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A Raisin in the Sun is a highly controversial but critically appraised play written by Lorraine Hansberry and performed for the first time in 1959. It tells the story of a struggling African American family living in the poverty of Southside Chicago and looking for a better future. The play is praised both for its universal human drama that is relatable to everyone as well as its portrayal of the struggles of the African American community in daily lives in a context of racial injustices and the cycle of poverty. The play deeply explores these socioeconomic factors as well as reflects on the complex nature of black culture and self-identity (Chicago Public Library, n.d.).
Socioeconomic factors are a significant theme in toinhe play. The plot depicts an ordinary African American family that is living in poverty but suddenly encounters an opportunity to improve their lives due to an insurance check. However, their race and current status inhibit them from accomplishing their dreams. Hansberry does not make race the primary issue, but it is present as an overarching theme that hangs over the family. Such as when they purchase a home in a white-only neighborhood, ironically because it is simply the cheapest, they are met with racist attempts to prevent their move to the neighborhood. It is done on the grounds of interracial tensions and is given both veiled threats and financial incentives to not go through with the move. Poverty is also a theme in the play as it greatly discourages each in fulfilling themselves. While some are accepting of it, Walter has an obsession with achieving wealth, seeing it as a transformative power and driving all his decisions, even if they are not financially beneficial to the family in the long term. Poverty has so strongly pressured the family that for some, money seems like the sole answer to all their issues.
In the context of socioeconomic issues, A Raisin in the Sun explores the concept of black identity as it poses difficult questions regarding assimilation and black culture in the United States. The character of Beneatha particularly demonstrates this as she grapples with cultural identity with influences from two suitors. One is successful and wealthy because he chose to assimilate and remove himself from black culture as far as possible, while the other is focused on Afrocentrism and black power (Brady, 2018). These represent two extremes, but an unfortunate reality and choice that many African Americans had to make at the time. Nevertheless, despite the three generations of the family having various tastes, speech patterns, and beliefs, that celebrate the complex richness of black culture, they are united in their defiance of white hostility. It can be argued that the primary issue of black culture in a dominantly white society is not integration, it is the willingness to take serious risks, as done by the Younger family to remove themselves from intolerable poverty and force change in an inherently oppressive system.
The play inherently confronts serious key issues for African American families in the post-World War II era. These include fragmentation of familyintegrityti, on and desegregation, and the search for manhood and identity of black males. Family is a central aspect of the play, which although focusing on racial struggles, encounters problems that can be applied to any race. It is a play that describes aspiring dreams and their destruction by the ruthless reality, based on the famous poem Harlem by Langston Hughes which compares to dream deferred drying up like a raisin in the sun (Hughes, 1951). However, the characters persevere and seek to find ways to move forward. A Raisin in the Sun presents a wide variety of conflicts, including generational, gender, ideological, and the most important conflict of dreams that the family must overcome to find their place and identity.
References
Brady, E. (2018). Two unattainable ideals: Beneathas struggle for identity in A Raisin in the Sun. Undergraduate Review, 14(1), 32-35. Web.
Chicago Public Library. (n.d.). Background and criticism of A Raisin in the Sun. Web.
Hughes, L. (1951). Harlem. Web.
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