A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry
“A Raisin in the Sun” is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry. It discusses dreams and the difficulties accompanied by pursuing them. It also examines our tendency to commit to a particular mindset, and inspire to have loving passion for materialistic objects.
Ambition is a prevalent theme that runs throughout this novel. We can witness it through observing all the instances in which Beneatha and Walter, along with many other characters, are subjected to difficult circumstances. They’re each faced with decisions that require them to risk interfering with someone else’s dream. An unfortunate mishap occurs that ultimately ends everyone’s chances of achieving their dream. The author allows us to take a glance at the outcome of such tragedy. …show more content…
The play first debuted in 1959, which was an extremely different era. It was a time when black persecution was rampant, and where African Americans were constantly harassed for the color of their skin. Lorraine Hansberry has first-hand knowledge in the aspects of being subjected to racial injustice, which is an evident theme that ran through the play. It was not too long before the civil rights movement, which explains why the black author was writing this in her experienced perspective.
Furthermore, many characters become trapped in situations that cause them to feel as though their dream is “deferred” as Langston Hughes put it in his poem “Harlem”, the source for the title of the play.
Throughout the play, characters connect money to success. Walter even says in one instance: “Money is life…” (Hansberry, 45).
One instance where the author eloquently portrays a person whose dream is difficult to reach is through her character Lena. A housing cooperation offers money, because they had racist agenda. Not only this, but she soon loses her money to Walter. He made an unwise transaction where he gave the money to his friend who tricked him and took it all.
Additionally, Walter, who viewed his dream of becoming a businessman as one that he could achieve, however, his surrounding partners were holding him back. They continued to break the law by stealing, and committing horrendous crimes. He felt as though his dream was far-fetched because he’ll always be a black young person who in the eyes of the public will always be a failure. His dream of owning a liquor store died, because he lost the money from his family. Consequently, he lost was his pursuit of respect by others. He now has lost the respect of everyone around for losing the
money.
Likewise, Lena had the dream of owning a home. She wanted to feel reminiscent of her house and have a place that she can feel as if her family loves her and where she could live wonderfully. It was a difficult dream to grasp, especially since the racist white neighborhood and local government, both were adamant about having their family leave. They even offered a sizable amount of cash to them in order for them to consider moving out.
Provided that the author demonstrates how difficult it is to fight for your dreams, Hansberry does a brilliant job with making it obvious. Also, she attempts to humiliate white society and government through her examples of how unjust it is to offer opportunity to specific groups, while in an ironic twist labeling their unfair system with terms such as “liberty” “equality”, and “freedom”.
Moreover, Hansberry is trying to send the simple message that racism is unjust. Racism is a factor that plays an enormous role in the destruction of dreams for those who are victims of persecution. A sad reality is that it becomes a large challenge for people who experience discrimination to complete their dreams. It is unnecessarily complicated for victims of prejudice to achieve their desires when the cards are always stacked in the perpetrator’s favor.
In conclusion, what we can learn is we all need to persevere with our hopes and dreams, while never letting go of our ambition. An central point that the author makes is that no matter the obstacles in our way, we must always continue to strive for our aspirations.
Ambition is a prevalent theme that runs throughout this novel. We can witness it through observing all the instances in which Beneatha and Walter, along with many other characters, are subjected to difficult circumstances. They’re each faced with decisions that require them to risk interfering with someone else’s dream. An unfortunate mishap occurs that ultimately ends everyone’s chances of achieving their dream. The author allows us to take a glance at the outcome of such tragedy. …show more content…
The play first debuted in 1959, which was an extremely different era. It was a time when black persecution was rampant, and where African Americans were constantly harassed for the color of their skin. Lorraine Hansberry has first-hand knowledge in the aspects of being subjected to racial injustice, which is an evident theme that ran through the play. It was not too long before the civil rights movement, which explains why the black author was writing this in her experienced perspective.
Furthermore, many characters become trapped in situations that cause them to feel as though their dream is “deferred” as Langston Hughes put it in his poem “Harlem”, the source for the title of the play.
Throughout the play, characters connect money to success. Walter even says in one instance: “Money is life…” (Hansberry, 45).
One instance where the author eloquently portrays a person whose dream is difficult to reach is through her character Lena. A housing cooperation offers money, because they had racist agenda. Not only this, but she soon loses her money to Walter. He made an unwise transaction where he gave the money to his friend who tricked him and took it all.
Additionally, Walter, who viewed his dream of becoming a businessman as one that he could achieve, however, his surrounding partners were holding him back. They continued to break the law by stealing, and committing horrendous crimes. He felt as though his dream was far-fetched because he’ll always be a black young person who in the eyes of the public will always be a failure. His dream of owning a liquor store died, because he lost the money from his family. Consequently, he lost was his pursuit of respect by others. He now has lost the respect of everyone around for losing the
money.
Likewise, Lena had the dream of owning a home. She wanted to feel reminiscent of her house and have a place that she can feel as if her family loves her and where she could live wonderfully. It was a difficult dream to grasp, especially since the racist white neighborhood and local government, both were adamant about having their family leave. They even offered a sizable amount of cash to them in order for them to consider moving out.
Provided that the author demonstrates how difficult it is to fight for your dreams, Hansberry does a brilliant job with making it obvious. Also, she attempts to humiliate white society and government through her examples of how unjust it is to offer opportunity to specific groups, while in an ironic twist labeling their unfair system with terms such as “liberty” “equality”, and “freedom”.
Moreover, Hansberry is trying to send the simple message that racism is unjust. Racism is a factor that plays an enormous role in the destruction of dreams for those who are victims of persecution. A sad reality is that it becomes a large challenge for people who experience discrimination to complete their dreams. It is unnecessarily complicated for victims of prejudice to achieve their desires when the cards are always stacked in the perpetrator’s favor.
In conclusion, what we can learn is we all need to persevere with our hopes and dreams, while never letting go of our ambition. An central point that the author makes is that no matter the obstacles in our way, we must always continue to strive for our aspirations.