Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry and whose title was derived from the poem Harlem, by Langston Hughes, is a tragic play taking place in South Side, Chicago, where it portrayed the life of an African-American family known as the Youngers in the 1950s. It follows the American Dream, a motif conveying the idea of belonging to the upper class of society. However, only the fortunate few are able to achieve this, while the majority remains staggered at searching for other opportunities. The play reflects modern thought by reconstructing the ideals of an American family in today's society through the idea of assimilation and its cause of cultural clashes, how wealth plays a role in social status, and how racial discrimination is still pervasive…show more content…
The assimilation movement that appears as the primary contender for cultural clashes within the play presents the social struggle in attempting to adapt to today's society while also expressing one's own heritage. In the play, Beneatha Younger is situated in a cultural conflict between George Murchison, and Joseph Asagai, her boyfriends whom each expresses adapting to society and upholding one's heritage respectively. However, her intentions are revealed when she defines the term assimilationist. "It means someone who is willing to give up his own culture and submerge himself completely in the dominant, and in this case oppressive culture!" (81). Beneatha supports the views of Asagai in retaining the African beliefs and traditions that have transcended from previous generations. She does this in attempt to discover ways to express herself as a unique individual as well as search for her identity and purpose in life. In today's context, American immigrants have instead combined the two processes by integrating their traditions with…show more content…
Several indirect references to the setting are made throughout the play, ranging from reading the newspaper headlines to minor characters serving as a reminder of the time period that this play took place in. This is especially true with that of Mrs. Johnson, one of the Younger's family neighbors. As the family was making preparations to move to the new house, she stops by to say farewell. "I bet it was his idea y'all moving out to Clybourne Park. Lord -- I bet this time next month y'all's names will have been in the paper plenty ... "NEGROES INVADE CLYBOURNE PARK -- BOMBED!" (101-102). Her message indicates that back then, racial discrimination against blacks was prominent in American society, even accepted to the extent of detonating bombs in black communities. Regardless of the fact that American society today has gradually evolved throughout the later decades, this time period remains to keep its mark in its history books. Nonetheless, there remains those that retain their grasp of beliefs and ideals in the past, and that eventually led to a more minuscule form of racial tension today. Recent events in the past year have occurred as a result of continued discrimination against blacks.
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