Category: A Raisin In The Sun

Raisin in the sun is a 1959 stage play written by Lorraine Hansberry an African-American playwright and writer who became the first female author to have a play performed on Broadway, along with her other work named ‘The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. Lorraine is known for addressing social issues in her writings and advocating gay rights. Her journey being a playwright ended at an early age, at the age of 34 she suffered from pancreatic cancer on January 12, 1965, and her life ended.

Raisin in the sun is an allusion in the fact that it is a reference to the line in the poem called ‘Dream Deferred’ by Langston Hinges, this play has become more interesting because it is based on the real experience from Hansberry’s years growing up up in the segregated side of Chicago like in the play an African-American family who move beyond segregation and disenfranchisement in Chicago, and essentially about dreams, as they struggle to ded with the oppressive circumstances that rule their lives, Also in these play Lorraine won several awards like New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best American Play.

In 1989 an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter made an adaptation of the play Raisin in the Sun also called American Playhouse (020189)directed by Billy Duke and produced by Chiz Schultz,

Along with that Bill Duke is also known on television as ‘Agent Percy ocelli Balck Lightning’ Aside from being known, He is also an award-winning artist who won several awards including the American Black Film Festival winner and the A Achievement Award. Along with Raisin in the Sun he also directed Park Girls(2011)and Cover(2007), this director is also known for primarily action and crime drama genres but occasionally appears in comedy.

Chiz Schults the producer of this play is an Adjunct professor who won the 2019 Peabody Award for Best Documentary for his documentary ‘Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted eyesfeeling Heart.’

In the 1989 adaptation the character played by award-winning artists: Startetta DuPois as Ruth Younger, Loo Ferguson as Joseph Asagai, John Fielder as Karl Linder, Danny Glover as Walter Lee Younger, Kimble Joyner as Travis Younger, Esther Rolle as Lena’ Mama’and Kim Yance as Beneatha Younger. Their acting awakes completely the emotions and it’s highly praised by movie critics. The example of their natural acting will be seen throughout the film starting until the end they work like a true family and not acting.

For the most part, the Lighting within the apartment was warm and dim, giving the setting a homey and somewhat relaxing feel. However, the dimness of the light also plays upon the unhappiness that stirs within the family during certain scenes, and the atmosphere is gloomy, almost without hope.

Raisin in the Sun portrays a few week’s life of an African-American family living on the south side of Chicago. When the play starts, the Younger is about to receive an insurance check for $10,000 we can see it begins with a faint little filtering through the kitchen window it’s not much light when Walter insists on putting that money into the liquor shop ‘Mama’ Lena and he has an argument that also happens in real life Mama Lena has a line that most of our parent says ‘everybody says you’re grown, but you still in my house and presence and as long you are listening to me’ the characters act was so natural that even viewers can relate.

One of the great scenes is when Mama Lena uses some of the money as a down payment on their house when the Youngers move they don’t expect their house to be located in white the area, and the moment when the house committee Carl Linder goes to them and say that everyone works hard to build these kind of place where people in that area wants to disbuy these house and make Youngers family find their new house in what where they belong the Youngers reject it and kicked Linder out of their house. In this scene the setting and atmosphere set the mood for the actors to properly act with the situation, in that scene, you can see the box scattered in the ground which means they just moved into that house and the box gives an accent to the scene.

In the end, scene when Bobo reports to Walter that Willy Haris skipped town with the investment money, Walter’s money along with beneath’s share lost, now the family needs money to stay in the apartment, Walter considers accepting a bribe from the white homeowners association in exchange for not moving to New neighborhood, decides to forgo the payment, In this scene, all of them feels sad of what Walter’s did, The light turns dim along with their emotions sorrow of not having the rights to fit in the place where their in, but in the end, they stay in their own house and build each other dream. One of their dreams signifies the plant of Mama Lena’s to have a future for everyone.

‘Raisin in the Sun is a 1959 play written by Lorraine Hansberry and made many adoptions one of it was written in 1989 directed by Bill Duke and produced by Chiz Schultz-is all about an African American family who move into a white neighborhood, the story starts whethwhethert the insurance money, but all of them have different plans on how they will use, the plan of mama Lena is to buy a house for the family and beneath a’s studies but Waltewantsnt to use it to his own business and ending of it is a bad result cause he got scam so at the end the insurance money lost like a bubble, In the end, Walter realizes how important family is to you, so he made the right decision and lived a good and happy life. In this play, we are taught that no matter what mistakes we make our family will always be there to help us and dream at the same time work to fulfill it.

In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, “A Raisin in the Sun”, Hansberry opens the play with a chaotic tone. The characters, Ruth, Travis and Walter were all rushing out of the house to get the day started. Through these characters, Hansberry unravels the value systems of a Black Family by allowing their family’s morals to dominate the current society’s expectations and devaluing the intrusive opinions their neighbors have of them.

Right off the bat, Hansberry implies to the readers that Ruth’s and Walter’s relationship is standing on thin ice. She does this by mentioning the couple having arguments after arguments. Walter compliment Ruth on how good she looks but soon after responded with “…it’s gone now…just for a second…you looked young again” (Hansberry 1510). However, we then learn that they are both subjectively interested in “the check’s” arrival. By this, we can assume that the check holds a valuable amount. From this introduction of Walter and Ruth, a reader can imply that the family has been dragged and struggling under harsh financial circumstances.

Hansberry apprises to the readers the significance Walter puts upon his young, and one and only son. Walter does not want Travis’ headspace to be manipulated as society demanded it to be so to alter this, Walter plans to motivate and empower Travis through impactful experiences his family lived through and overcame. However, Walter discussed with Ruth how the only stories he had were “about how rich white people live…” (Hansberry 1513). By this, we can imply that Walter is feeling highly pressured on displaying the ideal lifestyle they wanted Travis to witness and grow from. Because they were a colored family living in dominant white society, they were automatically treated differently. Walter did not aspire to have that be an issue for young Travis by stopping him from chasing his dream and living his best life.

The readers continue to learn the deep meaning behind the family’s relationship with one another. When the check’s arrival was coming sooner and sooner, Beneatha and Walter began to argue with each other because they were both being tempted to use the insurance money for their own needs. For Walter, he wanted to pursue with is invested and for Beneatha, she needed the money to continue her path to becoming a doctor. However, it was clear to them that “the insurance money belongs to Mama” (Hansberry 1516). Through this, we learn that no matter how bad Walter and Beneatha wanted the money, they put the value of their mother in front of their own wants. Basing on the society they currently live in, being in their position objectively increases their temptations to obtain such money to stay on top, or rather be above average than their own class status. But because of the value they put on their Mama, who is the head of the family, they willingly put their pride down and put the money’s stake on their Mama’s hands.

Hansberry takes the reader backtrack and allows Mama to further explain how she and her husband, Big Walter, lived their lives and carried out their lifestyles to their children. They too lived in harsh societies. Though the past society and the current society both portray colored people as inferiors, the old generation was threatened to be lynched or shot at while the current generation has a fear of living in a low class their entire life. However, through these circumstances, Big Walter and Mama continued to provide unconditional love for their children. With this reasoning when Mama “lost their baby Claude”, she was “going to lose Big Walter too” (Hansberry 1519). Even though having an additional baby would add to their financial stress, they were able to easily put that aside and raise the child out of love and comfort from them. They believe that the social status of classes did not hold the same value, nor near the value of the family connection.

The story then takes a turn when Hansberry addresses that Mama was ready to give up the insurance money just to provide for her dear children, Walter and Beneatha. Mama, of all the characters in this play, demonstrated the most value in the family. When Walter broke down and almost gave up on his dream to invest in the liquor business, his Mama saved him by giving him all she had left. Mama felt “helpless” and wished she could give more to her children to easily reach their dream. After giving him the large sum of money, Mama continues on by entitling Walter as the “new head of this family” (Hansberry 1547). Being the head of a family comes with great responsibility since he or she is in charge of the family’s well-being. Mama entrusted that her kids knew what they were doing because she put so much value in them, as Big Walter did. By doing so, we can simply conclude that the value their family has within each other is also adjacent to having unconditional love with one another.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry interprets a meaningful story that describes and recreates the struggles of African Americans in the 1950s. African Americans have been treated unfairly for the past several decades and their history and struggles are yet unknown to many people living today. This play indicates a sad truth on how dreams are torn apart and ridiculed due to the hardships African American’s had to face in the 1900s. The Youngers, who are showcased as the main family in the play demonstrate the hardships through the roughness of their environment, their low economic standards, and racial discrimination. The Youngers are an indigent African-American family who has very few choices in their white supreming society. The Youngers struggle to attain their own individual dreams throughout the play which symbolizes both their happiness and depression throughout the play. In the play, Lorraine Hansberry play uses the environment, socio-economic status, and racial tensions to symbolize a family’s struggle to deal with racism and oppression in their everyday lives, as well as to exemplify their dreams.

Racial discrimination refers to discrimination against individuals on the basis of their skin color, racial or ethnic origin. Racial discrimination is one of the problems many of the characters in the book faced and it was also invoked into many of the neighbors. The Youngers paid for the down payment of a house in a white neighborhood and they immediately received criticism from one of their neighbors, Mrs.Johnson. “NEGROES INVADE CLYBOURNE PARK – BOMBED!”(Act 2, Scene 2). Mrs.Johnson is saying that this is what the news will be like if they move there. Mrs.Johnson is very clearly overstaying her welcome and appears to find pleasure in feeling fear in the Youngers’ hearts. Ruth and Mama are hurt by Mrs.Johnson’s rude remarks which are contradicting with the Youngers’ dreams to live in their own house. This also shows that she doesn’t want the Youngers to do better in the long run and wants them to stay captive in their prison of the black society. Mrs.Johnson doesn’t want them to pursue their dreams and end up more successful than her. She doesn’t want to be the only one fighting these battles and is dragging the Youngers down so they do not end up in a better place. Another aspect they faced was racism is where it is much harder for people of color or to find jobs than regular whites. Another example of racism that is shown in the play is when Walter is talking to Mama about when he visits downtown. “sometimes when I’m downtown and I pass them cool-quiet-looking restaurants where them white boys are sitting back and talking ‘bout things…sitting there turning deals worth millions of dollars…sometimes I see guys don’t look much older than me” (Act 1, Scene2). This quote is showing that Walter is getting jealous of businessman that can afford to live a luxurious lifestyle and can afford to live in a high standard. He is suffering from the fact that other men that are much younger than him have more opportunities in the world because of the color of their skin. The most racist aspects of the play area at the end of the novel. The Youngers have recently bought a house and are at the house when they receive a visit from Linder. “I want you to believe me when I tell you that race prejudice simply doesn’t enter into it. It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities” (Act 2, Scene 3)Karl Linder tries to convince the Younger family that not moving into the new neighborhood is in their best interest. Linder starts off the conversation by trying to say he is on their side but he slowly comes to the point that he doesn’t wish for any colored people to be there. He tries to prove that all this wasn’t his idea but the idea of the community and he is just there to deliver the message. The Youngers don’t believe this and ask him to leave the house at once. The Youngers are all offended by this action and wish they were just accepted. This is a major point in the book because it shows that the Youngers faced racial discrimination and stood up for themselves.

In the 1950s, the environment was a major factor affecting how African Americans were treated. The skin color and the area they lived in depended on how they were treated. There are five members of the Younger family and the Youngers all lived in a one-bedroom, one-bathroom house. “At left, a door leads to a bedroom which is shared by MAMA and her daughter, Beneatha. At right, the opposite is a second room… which serves as a bedroom for Walter and his wife, Ruth” (Act 1, Scene 1, Pg 24). This shows that there was hardly any space in the house and they had Travis sleep on the living room couch. They had no choice but to live here because it was very difficult to find jobs as colored people. Money was also a major problem for the Younger family and they were each constantly trying to achieve their own dreams. When Mama received the $10,000 check she used a part of the money to put it towards a downpayment for the house. She also told Walter to save $3000 to save for Benethea and the rest Walter could use for his liquor business. Each character had different goals and they each valued the money that was given to them. “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 . . .”.(Act1, Scene2, page74). This quote tells us that the environment in the house was not pleasant and due to the constant fighting that is going on in the house for the money. This also impacts the character because all the characters were fighting to make their dreams come true. However, with no money, they can’t achieve what they set out to do.

Living in poverty is not a problem that many people face especially in first-world countries. The Younger family has many obstacles that they have faced to move forward towards their dreams. Money is a huge problem that is facing the Younger family. The members in the house all work like laborers to get enough money to sustain their families. Walter works hard as a chauffeur to provide the main source of income for his family. Even though Walter doesn’t earn that much he still wants his son to feel like they are fortunate. ‘Well, I ain’t got no fifty cents this morning…I don’t care what the teacher says. I ain’t got it. Eat your breakfast, Travis'(Act 1, Scene 1). This shows that this quote that the family is poor that Ruth can’t afford her son money for the class. Travis also takes initiative towards his future by offering to carry bags at the supermarket so that he can earn 50 cents. This level of poverty shows that they don’t have enough money to sustain their own children and they are also expecting another child on the way. Ruth is also considering aborting her child so that they could sustain their family in a better way. Education Should always be the top priority over everything. After this Walter wants to show that his son that they are fortunate so he gives him an extra 50 cents to take a taxi to school. ‘In fact, here’s another fifty cents…Buy yourself some fruit today – or take a taxicab to school or something!’ (Act 1, Scene 1). To keep the family’s economic status intact Walter gives him extra money but later doesn’t have money for himself to get to work. This shows that the Walter family is not financially stable and is just living paycheck to paycheck.

Throughout the whole play, you can see that each character is fighting for their own vision of the American Dream. This shows great hope which factors into the ability to achieve. All of them are all working hard towards all struggles to help them achieve their own dreams. They face problems such as racial discrimination, socio-economic issues, and environmental conditions. This play indicates a sad truth on how dreams are torn apart and the extreme hardships of African-American people. They did not receive enough money to sustain themselves and they were viewed as minors by the whites. Imagine we were living in a world where we didn’t have enough money and we were outcasts of society.

In literature, a foil is a character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another character. The importance of this is to shed light on the qualities of the other character. Foil characters may, but not always, be antagonists. Sometimes, alongside the protagonist, foils are even other characters. When an author uses a foil, they want to ensure that the reader picks up on important differences between the character’s traits and characteristics. Therefore, it is important to keep an eye out for foils in literature. In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, there is a notable comparison and contrast between the characters Joseph Asagai and George Murchison who evidently are shown to be foils to each other. Asagai and Murchison share one common love interest in one of the main characters, Beneatha, however, they have major differences that make each have unique qualities. Comparing and contrasting these two based on their upbringing, culture, mindsets, and their personality toward Beneatha shows how different the two are.

Joseph Asagai comes from a Nigerian background and seems to value his culture very much. Asagai represents the inner desire of a person who wants to express themselves through their original background. He is not afraid to be different. Throughout the play, he is in love with Beneatha and encourages her to go to school to become a doctor. He believes she has the potential to make something of herself and supports her goal of becoming a doctor. Beneatha is attracted to Joseph because of the way he enlightens her about the African culture and traditional lifestyle. In a way she wants to be like him to be able to follow that path of being traditional and not conforming to the white-American society. While spending time together, he is able to intellectually stimulate her in ways that make her want to connect with her African roots, and pursue her independence:

Asagai

Then isn’t there something wrong in a house – in a world – where all dreams, good or bad, must depend on the death of a man? I never thought to see you like this, Alaiyo. You! Your brother made a mistake and you are grateful to him so that now you can give up the ailing human race on account of it! You talk about what good is struggle, what good is anything! Where are we all going and why are we bothering? (134) He is eager for Beneatha to follow her dream of being an independent woman and uplifts her spirits about it.

Unlike Asagai, George is an assimilated African American who comes from a well-established wealthy family. He doesn’t seem to respect Beneatha’s opinions and points of view. He represents the complete opposite of what Asagai stands for. Beneatha becomes unattracted to him due to his point of view that it’s okay to assimilate into a white-American society and not want to take an interest in his African roots. Moreover, Murchison doesn’t take Beneatha’s goals seriously. He believes it is silly of her for wanting to take time to study and become a doctor. In Beneatha’s point of view, she believes that both men and women are able to have intellectual conversations but for him, that doesn’t really matter. She feels that he is an arrogant and superficial man who is shallow. He demonstrates these characteristics when he doesn’t find interest in Beneatha being an educated woman he only seems to care about her looks. Essentially he wants a woman to be like a trophy for him to just show around:

George

I know [you love to talk] and I don’t mind it sometimes…I want you to cut it out, see – The moody stuff, I mean. I don’t like it. You’re a nice-looking girl…all over. That’s all you need, honey, forget the atmosphere. Guys aren’t going to go for the atmosphere – they’re going to go for what they see. Be glad for that. Drop the Garbo routine. It doesn’t go with you. As for myself, I want a nice – (Groping) – simple (Thoughtfully) – sophisticated girl… not a poet – O.K.? (97) This only makes her realize how much she’s interested in Asagai and how much she is not with Murchison.

The theme of identity plays a major role in this play and it focuses primarily on Beneatha’s identity when it comes down to these two suitors. She is stuck trying to find how she really wants to identify herself. Murchison seems to be trying to be something he is not. He is ambitious, materialistic, and self-centered. She definitely is not interested in all that and wants to be able to be heard as a woman not just seen as one. Asagai tries to encourage Beneatha to embrace her roots by making a comment about her hair, “And so to accommodate that — you mutilate it every week?” (64) From this quote, it’s shown that Asagai thinks of assimilation as something negative and Beneatha should not become submissive into it. Although her family approves of Murchison for his wealth she is happier to be with Asagai who may not be rich but makes her happy. Beneatha shows that as an African-American it is difficult to attempt to identify with any culture besides the one born into or the one lost back then. Beneatha likes Asagai because he is not trying to change her from who she really is; he accepts her for who she is. In the end, it is clear that Asagai is the best suitor for her and that he is who she truly identifies herself with.  

“Darn those eggs”, said Walter Lee. He wanted his wife to listen to his ideas. Walter Lee was tired of being poor. Walter Lee had a dream of being a part of the upper class whom he always observes. Walter felt that all of his dreams would come true if he could own the store he dreamed of. Overall, his dream was worth it but it was harder for an African American to do anything at this point in time.

Walter Lee and his family were tired of being poor. The family was about to receive a big break. Walter’s father had passed and they were about to receive a big check. The family didn’t know what to do with the money at first. Momma decided that she would buy a new house and decide what to do with the rest later. Everyone, but Walter likes the decision Mother made to get the new house.

Walter Lee had a dream about being a part of the upper class whom he always observed. Some days Walter wouldn’t go to work in order to go observe the upper-class people. Walter Lee said, “My wife deserves to wear pearls too.” Walter Lee wanted to put together a plan that would earn them some money so that they could move up in class. Overall, Walter Lee wanted to make life better for him and his family.

Walter’s friend BoBo had news of Walter’s investment that he talked about. BoBo informed Walter Lee that Willie had run off with his money. They found out Walter had used his share and Beneatha’s share of the money. They were both devastated, Beneatha even went as far as not wanting to be a doctor anymore. Overall this made Walter realize that the very dream that he had this whole time was a scam to take his money.

As previously expressed, Walter and his family had dreams that almost all African Americans had at this point in time. They realized that those things wouldn’t come easy so They gambled some money and lost. A second opportunity arose when Karl Linder tried to re-buy their house. This banded the family together because the family felt so embarrassed that they declined the offer. As a result of everything the family decided to move into a new house, but they still faced the very same problems from the beginning.  

The American Dream has changed over the years. Nevertheless, one idea that remains true today is upward mobility; in other words, it is one’s ability to move onto a higher social class. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the authors relate social class and materialism to explore this idea of the American Dream. The protagonist of A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee, is a typical African American man during the mid-twentieth century. Walter desperately wants money, because not only does he has financial problems, Walter also wants to be able to live a materialistic life that he has seen others enjoy from working as a chauffeur. Similarly, Myrtle, from The Great Gatsby, is also eager to attain prosperity as she is trapped inside the Valley of Ashes with her husband, George, who has a low social status. Walter and Myrtle both fail to achieve their dream of moving into the upper class and living a luxurious life, as their dreams are unrealistic and difficult to achieve because of their misconception of what it takes to move up to the upper class.

To begin with, in the play A Raisin in the Sun, Walter does not achieve his dream of achieving material success and becoming a rich businessman because he thoughtlessly believes that opening a liquor store will easily make him rich and successful. For instance, when Mama finally agrees to give him money for his liquor store, Walter is filled with excitement and tells Travis about his dream of the future in seven years, saying “Your daddy’s gonna make a transaction, a business transaction that’s going to change our lives. I’ll come home … after a day of conferences and secretaries getting things wrong the way they do cause an executive’s life is hell”. He also dreams of owning a Chrysler, buying a Cadillac for Ruth, and having a gardener who will say “Good evening, Mr. Younger” in which he will respond by asking “Hello, Jefferson, how are you this evening” (Hansberry 2.3.)? Walter is overwhelmed with happiness after Mama finally gives him the money because he firmly believes that using Mama’s money to invest in a liquor store will be “a business transaction that is going to change [their] lives”. Notably, he does not realize that he is oversimplifying the difficulty behind opening a liquor store. For instance, when he tells Travis that he will be “coming home after a day of conferences and secretaries getting things wrong the way they do cause an executive’s life is hell,” he is assuming that he will make plenty of profit to the point where he will own a liquor store chain and thus become a successful businessman. Instead of thinking about the potential risks behind this investment, Walter is overly optimistic about the future as he dreams of becoming an executive who works in an office and has secretaries to help him. This can also be seen from the use of words such as “Chrysler” and “Cadillac” since they are fancy cars that are often owned by rich white men during that time. Thus, it can be inferred that Walter desperately wants economic independence and to live a material life that is similar to the life of an upper-class white man during the 1950s. Similarly, his imagined conversation with a gardener also reveals that he wants to have high social status and be looked up to by others. However, his naivety about the liquor store investment and lack of consideration demonstrates how his dream is unrealistic and are contributing factors to his failure of achieving his dream. This is revealed later in the play after Walter’s friend Bobo tells him that their friend Willy Harris has run off with all of the money that Walter invested in the liquor store. Walter becomes upset and tells Mama, “[Life] is all divided up… Between the takers and the ‘token’…People like Willy Harris, don’t ever get ‘token’.” [The rest of us do because] “we get to looking ‘round for the right and the wrong; and … trying to figure out about the wrong and the right of things all the time…And all the time, man, them takers is out there operating, just taking and taking” (Hansberry 3.1.). At this point, Walter is forced to give up his dream because Willy Harris ran off with the money. Exasperated by Willy’s action, Walter tries to provide a justification for his failure in achieving his dream by saying that the world is unjust. While people like him “[try] to figure out … the right and wrong of things all the time”, “Takers” like Willy Harris are the exact opposite. They “[are] out there operating” and always taking advantage of the “token”. In other words, Walter is trying to say that he is unable to achieve his dream because he cares about moral values, but in this unjust world, only the “takers” who have no moral integrity can succeed. However, as Walter blames the “takers” for his failure, he dismisses the fact that it is also his fault. Thinking that the liquor store will be a deemed success, Walter willingly gives Willy all of the insurance money and fully trusts him to take care of this investment thus making him the “taker”. Moreover, Walter has no alternative plan for his dream, which is why he finds it hard to accept this failure so he blames the world and Willy Harris for it. All in all, Walter fails to achieve his dream of becoming a successful businessman and living a materialistic life; furthermore, he does not realize that his dream is hard to achieve, especially with his unrealistic optimism.

Everyday millions of people around the country have dream jobs. Some might really want to get their exact dream job, buy a house or a car. Well, to get to the point, in order to fully achieve those dreams, anyone would sacrifice the things they love, but in some cases, there would be moments where the world makes it impossible for you to accomplish them. In ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ a character named Walter Lee really wants to accomplish his dream which is opening a liquor store. The downside is that in order to achieve it he’ll have to sacrifice the rest of his family’s dreams. He’s in bad position, not knowing what to do or if he’ll ever get his own store and become a businessman like he is always wanted. That’s why in ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ by Robert Nemiroff we’ll see if Walter’s can be attainted, and if it does become reality.

Walter is the type of person that is determined that he wants to be the best for his family like being the man of the house. Walter is thinking to himself about his life, and all he notices that he hasn’t been accomplishing nothing the good for himself and his family as well: “This morning, I was lookin’ in the mirror and thinking about it … I’m thirty-five-years old; I been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room and all I got to give him is stories about how rich white people live” (Hansberry, 18). From this quote, you can tell that Walter is upset about how he isn’t doing enough to do better for his family, especially his son. He is tired of telling stories, instead he wants to take action and try to be a model. Doesn’t want to waste time anymore because he knows life is too short to just wait around.

Another example of Walter wanting the best for his family is when Walter gives him fifty cents to buy anything, and gives him a hug, and lets him go head and leave to school: “In fact, here’s another fifty cents… Buy yourself some fruit today – or take a taxicab to school or something!” (Hansberry, 15). Walter tries to prevent the family’s economic status from affecting his son, which Walter thinks and puts his son first before himself and gives up the idea of him taking the taxicab and giving it to his son instead. He wants his son to have everything he ought to have.

This leads him to the idea of his dream, which will give him more opportunities to his family and gain a lot of money. Walter’s dream is opening a liquor store and becoming a businessman. Walter starts to tell Ruth about his dream and how he can use Mama’s money to start the business: “Yeah. You see, this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment on the place would be ‘about thirty thousand, see. That is ten thousand each. Course, there’s a couple of hundred you got to pay so’s you don’t spend your life just waiting for them clowns to let your license get approved” (Hansberry, 17). Walter believes that by investing a whole lot of money, he will earn his family their fortune. He gets a lot of crap from his family about this idea from his family, but on paper it’s really not a terrible idea. Unfortunately, Walter’s would-be business partner, Willy Harris, turns out to be a total crook. In the end, the Youngers remain in poverty.

Another example is when Walter’s Mama later gives him some money that is left, which helps him a lot for the liquor store: “Monday morning I want you to take this money and take three thousand dollars and put it in a savings account for Beneatha’s medical schooling. The rest you in a checking account -with your name on it. And from now on any penny that come out it or that go in it is for you to look after. For you to decide” (Hansberry, 91). Lena realizes she may have contributed to Walter’s state of helplessness and decides to rectify her mistake. She now believes that she might have made the wrong choice in not giving Walter any of the money. Lena decides to give all that’s left of the insurance money to Walter, hoping that entrusting him will resurrect his faith in himself.

An event happened that made Walter upset and realize that you can’t really trust anyone; this caused his dream to be harder to accomplish. A friend of his that was helping with Walter’s dream notified him about Willy Harris and told him what actually happened and why didn’t things go as they were actually planned originally: “I’m sorry, Walter… I had my life staked on this deal, too…” (Hansberry, 113). Walter and Bobo both changed the course of their families’ future by trusting Willy with their money Walter believed that the liquor store investment was a good idea, and he was convinced that his use for the money will have a positive effect on the family, although it’s all gone now. This was a bad decision on both of their parts, and both of their families will suffer as a result.

Walter tells Linder to come over and see if they could have the money for the house. His family doesn’t agree, but later Walter changes his mind by seeing his son Travis realizes that what’s he is doing is wrong: “And we have decided to move into our house because my father – my father – he earned it for us brick by brick .. We don’t want to make no trouble for anybody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors. And that’s all we got to say about that… We don’t want your money” (Hansberry, 132). Walter tells Lindner that the Youngers are going to move into the house. Their move is not motivated by issues of race, but of a family’s right to create a home. By choosing not to give into Lindner, Walter regains his dignity.

That’s why in ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ by Robert Nemiroff we see if Walter can be attanited and if it does become reality. Of course, we see that eventually Walter doesn’t achieve his dream and loses all the money his mother gave him. He learns a valuable lesson which is the importance of family and race. He goes and lives at the new house, but from here we know that it won’t be possible for him to open a liquor store in the future. In all everyone is happy where they’re going, and Travis has the most chance to have a better life and opportunity to achieve his own dreams later on.

Work Cited

1. Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun: A Drama in Three Acts. New York: Random House, 1959.

Throughout the history of mankind many civilizations have fallen because of the government being too power hungry and too controlling. For a country or civilization or whatever the case may be to be successful they need rights and freedoms. The best way for a country to preserve and protect the rights of the people or for them to live the American dream is to restrict the power of the government. We see examples of this in ‘A Raisin in the Sun’, obviously, ‘The Declaration of Independence’ and ‘The Pedestrian’.

The best example of civilization preserving their own freedoms is the United States and the Declaration of Independence. This is because the constitution specifically gives and lays out the rights of the people. It is not a hidden message or a hidden meaning it is straight to the point and clearly states the rights of the people and the power of the government. For example, things like the 2nd Amendment which gives the people the right to bear arms has protected many citizens from unfair treatment by the government. “It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances”, to some people this is all that matters and that alone is giving people an equal opportunity. People want to live that American dream and the writers of the Declaration of Independence (Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, etc.) understood that and wanted the people of their country to be equal and have equal opportunity. Democracy is another very important factor to the success of the United States, countless other countries and civilizations have fallen because they wanted to have an all-mighty leader or gave the people too much power. The reason this type of government is so successful is because the people feel important and like they matter, they have undeniable rights and for these reasons they do not want to fight against the government and are perfectly happy with the current freedoms and government.

‘The Pedestrian’ is a strange example of the American dream but either way strange or not it is a good symbol and has a hidden meaning. The man in this novel is being harassed for doing an everyday average thing simply going for a walk. This is looked at as a threat because he is not mindlessly following the government like a sheep. The reason this is an example of the American dream is because the man feels he has the right to go on a walk through the night if he so chooses. This is actually a perfect example of how controlling the government can be when the people do not have basic rights. While being able to go on a walk is not exactly on the level of the American dream it is the same basic idea. When the robot car is talking to him, he says things like, “Just walking Mr. Mead”, and follows up with “But you haven’t explained for what purpose” (Bradbury) this is showing just how oppressed and stripped of rights these people are. It is things like the constitution that protects the people of the United States and gives them their basic human rights. If you are being harassed just for walking down the street, then you are obviously not being given the unalienable rights that you deserve.

The third text is ‘A Raisin in the Sun’, this is a very good example of the American dream and basic human rights. This is because this text goes over things like women’s rights, equality, the American dream and many more in the background using things like the plant to symbolize hope etc. all while tackling the issue of racism in the forefront. Beneatha is a very good example of just about all of these things put into one. “Well – I do – all right? – thank everybody! And forgive me for ever wanting to be anything at all! FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME!”. This is around the time that they were ridiculing her for wanting to be a doctor, she is just trying to live her dream as an African American woman in the 1950’s. She has all of the things previously mentioned, the American dream, hope, equal opportunity, basic rights and more. It is because of her that this novel is such a good and accurate representation of people fighting for equal opportunity and a perfect example of the American dream. This is because without hard work you cannot succeed in a capitalist society without being a hard worker and the whole family is honest and hard working. They are willing to sacrifice for the ‘American dream’ and put in the hard work like when Ruth says she will work 20 hours a day. They just want to be treated equally for their equal behavior and principles.

The American dream is something that people all over the world come to the United States to experience. We see that people will move from all over the world to live it out and enjoy their own basic civil rights. Very good examples of this can be found in the texts ‘The Pedestrian’, ‘A Raisin in the Sun’, and ‘The Declaration of Independence’. The authors of these novels and plays had very specific things in mind while creating these texts they wanted to go over heated American topics such as racism, equal opportunity, and far many more. At the end of the day, you have to treat people as humans and give them their undeniable rights to preserve a free and stable government. If you are oppressing your people, they are more likely to revolt against you leading to the fall of freedom and your civilization.

Lorraine Hansberry is a writer and activist born in May 1930, born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Hansberry is an African American woman, born in the Depression era although, because of her father’s relative wealth they were considered middle class. Though their position on the economic ladder they still experienced extreme racism and segregation. She attended an overcrowded public school for African American students located in the ghettos. As she grew up she read books in her father’s library, she developed a strong mindset about the greatness of Africa and its ancient civilizations. She also learned about colonialism in Africa and its impact on the people. She soon drew a parallel between the exploited Africans and the subjugated African Americans. These early influences foreshadow the inspiring work she created in her later age. “Without a doubt, the play A Raisin in the Sun was a historically and culturally significant rhetorical production.” (Lipari 81). Hansberry shows her personal views and experiences of inequality and injustice of African Americans throughout her play, A Raisin in the Sun.

There were specific examples showing racism and oppression that happened in both Hansberry’s life and in her play A Raisin in the Sun that support the above research question. For example, as a young girl, Hansberry and her family moved into a white neighborhood which came with challenges due to segregation. The white community of the neighborhood was so angry they moved in, and the community threw bricks through the Hansberry family window. This was taken to court and the Hansberry were court-ordered to vacate the home. Her father became so furious, that he brought this case to the U.S. Supreme Court. This became the court case known as Hansberry v. Lee’s decision of 1940. In the play A Raisin in the Sun, The youngsters decide to move into a predominantly all white neighborhood. Before they even move in “Mr. Lindner [a white man] who comes from the ‘welcome committee’ of the new neighborhood to ask the Youngers not to move into it at all [and offers to pay them not to move]: ‘I want you to believe me when I tell you that race prejudice simply doesn’t enter into it…As I say, that for all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their communities” (Saber 452). The Youngers refuse this offer and decide to move in any way, despite all of the hate towards them. As does Hansberry’s father, “The Youngers make their decision in the end, the fact of racial oppression, unspoken and alluded to, other than the fact of how they live ” (Saber 453).

As stated above, Hansberry was “born into material comfort on the southside of Chicago and she grew us as a part of the middle class and was therefore given some opportunities denied to others… this background which must be acknowledged” (Wilkerson 450). In the eyes of a young girl, it can be brought to the light, seeing her family getting treated differently because of her race, it could be seen why young Hansberry could have been discouraged; asking herself, why can my friends live in this neighborhood but I cannot? Why can’t we go to this side of town? All of these questions and discouragement that were put upon Hansberry at birth sent many other African-Americans into the shadows, but not Lorine Hansberry. Since Hansberry was taught at a young age to have “pride in the family and never to betray the race” (Wilkerson 450) she chose to use her experiences to fuel her writing career and write about the injustices in American society. In Lorine Hansberry’s play, she was able to show all Americans

Which is one of the themes of her play A Raisin in the Sun. Overcoming this adversity at such a young age turned Hansberry into the strong, activist, and powerful writer that she once was.

The segregation and unrightful treatment she experienced and witnessed are “experiences she would in part recount in her first dramatic work, A Raisin in the sun” (Abell 460). Hansberry holds strong beliefs about the means of African Americans and the civil rights they should attain. “These beliefs surfaced in the situations of the characters in the play” (Abell 461). For example, the character Travis Younger represents the innocence and purity of Hansberry’s younger self. Mama’s strong will to change stereotypes and oppression towards African Americans as does Hansberry’s father does, going to court fighting for their house lastly Beneatha shows open-mindedness and wants to learn about African american culture represents young Lorraine reading her father’s books and wanting to learn more about her African American culture.

“The aim of [Hansberry for this play] is asserting black racial pride. It was an attempt to cross racial lines and not to see everything through sharp black-white dichotomies, but to form a kind of racial settlement and to end racial oppression” (Murray 277). Hansberry does this through her personal experiences and views throughout the characters, themes, and events that relate to both her life and her play. The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry shows her personal experiences from life in a metaphorical way, while this literary essay explains how she was able to show her experiences.

A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, introduces several of her characters, where money is a promise of escape, a gift to be stored up and fought for whenever possible. But as the story progresses, the Younger family must constantly consider their wish for significant wealth against their wish for freedom. Beneatha, Walter, and the others eventually choose conceptual values over easy choices that hold out the potential of more money. Each person’s dream serves a significant emotional purpose for the character; though, the dreams also split the characters up, creating conflict between them.

Walter Lee Younger is used to signify the bold but, unaware African American family. Walter’s main role in “A Raisin in the Sun” is to represent the African American families that take many chances, which ultimately lead to total failure. Walter is shadowed by selfishness and ignorance which causes him to fail to accomplish the success he wishes to earn. Walter Lee Youngers’ greed is illustrated when he talks about, ‘Check coming today.’ (26). Walter’s deficiency of knowledge and his hard-headedness allow him to portray American success, which he hopes to achieve in a brief time. Walter Lee Younger is a man who is unsatisfied with his current situation in life, and every dissatisfaction he has faced so far. Though he attempts to be a loving man, occasionally he does not know how to show the idea of love, “Sometimes… sometimes… I don’t even know how to try'(89). His stance in life can be considered symbolic of every black male battling to offer for his loved ones by any means necessary. Although Walter has a job, it seems unsatisfactory for his survival. As a result, he has become discouraged and lacks good judgment. Throughout the story, Walter searches for something that will make his life pleasurable.

Walter was a hardworking man who had a vision. He planned to go into business with a few of his friends operating a liquor store. “Gone, what you mean Willy is gone? Gone where? You mean he went by himself. You mean he went off to Springfield by himself – to take care of getting the license…” (180). Walter desperately holds onto the chance of his dreams coming true, rejecting the fact that he has been conned. He knows that he has not only ruined his vision by trusting Willy Harris but he’s also put discouragement on Beneatha’s plans of going to medical school.

The male characters in the story are described as reckless, Walter, lacking in control or truthfulness, George and Joseph, or aggressive, Mr. Lindner. While the female characters are responsible, Mama, ruthless and orderly, Ruth.