A Raisin In The Sun Theme Essay

A Raisin In The Sun Theme Essay

In the play, Beneatha is presented as hope against the oppression she is suppressed by which reinforces her central theme. However, Petrie minimizes her role in establishing the central theme. Beneatha embraces her ethnicity in the play, however Petrie removes this aspect in his film. Daniel Petrie’s directorial decisions in the movie adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun portrays Hansberry’s central message of oppression however he fails to reinforce society’s responsibilities for this oppression. In the film Petrie alters the setting of the Youngers’ living room thus revising Hansberry’s intent to present the family as impoverished.

a raisin in the sun theme essay

Their pursuit will lead them to many sacrifices and risks that affect themselves and their family. Individuals with strong determination to pursue their dreams such as Walter and Beneatha depicts how dreams can interfere with reality, which causes them to detach from their lives and sacrifice everything. In A Raisin in the Sun, the power of money regarding social stature and dignity is also presented. This is demonstrated when Beneatha talks to Ruth about one of her suitors, George Murchison. George is an anomaly regarding black men in this period, for he is rich and lives in the luxury which is normally attained by white people. Beneatha tells Ruth that George is offensively snobbish and rude due to his higher class.

Essays Related To Themes On Raisin In The Sun

People have dreams that they pursue, but sometimes the pursuit of their goals can take a dangerous precedence over what is truly important to them. Depending on the goals of these dreams, people will change themselves and their lives in order to live up to the standards of that dream. The changes one does to make their dream come true can affect their reality, which includes family, friends, and work. Everything in their current life is put in jeopardy, just to attain a fictional life that they have dreamt. How many people can say they have put in the effort and time it takes to grow a garden?

a raisin in the sun theme essay

However, she conveys the message that money is not life, as Walter claimed it was. Rather, family, pride in yourself, and pursuing your dreams are the things that are really important. The character that seems to express this view the closest is Mama. In Act I Mama tells Beneatha, “There is always something left to love. Even after all the mistakes Walter has made, Mama shows that love for your family, not money holds greater value.

The play ends with the Youngers moving out of the tenement, heading for the suburbs, despite every indication that their fellow Americans will not welcome them. Mama Lena is the last to exit the apartment, and her pensive farewell serves as a prelude to a future of offstage malevolence. Insulted by this “civil” effort to keep his family out of the neighborhood, Walter Lee declines. However, he later realizes he has been swindled out of every penny entrusted to him, having given it to an acquaintance who promised to speed up the liquor license process and then skipped town. He invites Lindner back and rehearses a speech to accept the humiliating offer. The progress of each character’s thinking in ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ by the end of the play.

The Great Gatsby Movie Analysis

She becomes willing to sacrifice anything for her children’s future. However, one can argue that the catalyst for her family’s success is money, wealth. A Raisin in the Sun is a play telling the story of an African-American tragedy. The Younger family lives in the ghetto and is at a crossroads after the father’s death. Mother Lena Younger and her grown up https://writemyessaytoday.us/write-my-assignment/ children Walter Lee and Beneatha share a cramped apartment in a poor district of Chicago, in which she and Walter Lee’s wife Ruth and son Travis barely fit together inside. Lena’s husband, the family’s father died and his life insurance brings the family $ 10,000.

  • The central civil rights issue in this play is, of course, the idea of segregated housing.
  • It touches on the “Black family” with big dreams but not “Big money”.
  • Raised in the South during an era where blacks’ very lives were in danger because expository essay writing” of the prevalence of lynching, Lena moved to the North with the hopes of leading a better life.
  • She wanted them to live a better life and so she moved them into a house that was spacious and were Travis didn’t have to sleep on the couch and were they didn’t have to take turns for the shower with other people outside their family.

Money became a necessity to get them out of their current situation. Once the family received the insurance check from the father’s death it formed a wedge in the family. They began to debate on who deserved the rights to use the money, who needed the money. Money was the answer to all of the conflict in the play likewise it caused more conflict.

More North American Essays:

The phrase “fluidly adapted” supports the idea that melodramas focus on real issues, their characters caricatures of the men and women of the time in which they are based, a method of commenting on our ever-changing society through entertainment. Before analysing and comparing the genre which links these two films, it is important to note the periods in which they were set and made, and the social constructions behind both their main themes and their characters’ actions. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was made in 1945, the year in which the Second World War ended.

Timeless Themes A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry

Timeless Themes A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry

Having been brought up in the South during dangerous times of lynching, she relocates to the Northern part with the hope of finding peace and a better life. Despite the fact that Lena is ahead of time, her dreams remain anchored on the well being of her family rather than selfish interests. Lorraine Hansberry is an African American Playwright and writer who was born in Chicago, Illinois 1930.

The play explored the decision that uth had to make because her economic conditions dictated that she could not afford another child. In addition, Beneatha’s prospects of becoming a doctor and getting married were also explored in the play. This issue was extremely relevant at the time as some women were beginning to work outside the home.

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a raisin in the sun theme essay

Even though slavery had been abolished, colored people were not treated equally. The most significant scene which openly portrays racism, however, is the visit with Karl Lindner. Although he does not identify himself as racist, and although his tactics are less violent than some, he wants to live in an all-White neighborhood—and he is willing to pay the Youngers off to stay out of White neighborhoods. This type of racism is often dangerous because it is more easily hidden.

The https://writemyessaytoday.us/ Economic And Housing Discrimination In A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry

The play A Raisin In The Sun essay highlights the dreams of each family member and their plans on how they intend to use the money from the death of Mr. Younger, Mama’s husband. Mama, or Lena, wishes to use the money to purchase a new home for the benefit of the family in which her daughter-in-law Ruth agrees. Beneatha or Bennie, her daughter, wants the money to pay for her medical school tuition, while Walter Lee or Walter, Mama’s son has a great interest in using the money to open a liquor shop.

a raisin in the sun theme essay

Throughout the development of America and the many people colonizing from all over the world who now call it home, African Americans have been discriminated against since the beginning. Though today’s outlook upon all races has become very accepting, it does not diminish the hardships and personal tragedies that took place among the history of millions of African Americans in slavery and their descendants. Because of the discrimination and negative stereotypical views that developed in the minds of those who……

Racial Discrimination In A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry

Beneatha had to give up her independence and take a shot to her pride by marrying Asagai, so that she can pursue her dreams of becoming a doctor and curing others. Her passion of curing and helping others is also at risk because her marriage with Asagai is based on the foundation of her becoming a doctor and not love. This marriage breaks some important principals and pride that she has because she’s now having to depend on someone to pursue her passion of becoming a doctor and she has also fallen victim to a tradition which she despises. The society in her time often has a predetermined goal for a woman, which consist of roles such as becoming a housewife, secretary, nurse, or teacher. Being an intellectual, independent, prideful and strong person Beneatha feels that these roles are limiting and that she is destined for much more. This feeling of power gets to his head, which he convinces himself that he’s right and nobody around him can comprehend the ideas that he has in his head.

  • Beneatha berates those missionaries who, like Mama, are more concerned with changing the African’s religion than in overthrowing colonial rule.
  • In another part of the poem, “This is the old way, setting off firecrackers to drive away evil spirits, leaving the driveways red for good fortune…” (Lines 20-22), the quote tells the reader that newer ideas are being mixed with older ones.
  • “Just because it’s become less obvious doesn’t mean that it’s less harmful.” This statement is completely true many people die because of community racism.
  • Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ is a play about one family’s hopes and dreams in 1950s Chicago.
  • A Raisin in the Sun realistically presents the struggles of the oppressed class against a privileged majority working to maintain society’s status quo.

Walter himself serves as both protagoinist and antagonist of the play. In most of times, Walter represents as a symbol of the androcentrism who does mistakes which hurt the whole family greatly. However, in the bottom of his heart, he always wants to solve family’s problems.

Stereotypes In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun

Family life is not suited for everyone though, especially not for Beneatha Younger. Every so often, family can repulse an individual and they will find their true selves far away from home. The character Beneatha from Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, is a prime example of this. Beneatha had trouble discovering her own identity so she tried out a number of hobbies and activities. Throughout all of this, the only steady thing in Bennie’s life was her family and she relied on them heavily. By sticking close to her family and not venturing out as an individual, Beneatha could not answer the questions about the world she held close to her heart.