Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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Since the founding of this country, the American Dream drove individuals through tough times. Opportunity for all has been the United State’s claim to fame since its conception. A more accurate statement may be ‘opportunities for some,’ which Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun clearly portrays. The play, centered on the Younger family, followed their struggle through financial hardships and the pursuit of their dreams. Ball State’s production of this play brought the true experience of the American Dream to modern audience’s attention once more. The scene transitions, the set design, and a specific lighting choice employed in Ball State’s production of A Raisin in the Sun emphasized the play’s theme of the connection between dreams, hard times, and family. The specific scene transition that helped emphasize this connection occurred at the end of Act II, when Bobo reveals that Willy ran off with the money Lena gave to Walter. As with the other scene transitions, the lights dimmed and the stage darkened, but enough light was left to silhouette the actors. The actors continued on with their action as the lights went down and the audience could clearly…show more content…
Before the play began, the set was dark and sunlight from a single window on stage left shone down on a chair placed at the kitchen table. The production team employed this lighting choice any time the stage was dark and the setting was day. The small amount of sunlight that came into the Younger’s apartment represented a far off dream that only the insurance money could bring. That ray of sunlight symbolized the dream the family had to get to a better place in life. In Act II, Scene 1 Ruth asks Mama if the new house has a “whole lot of sunlight.” The new house would allow much more sunlight in than their apartment, which suggested the family’s dreams would be reached and their hard times escaped once the move away from the dark
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