Major Themes In A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry

The Younger’s family has just received a $10,000 dollar check for their dead father’s life insurance policy. They live in a two bedroom apartment on the black side of town in Chicago. Racial prejudices against blacks in that era and a low income are the root of conflict in the family.

a raisin in the sun theme essay

Lorraine Hansberry’s family loved each other when they were at their lowest point, just like in the play when mama says her love speech. (This case was heard prior to the passage of the Fair Housing Act—Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968—which prohibited discrimination in housing). The Hansberry family https://writemyessaytoday.us/blog/classification-essay/ won their right to be heard as a matter of due process of law in relation to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court held that the Hansberry defendants were not bound by the Burke decision, because the class of homeowners in the Washington Park Subdivision had conflicting goals, and thus could not be considered to be the same class.

Sample Essay: The Significance Of Dreams In A Raisin In The Sun

But https://writemyessaytoday.us/write-my-book-report instead of giving up, Mama does everything she can for it and has confidence that one day it will flourish. To improve her family’s life, Mama forsakes dreams of her own and lives vicariously through her family. After receiving the Insurance check, she builds a strong desire to move her family to a home so that they would have a better life. The money aids in furthering Mama’s desire to help her children rise from poverty, knowing that it is now conceivable to do so.

I believe Hansberry’s used this character to reflect the effects of the law on the perseverance of African American men in the 1950’s. However, even at the peak of his achievements he was not granted the same freedoms as others in society because of the color of his skin. He put in a lot of work in order to advance himself despite opposition from the system but still did not get what he deserved. Walter feared that he would put his blood, sweat and tears to advance himself only to not be given the equal opportunity as others. The phrase “eat your eggs” appears in the play from Ruth to Walker. This phrase and the meaning behind it define the natural world of man versus woman.

a raisin in the sun theme essay

Hansberry conveys the message of oppression through the symbolic use of the setting being limited to the Younger’s living room. The play begins with a physical description of the Younger’s living conditions, making specific references to the poor condition of the furniture. Hansberry successful creates an image of poverty as well as creating a symbol of lost hope.

Our Writers Can Help You With Any Type Of Essay For Any Subject

Poems by Langston Hughes will also be incorporated in the paper to better explain the black experiences before the II and Civil Rights Movement. Uncle Tom characters were common in both white and black productions of the time, yet no director before Micheaux had so much as dared to shine a light on the psychology that ravages such characters. By essentially bowing to the two white men, Micheaux implied that Old Ned was less than a man; an individual whittled down to nothing more than yes-man and wholly deprived of self-worth. Additionally, Hansberry develops female gender identity throughout the play by representing three generations of women. Lena assumes the headship of the family in her early thirties after the death of her husband, Walter Senior.

  • However, one can argue that the catalyst for her family’s success is money, wealth.
  • Ruth Younger (Walter’s wife) is a thirtyish, very laidback woman.
  • Beneatha realizes that there is more to a person than their wealth.
  • Then there’s the youngest which you do not really hear a lot about he is walter and ruth’s son his name is travis all he wants to do is have a real house.
  • In 2021 she graduated with a Bachelor’s in Music with an emphasis in Commercial Music from Snow College, located in Utah.

He also states that it’s hard to find a man on this whole southside who understands him. This illustrated that he hasn’t found people that believe in him and hasn’t found people that trust him or listen to his big ideas. Filling up your heads ̶ [counting off on his fingers.] ̶ with the sociology and the psychology”. This shows that walter is jealous of not having an education and doesn’t believe in Ruth’s dream of becoming a doctor. He feels frustrated because he knows that Ruth is accomplishing her dream and getting closer while he isn’t getting even and inch closer.

Specifically, he hoped that by investing in a liquor store, he would be able to make enough money to help his African-American … To conclude, Hansberry by using punctuation, repetition, rhetorical questions, stage directions and metaphor is able to show the public more than a simple fight. Here, the playwright insists on the pressure Walter is putting on George and how it doesn’t work because he thinks he is above this and how they all feel about it but also, how Walter feels and why needs to do this. Walter has to express himself, he has to explode because he feels like nobody understands him. Walter is truly alone and is unable to hold any longer what he has been expressing for years. Finally, the metaphors Walter uses illustrate how as a coloured people he feels in his own family and in society.