Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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A Raisin in the Sun “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up/Like a raisin in the sun?” Langston Hughes creates a vivid image of what happens to a dream when it gets delayed or postponed in his poem, A Dream Deferred. He explores the effect that dreams can have on the human spirit, much like Lorraine Hansberry’s dramatic play, A Raisin in the Sun. In her play, Hansberry offers the belief that the dreams that can urge on our ambitions can also destroy our psyche if not properly nurtured to fruition. The title, taken directly from the second line of Hughes’ poem, is a detailed and realistic description of what can happen when dreams are stifled and one is not able to bring their dreams to reality. A Raisin in the Sun premiered on Broadway…show more content…
At twenty-nine, Hansberry became the youngest American, the fifth woman, and the first black playwright to win the Best Play of the Year Award. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway and Hansberry was the first black director on Broadway. The social climate of the 1950’s was full of changes. In 1954, The Supreme Court stated that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. In 1955, first Claudette Colvin and then Rosa Parks, refuse to give up their bus seats to white passengers, sparking Martin Luther King Jr. to organize and stage a bus boycott that lasted almost a year. In 1956, segregation on buses and trains was banned and the “Little Rock Nine” are prevented from entering a school until the President sent troops to facilitate the school’s integration. Hansberry’s early life contributed to her work. She was born into middle class comfort on Southside Chicago but because of the racial segregation that plagued the city, her family was restricted to the ghettos, where she witnessed firsthand the injustices plaguing American society. Her family was involved in a lawsuit Hansberry vs. Lee, 311 U.S. 32 (1940) against a group trying to prevent African Americans from buying houses in white neighborhoods. Her family won, but were subjected to violence and scare tactics from people who did not want them…show more content…
Dreams represent one’s active search toward self-improvement which is necessary to constantly reevaluate the status and value of one’s existence. The plays plot is undeniably driven by the realization and submission of each characters dream. A Raisin in the Sun portrays a few weeks in the life of the Youngers, an African-American family living on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s. When the play opens, the Youngers are about to receive an insurance check for $10,000. This money comes from the deceased Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy. Each of the adult members of the family has an idea as to what he or she would like to do with this money. The Younger family struggles to make their dreams a reality in a world that seems to work against them. The play sheds light on the gap between the American dream and the Black American reality. The ability to have a dream and the chance to fulfill it was and unfortunately still is different depending on social status and racial makeup. Each character in the play has a dream that they desperately want to achieve and each character must overcome obstacles that stand in their way. Lena Younger, better known as Mama, wants both of her children’s dreams to come true, but more importantly she wants a home for her family to grow in. She also wants Walter Lee to take over her late husband’s role of head of the house and also to finally become a man. Walter
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