. Larry Hughes poem, a dream deferred describes this situation. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family each have dreams that they want to fulfill but is disrupted because of family selfishness and family issues. Each character had different dreams of their own. Big Walter, Walter Lee, and Mama Younger and the effects of their dreams on the family’s morale. Hughes uses a metaphor of a raisin to describe neglected hopes and dreams, which in turn is reflected in Hansberry’s exanple of the Younger family and their greed to fulfill the American…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The American Dream in the novel ‘Of Mice And Men’ by John Steinbeck Connor Hockley 9H…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American dream is something that all Americans try to achieve. Sometimes, the American dream cannot be achieved because of what you are in life. The dream is also attainable for people who are in a position for power. Of mice and men has shown us how the American dream can be possible for anyone, how it excludes some people from achieving that dream, and how people in a possession in power have a better chance of achieving the dream.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The promise of America is also what those refer to as “The American Dream.” In other words, it is what foreigners believe will lead them to a “better life.” This includes jobs, housing, and the most significant, freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc. These more accessible opportunities is what makes “the dream” so enticing, so desired. This also means having their children, and the generations to come, grow up in an environment superior to that of which they would have grown up in before which is exactly the reason they have come all this way in search of “The Promise of America.”…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the American Dream has a lasting impact on the lives of the workers living on the ranch near Soledad, California. Written during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the lives of migrant workers in California. This novel describes how the ranch hands interact with each other, becoming friends or enemies, also showing how one action can change the course of life. The elusive and virtually impossible American Dream represents a state of financial security and a worry free life. The men working at the ranch are not financially secure; instead, they work for the financially secure characters (Curley’s father-- the boss). No matter how happy, strong, courageous, or tough the…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    At its core, the American Dream is simply about possibility––it makes no guarantees. It’s an alluring but elusive ideal. Take an Impressionist painting, you can admire it from a distance, but as you get closer, it becomes incoherent. You lose sight of the big picture (literally). The same is true of the American Dream; you can admire it as a concept, but as you get closer, what was so clearly compelling begins to dissolve.…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Tommy Hilfiger once said, “The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it's possible to achieve the American dream”. Many immigrants came to America with this motivation in mind to work hard to achieve their ‘American Dream’. Some common dreams that most immigrants had was to have a place they could call it as their home and have a good job. In Betty Smith’s novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, she demonstrates how for some people the ‘American Dream’ was a struggle to achieve, while it is possible for other people who never gave up hope on achieving the ‘American Dream’. However, after immigrants came to America, life turned out to be not exactly what they expected.…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American dream is “ the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” (from google). In the novel Of mice and men by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie have the American dream of owning their own farm. The american dream is a constant theme of hope that motivates George and Lennie. Throughout the novel, the idea of the American dream is brought up as an end goal.…

    • 156 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American dream is different for every individual. This dream is an image of success that drives people to their own pursuit of happiness. It gives a chance for the underdogs to rise and let their dreams become a reality. The American dream has changed over the years. From having freedom of success to being better off than your parents were. People have a vest veracity of what their American dreams is. Whether it is love, a certain job title, or money the common end result is happiness.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The AMerican Dream

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the past the American Dream was simply described as an “attitude of hope” originating from The Declaration of Independence which states that “All men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights among which are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Even today if you ask an individual what their view on American Dream is they might repeat those very words, but in Herbert Selby's opinion it does not mean this at all. In Selby’s view the American Dream is seen as a negative force that is not only self-destructive mentally but that it ultimately destroys everything and everyone involved in it.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thesis: The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry show that there is great struggle in reaching The American Dream.…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays