Stereotypes In A Raisin In The Sun

However, there are civil rights issues going on today and one of them is racial profiling. Racial profiling has affected many African American individuals as they are still untrusted by many white people. The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, tells a story about a black family who lives in the 1950s and the struggles that they went through due to their skin color. This story shows the contrast of how much progress society has made but points out the problems it faces today. The United States has made large steps in their progress of becoming a more equal society, by having an African American president and interracial couples being accepted; however, it still faces challenges that many individuals are fighting to

The setting of the Raisin in the Sun is the ghetto of Chicago, where most black families lived and most of these black families had dreams of moving to a better neighbourhood, because of crime, but the housing industry causes segregated housing and manipulates communities with white fears of black integration. When Lorraine Hansberry was a child, her family also experienced the results of a government unconcerned with blacks leaving segregation. Lorraine used her play to tell people about her own struggle with racism, her play shows us that her problems were handled with determination. Linder speaks to the Younger family and offers them money to buy their house, because they, the white people feel that a community should share a common background and that negro families are happier when they live in their own communities. This is an example of how the Younger family has experienced racism, while it is true that people with the same background will be happier together, it is also their right to live where they feel they are progressing.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN was composed by Lorraine Hansberry and portrayed the difficulties of a Black family against its own particular interior issues as it is escalated by white bigotry. The play handles issues of a man controlled society, destitution and white-privilege. The everyday human difficulties of family duty and love wind up noticeably harsher battles despite urban poverty and of white bigotry. The play additionally addresses the change of the difficulties of a more seasoned age of working poor African Americans in contrast with a more youthful age’s difficulty. The relationship to white prejudice was tended to in many structures in this play.

Wells was an African American who saw hope in the African American life to change since she saw it with her parents being former slaves and achieved higher things. That perspective changed when she saw the rights of African Americans being taken away from white Americans. Wells’s goals were to let the world know the horrible things that happened in the South to African Americans. In Memphis, she was editor for the Free Speech and Headlight there she” editorials under the pseudonym "Iola," she condemned violence against blacks, disfranchisement, poor schools, and the failure of black people to fight for their rights.” (PBS)

Over the existence of the United States, blacks have had to face oppression due to the prejudices views held against this. America views every black person as the same and judges them based on the actions of others. It is for this reason that all blacks are judged based on the book of a cover without being able to show the world who they really are. As Norman Podhoretz stated in his Essay “My Negro Problem - and Ours,” “growing up in terror of black males; they were tougher than we were, more ruthless...”

In George Washington Cable’s work, he is exposing attention to the injustice and mistreatment of African Americans in the south during the time of slavery in the United States. Additionally, he is wanting to bring positive attention to the African Americans by stating how accomplished the nation has grown with the African American efforts, especially given their cruel circumstances. Once slaves have become “freedmen”, Cable states the treatment of a “freed” black individual is still not the same and that although they are stated as “freedmen”, they are still chained as socially inferior in the eyes of whites.

The Idea of The American Dream can be interpreted as a mixed blessing for many as they will change who they are or what they believe in just to achieve it. We see this idea in the play A Raisin in The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Robert Nemiroff. This story shows the struggles of an African American family with dreams and hopes and not enough possibilities to achieve them. Another example of this idea is portrayed in the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes. This poem shows a different side of The American Dream, the side that people often ignore because the outcome is not what they hope for.

Is the American Dream really available for everyone? In the poem “Let America be American Again”, Langston Hughes tries to get the point across that the American Dream isn’t open for everyone. He describes the hopeful immigrants who seek America for a new start but arrive to find only that America “The Land of the Free” is full of mighty people who dominate the weak. Hughes depicts the downtrodden Negroes who bear who bear many scars, physically and mentally, of the seeming to have no end slavery. Even in present day America, black people still do not have all the equality rights they deserve and long for.

The revolutionary Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, once described discrimination as “a hellbound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.” His point being that African Americans face racial discrimination on a daily basis. Brent Staples, being an African American living in America, expresses his view on the subject in his essay “Just Walk on By”, where he conveys the message of how fear is influenced by society's stereotypical and discriminating views of certain groups of people; his point is made clear through his sympathetic persona, descriptive diction, depressing tone, and many analogies. Staples sympathetic persona helps the reader feel and understand the racial problems that he experiences daily.

How does Sexuality, Alienation and Double Consciences all relate? “Double Consciences and the Veil” by W.E.B Du Bois, is about the prejudice against African Americans in the 1900s and the struggle for freedom. He explains the inner struggles of African Americans felt to fit in a white dominance culture. African Americans struggle to identify as a black man and an American citizen. A theoretical veil hides the stuggle African Americans go threw.

Bear Grylls once said “ A man’s pride can be his downfall, and he needs to learn to turn to others for support and guidance.” Gryll’s wise advice can be applied to nearly everyone in society. For example, a man might refuse to use government welfare to buy groceries for his family and let his children starve instead. His pride would destroy the family physically. Pride is a dangerous virtue and can be used to fulfill dreams or destroy them.

The use and knowledge of the social context helps show the impact it has in A Raisin in the Sun. Lorraine Hansberry uses the story to show her stance on not only the Civil Rights Movement but also being a feminist and women empowerment, both being firsts at the time. It is analyzed in the article To Be a Man: A Re-Assessment of Black Masculinity in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Les Blancs written by Julie M. Burrel. Burrel states, “When examined at all, critics tend to view Hansberry’s portrayals of Black masculinity either as an unfortunate departure from her feminist concerns, or as indicative of her damaging representation of Black men(Burrell)”.

The American Dream was a myth for African Americans, newly arrived immigrants and Native Americans during the time period of 1865 through the 1900s. These groups faced discrimination as they were denied their rights of freedom, opportunity, equality, and lastly, their human rights. For example, some newcomers such as Asian immigrants were denied opportunity, freedom, and their human rights due to both discrimination and laws passed by the US Congress. For many African Americans, the American Dream was a myth due to the fact that their human rights and their chances for opportunity were denied.

A Raisin in the Sun has many events throughout the story that teach something. They teach us the importance of family, the need to fight against racial discrimination to show who you are, and to always follow your dreams. The Youngers struggle socially and economically throughout the play but unite in the end to realize their dream of buying a house. Mama strongly believes in the importance of family, and she tries to teach this value to her family as she struggles to keep them together and functioning.

It is the matter of common knowledge that the American Dream is a conception referring to a desire of having a social regulation in which every male and female individual is capable of reaching the fullest importance that is normally unattainable, and be distinguished by the community for their true substance, despite the fortunate conditions of the status. Moreover, this idea denies any limits or boundaries and provides equal opportunities for people of any age, gender, or race. “The Great Gatsby” and “Bodega Dreams” feature characters that most clearly represent a desire or indifference to join such a society. After all, the American dream is not different for a person of color in “Bodega Dreams” and “The Great Gatsby” because both characters view it as money, love, having a knowing name as well as being successful. There is no reason for the dream to be divergent for a person of another race.