“Raisin in the sun” by Lorraine Hansberry according to Dreams Deterred: A Study of Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun is the first African American novel played by Broadway (Al-Duleimy). In this novel Lorraine Hansberry write about the dreams of a colored family, and the difficulties of each member of this family to realize their dreams. “What is so interesting is that these dreams are deferred and finally deterred, because simply they are built on the wrong premises” (Al-Duleimy, 538). Each of family member based their dreams with materialism. Lorraine criticizes the discriminatory and racial climate in America in the 1950s.The novel takes the place in a small neighborhood in Chicago.
Since the beginning of American history, African Americans have had to deal with outright mistreatment and inferiority within society. During slavery, African Americans were completely stripped of their basic civil rights and liberties; they were not considered to be human. During the Civil Rights Movement, although African Americans had gained their freedom nearly a century ago, they still were not treated with dignity and respect, forced to advocate for the rights given to them as citizens of the United States. Because of the racism African Americans experienced, leaders such as David Walker and Martin Luther King organized efforts to help African Americans gain more respect and inclusion in American society. Both leaders had significant influence during the time in which they lived, directly addressing the oppressors and their actions against African Americans.
In The Bluest Eye, written by Toni Morrison is about a young African American girl named Pecola, and a time were many people grew up with racism and many difficulties during the 1940’s because they were African American. Throughout the novel, it demonstrates that white societies have a better living, and higher beauty standard in which the media illustrates through television and books. This causes many conflicts towards African Americans because they are unable to find the true meaning of beauty. The author Toni Morrison, stresses plot, setting, characterization, or theme when writing a work of fiction like The Bluest Eye. In the novel The Bluest Eye, defining beauty affects many characters’ and supports the theme seen throughout the novel because it reflects their self-esteem due to the media’s perception of beauty.
Around the 1930’s and 1940’s there was extreme racial judgment against the African American community. They would immediately be put down and racially profiled by many. By Being different from the White people it held them back from living their lives freely. Socially they were led to live a failed lifestyle because of the racial and economic forces that helped mold and poked at the African Americans like Bigger to live up to the typical stereotype. Wright puts Bigger in a hostile , brutal social environment which helps shape Bigger Thomas, and also puts a harsh eye on the Whites of the community.
Mayella Ewell comes from a poor family who is viewed in the Maycomb society as “white trash.” The Finch family has to face harsh criticism in the heavily racist Maycomb because of Atticus decision to help Tom. The soundtrack of the movie is important so the songs I choose are “Strange Fruit”, “Tearin’ up My Heart”, and “Eye of the Sparrow” which are good choices for the soundtrack. The first song I choose is “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. It is a dark profound song about the lynching of African Americans in the southern United States during the Jim Crow Era. It was a protest song that Billie Holiday very rarely performed due to threats.
Racism is a problem that people of every race around the world still faces today. In the film adaptation of The Help and the text version of Lorraine Hansberry's “A Raisin in The Sun”, racial discrimination is a major theme explored. Racial discrimination is a major theme that both sources portray. There are laws that make discrimination illegal in The United States but it people still suffer from it, however, The Help and “A Raisin if The Sun” portray more ways in which this problem can be eliminated through resistance, getting support from the oppressors, and showing the intimidators their behaviors and attitudes. The Help focuses on the story of a upper class writer that tries to find her social identity as well as others.
The hardworking women are the breadwinners; the husbands are portrayed as useless. The mothers are the key to getting the family out of poverty because they do everything for their children. Wealth for them is seeing their young ones go to school. Jane, a business owner, became a commercial sex worker before to provide for her family. She has now risen from that terrible nightmare and is happily living her life with her kids.
Her main goal was to use the insurance money that she got to help provide her family with something. Mama’s chances of reaching this goal is very high since she ultimately did. Readers can learn hat Mama mainly bases her actions and thoughts on helping her loved ones and will try to do anything to make them
The Hansberrys moved into the new house and the whites struck at them with threats of violence. The Supreme Court forced the family to leave the house. The play is mainly about racism and the struggles that blacks face because they are just black in color. (Loos 6) Some critics see that "A raisin in the sun is a realistic drama" (Balachandran 250). This is the main reason that the play is famous till today.
Beneatha, Lena’s daughter, has a dream of becoming a doctor so she wants to use some of the money for medical school. Tension grows within the family as Lena and Walter butt-heads on what the money should be used for. Lena uses thirty-five hundred of the ten thousand to buy a nice house for her family. Walter take this as an action directly against him and it sends him into a depression. After seeing how broken walter has become, Lena realizes that it is her duty as a mother to support her child and entrust walter with the remainder of the money and instructs him to put three-thousand in the bank for Beneatha’s tuition and use the rest for whatever he sees fit.