A Raisin In The Sun Summary
Play Reading Report
Date: 10/6/17 Student Name: Lauren Harless
Title: A Raisin in the Sun Author: Loraine Hansberry
Major Characters:
• Walter Younger: A humble chauffer living in a dreary house who dreams of a better future
• Ruth Younger: Walter’s wife, newly pregnant, and is constantly burdened by the family’s money issue
• Beneatha Younger: Sister of Walter; Aspiring to be a doctor and explores ways to express herself
• Mama (Lena) Younger, “Mama”: The “bastion” set in her ways, but also takes every opportunity to love on her children and her beloved plant by the window sill
• Joseph Asagai: Beneatha’s lover from Nigeria, egging to take her Nigeria with him
Plot Synopsis: The play opens with many signs of tiredness in the furniture,
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At first, they respond with pride, unwilling to find another house to live in. Then, Walter’s friend Bobo informs him that the money he gave to his thought-to-be partner, Willy, ended up running with the money, putting Walter’s dream of fame and fortune and ultimately the family’s financial situation as well as Beneatha’s aspiration of being a doctor in jeopardy. Finally, Walter, calls back the representative thinking that he will accept the offer and give the money to the family, but instead tells him that they will move into the house instead of getting paid to move elsewhere. The family then joyfully moves out of their tight, dingy, and oppressive and into their new house with hopes of a fresh start and new …show more content…
There are numerous comical parts in the play, allowing the audience to connect more with the characters.
Description of the world of the play: The stage directions are unconventionally detailed and long and are spread throughout the script. This allows the reader to have a clearer idea of what the characters are doing instead of only knowing their words, entrances and exits.
Evaluation: I appreciated the descriptive stage directions since it enriched the play and allowed me to envision the play as I read. The script had one overarching theme while also highlighting issues and situations that likely represent many families in the area. The attitudes of the characters Beneatha and Mama were simply amusing, but some of the tough situations that they were in made me think about life outside my
The Glass Menagerie And A Raisin In The Sun
866 Words | 4 PagesBeneatha wants to study to become a doctor, but instead Walter Lee wants to spend his family’s insurance money so he can open a liquor store with Willy and Bobo his friends and be a man. Since Walter Lee and his family were in a bad position and were very poor it was Walter Younger’s responsibility to keep the family together and he saw this a very big responsibility. He frequently complained about being a chauffeur and ridding rich people, every day when he woke up in the morning. He would always fight with his wife Ruth, Mama and his sister Beneatha. For instance (Hansberry 32-34) he says to Ruth his wife “You tired, ain’t you?
Compare And Contrast The Movie A Raisin In The Sun
1449 Words | 6 PagesThe play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry debuted on Broadway in 1959, and the movie was made in 2008. “A Raisin in the Sun” is about the Younger family, the fifth generation of lower-class African-Americans living in Chicago’s Southside. They are faced with problems such as racial discrimination, poverty, and conflicting dreams. As the family decides on how to spend the insurance check of $10,000 from Walter’s father’s death, these problems cause many conflicts to rise. Reading the 1959 play and the 2008 movie, I have realized certain similarities and differences in how the story plays out.
A Raisin In The Sun Allusion Analysis
652 Words | 3 PagesThe play by Lorraine Hansberry , A Raisin In The Sun, utilizes the use of allusions in order to supply the reader with historical background. Allusions create emphasis in the play, this allows the reader to understand and appreciate the text. Within the small details of the play, the use of allusions deepen the contextual support of the text. While reading A Raisin In The Sun, various allusions appear throughout the play. These allusions reference the outside world, but also give emphasis on the importance of the piece of the text references.
Decisions In A Raisin In The Sun
973 Words | 4 PagesThere is no way to know if a decision that was made is the right or the wrong decision. Making decisions is apparent in "A Raisin in the Sun", among all characters. Some decisions made by the characters work out in the end and other decisions, causes anger towards the family members. Throughout the play, Mama makes several life-changing decisions. Some of the decisions are very controversial to the readers.
A Raisin In The Sun Sexism Analysis
779 Words | 4 PagesThe family starts to tear apart as Walter decides to sell the house to Mr. Lindner and take the check. Mama and Beneatha try to explain to Walter that their family, through generations, would have never thought about taking money in hard times. Beneatha then begins saying that their dream of moving to a new house is now dead, which Walter replies, “What’s the matter with you all! I didn’t make this world. It was give to me this way!
Langston Hughes's A Raisin In The Sun
600 Words | 3 PagesThe title of the play “A Raisin in the Sun” comes from the poem “Harlem” written by Langston Hughes. The poem is asking what happen to dreams that are not accomplished, What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ Like a raisin in the sun (Hughes) in the play many character have unaccomplished or deferred dreams. Mama dreams is moving her family out of their small apartment and into a house in a nice area with a yard for Travis and a garden for herself. She has had this dream for a long time but has never been able to accomplish it financially. After the death of her husband, the family receives a $10,000 life insurance check this money gives mama of the opportunity to buy the house she has always dreamed for her family.
Personal Identity In A Raisin In The Sun
825 Words | 4 PagesIn Act 1, Beneatha’s quest to find her personal identity is seen in the way she expresses herself, her ambitions, her roots and the way she deviates from what is acceptable in her family. She tries to find ways to express herself such as trying different hobbies. In the past, Beneatha has been a part of a play-acting group, horseback-riding club, and in Act 1 starts guitar lessons (47). She also has the ambition to become a doctor which is looked down upon by her brother, Walter Lee (38). Additionally, her African roots are important to her search for identity.
Resilience In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
587 Words | 3 PagesShe was not like other young women that would be housewives or maids at her age but instead is independent. Looking after herself and making more of a life for herself, she attends school, tries to play guitar, and looks for a love interest. This breaks the stereotype of a “normal” woman who is a housewife or maid and shows Beneatha is different. Therefore, Beneatha overcomes this criticism of her “unnatural ways”, and proceeds to make her life successful.
Plant Symbolism In A Raisin In The Sun
451 Words | 2 PagesMama’s potted plant symbolizes many things, but the most prevalent is family. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raison in the Sun, Hansberry uses a plant to represent family. Just like any living thing, a plant needs to grow, to be watered, to be cultivated, and to be nurtured. Here are some examples of how Hansberry symbolizes family with a plant. To properly care for a plant you must watch over it as it grows and water it daily.
What Does The Plant Symbolize In A Raisin In The Sun
1105 Words | 5 PagesA Raisin in the Sun is a play, which consists of three acts for a total of six scenes. From the very beginning, the plot line begins with the Younger family waking up, going about their morning as they normally do. The family living in the small apartment consists of Mama, Beneatha, her daughter, Walter, her son, Ruth, Walter’s wife, and Travis, Walter and Ruth’s son. The apartment that accommodates this family consists of a small kitchen, containing one small window, a living room, which also serves as Travis’ room, and two bedrooms, one for Walter and Ruth, the other shared by Mama and Beneatha. In the kitchen window lays a potted plant, second to only family in Mama’s most prized possessions.
The Importance Of Family In A Raisin In The Sun
963 Words | 4 PagesFamily is important to everyone in some way because family sticks together no matter what. The play A Raisin in the Sun is about a black family named the Youngers and the hardships they face together as a family. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Ruth Younger is motivated by her family. This is shown by Ruth wanting to make her family happy, her working even though she is tired, and later when Ruth finds out there is going to be another mouth to feed. Ruth Younger is constantly worrying about her family’s well being and happiness for them.
Hardships In A Raisin In The Sun
1127 Words | 5 PagesHardships of the Youngers In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the characters of Mama, Walter ,and Beneatha are faced with hardships associated with their dreams being destroyed by discriminatory housing,racial inequality and lack of support from her family towards her education. In the play all the characters have some kind of dream. Mama wants to get a house for the family, Walter wants to have money to provide for his family and plans to do that with a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to become a doctor. Beneatha is going to school and at the same time she’s trying to discover herself,but her family is not supportive of this.
A Raisin In The Sun Literary Analysis Essay
878 Words | 4 Pages, But are consistently being differed. Lena Younger, otherwise known as, “Mama” is Walter and Beneatha’s mother and the head of the household. With her deceased husbands ten thousand dollar insurance check Lena bought a three thousand-dollar house with a garden where her family would be happy and hopes to save the rest of the money for Beneatha’s medical school. Lena’s dream, “ Festers like a sore” and is the only dream that somewhat comes true.
Reaction Paper On A Raisin In The Sun
825 Words | 4 PagesA Raisin in the Sun "Education has spoiled many a good plow hand" (Hansberry 103). This quote is significant because it is applying that education is better than being a hard-worker. A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, is taken place in South Side, Chicago between World War II and the present. The main focus of this play is about a poor African-American family who has a chance to escape this lifestyle with a ten-thousand-dollar life insurance check, but is not desired to live in a "white" neighborhood.
Gender Roles In A Raisin In The Sun
845 Words | 4 PagesJust 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.
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