Stereotype: A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Stereotypes have been around forever. Whether it be the strong, muscular, handsome, men in the 1800’s. Or the popular, pretty, girls you see in school hallways today. They are all stereotypes.
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)”.
Stereotypes During The 1960s In the 1960s, a time when many social norms were being challenged and the rise of the women's rights movement was continuing with more female involvement, Kurt Vonnegut, the author of Slaughterhouse-Five, reinforces the stereotypes of women at the time and suggests that women are not as capable or intelligent as men. In the novel, Billy, suffering from severe PTSD from WW2, copes with his emotions by viewing life from a non-linear perspective. Throughout the novel, Valencia, the wife of the protagonist Billy Pilgrim, is portrayed as having few personal aspirations outside of being a housewife, perpetuating the stereotype of women as being limited to their household duties and dependent on men. In addition, Valencia
Maybe people care a lot about what other people think; or, maybe they just do not care at all. Some people live by what other people want or think is “normal.” Other people live the way they want to live and do not care about the things other people want them to be. Women tend to struggle with this alot. Stereotypes, inequalities, and politics were not things women in the 1930s wanted to live by; although, they managed to make it better for themselves through political action over time.
In Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks made the powerful decision to disobey the instructions of a white man who told her to move to the back of the bus after she had finished a long day of working. Rosa Parks was then arrested and became one of the most influential leaders of the Civil Rights movement, along with Martin Luther King jr., in leading us to today’s society of social equality and justice. The activists of the movement were fighting so that one day there would be no racial discrimination in the United States of America. In her play, A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry communicates some of the challenges of being African American in the 1950’s. The reader sees the dreams and hopes of the characters, Walter,
“A Raisin in the Sun,” written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, was the first play ever produced on Broadway by an African-American woman and was considered ground-breaking for it’s time. Titled after Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” sometimes known as “A Dream Deferred,” the play and the subsequent film adaptations are honest examinations of race, family, poverty, discrimination, oppression and even abortion in urban Chicago after WWII. The original play was met with critical praise, including a review by Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times where he wrote, “For A Raisin in the Sun is a play about human beings who want, on the one hand, to preserve their family pride and, on the other hand, to break out of the poverty that seems to be their fate. Not having any axe to grind, Miss Hansberry has a wide range of topics to write about-some of them hilarious, some of them painful in the extreme.” The original screen adaptation released in 1961 was highly acclaimed in its own right, and was chosen in 2005 for preservation in the United States of America National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural and historical significance.
To the men who like to objectify my sister, As a younger sister, I’ve always had my sister “the evil bitch” to look out for me - sometimes this was nice but other times I didn’t always appreciate it! She always took care of me and stood up to those who were being mean or rude to me and trust me there’s been a few of those in my short lifetime. She bought me hot chips at school, completely unprompted by myself or our mother! She cheered for me when I succeeded and had Disney or Barbie movie marathons with me when I was sad and just when we felt like it.
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun presents the rise of feminism in America in the 1960s. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, with the feminist notions displayed in the play, women establish their rights to fulfil their individual dreams which diverge from traditional conventions of that time. Beneatha Younger, Lena Younger (Mama) and Ruth Younger are the three primary characters displaying evidences of feminism in the play. Moreover, Hansberry creates male characters who demonstrate oppressive attitudes towards women yet enhance the feminist ideology in the play. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, the play encourages women to develop an identity for themselves, particularly through education and career.
Throughout the 1950s, people of color have struggled with achieving their dreams due to the lack of equality that is portrayed in that specific time era. It has been a constant battle for equality for all races and genders over the course of time. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin In the Sun the character Beneatha struggles with her racial inequality, education, and gender stereotyping. These specific struggles are the blocks she deals with trying to achieve her dream.
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun presents the rise of feminism in America in the 1960s. Beneatha Younger, Lena Younger (Mama) and Ruth Younger are the three primary characters displaying evidences of feminism in the play. Moreover, Hansberry creates male characters who demonstrate oppressive attitudes towards women yet enhance the feministic ideology in the play. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, with the feminist notions displayed in the play, women can fulfil their individual dreams that are not in sync with traditional conventions of that time.
A Raisin in the Sun addresses major social issues such as racism and feminism which were common in the twentieth century. The author, Lorraine Hansberry, was the first playwright to produce a play that portrayed problematic social issues. Racism and gender equality are heavily addressed throughout the play. Even though we still have these issues today, in the 1950’s and 60’s the issues had a greater part in society. Racism and gender have always been an issue in society, A Raisin in the Sun is an important piece of American history during that time period.
Through the use of the historical lens, looking specifically at the economic struggles, the struggle of unequal opportunity, and the housing covenant that African-American’s faced in the 1950’s, Hansberry’s message of A Raisin in the Sun is revealed: the perseverance of an ethnic minority in a time of racial discrimination. A Raisin in the Sun is set in a time of great racial discrimination, the 1950’s in the united States. This featured racism towards those of color or non-caucasians, and the struggles commonly faced by the African-American family is shown through the eyes of the Younger family through the writing and experiences of Lorraine Hansberry. Of the three major struggles the Younger family faced, the most prominent in Act one is that of financial disability. This is best shown through the working lives of the family.
Gender Roles in A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberry, in her play A Raisin in the Sun, uses many themes and motifs and terrific imagery to portray an accurate representation of how society was in 1959. Using these themes and motifs such as money, family, and dreams along with the many characters, Hansberry provides a profound social commentary of the mid-twentieth century. Hansberry monumentally depicted gender roles of the mid-twentieth century. Throughout her play, Hansberry substantiates the, at the time, traditional gender roles in which, men assert total and absolute power over the women. Moreover, women were meant to be in the home assisting the man, which can discernibly be perceived through her immense characters as well as their
In a patriarchal society, women are encouraged to focus on their family and its well-being. Most often, women achieve this by caring for the children and the home. However, in the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry suggests that women do not have to focus on the family. Instead, they can prioritize their own well-being. Hansberry exhibits these ideas through two female characters, Ruth and Beneatha.
Just within the recent decades, men and women started to fight against the gender stereotypes and started to challenge their roles in a family and in the society. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, portrays the lives of African–Americans during the 1950s. Lorraine Hansberry, a writer and a social activist, reinforced the traditional gender roles, especially female’s, by depicting how the Youngers interact and how they act in an economical struggle. Throughout the play, A Raisin in the Sun, she uses Walter Lee Younger, Ruth Younger and Lena Younger to reinforce the traditional role of fathers, wives and mothers within a family.
