A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by American playwright Lorraine Hansberry. A great work of African-American literature, A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway. A Raisin in the Sun tells the story of an African-American family in 1950s Chicago. A strong and insightful drama, A Raisin in the Sun is a great achievement for Lorraine Hansberry despite its early date of production. A Raisin in the Sun was nominated for several Tony awards when it debuted on Broadway in 1959.
A significant work that became iconic to the black community during the 1960’s because of its themes of racial inequality A Raisin In The Sun remains one of America’s most beloved plays even today nearly fifty years after its debut on stage. “I feel like somebody else is writing my stories. ” -Lorraine Hansberry Hansberry wrote A Raisin In The Sun while working as an understudy at New York City’s famed Cherry Lane Theatre. A Raisin in the Sun opens on an apartment living room, where Walter Lee Younger anxiously waits for his mother to come home.
When his wife arrives, he brings up a bleak subject: their poor family’s lack of money and Walter is tired of it all. His wife finally has enough and literally throws him out of the house to cool off. A neighborhood man named Jim comes over to inform them about a life insurance check coming towards them for $10,000 dollars. Assisted by both her mother-in-law and Jim, Ruth wants to use the money to move out of their crowded apartment into a new white neighborhood with lower taxes called Clybourne Park.
Her husband ultimately refuses because he believes that they are not welcome in Clybourne Park, A Raisin In The Sun is the story of the Younger family’s attempt to claim ownership over their own lives. A Raisin in the Sun traces one family’s struggle for independence against a frustrating system designed to keep them down. A young Lorraine Hansberry used A Raisin in the Sun as her platform for discussing race, identity and sexism. A play exclusively about African-Americans written by an African-American female playwright was unheard of during its time. 7]
“The little things have assumed crisis proportions. ” -Lorraine Hansberry A Raisin In The Sun is known for being one of America’s most significant contributions to literature, especially with regards to issues on stage at that point in time. A Raisin in the Sun was Lorraine Hansberry’s debut, and she tackles complicated issues like sexism, racism, poverty among African-American communities during the 1950s. [4][5] A Raisin in the Sun was an affecting play which brought to light many uncomfortable truths about society at that time.
A Raisin In The Sun takes place on a hot summer evening, in a lower middle class black neighborhood, Chicago. It revolves around Walter Lee Younger’s aspiration to move his family from their current dilapidated tenement apartment to a better living space in a white suburban community that is out of the financial reach of most blacks. A central theme behind A Raisin In The Sun is man’s yearning for the American Dream, which cannot be achieved without sacrificing other opportunities along the way.
This play also shows how difficult it can be for two people from different cultures to live together harmoniously and still maintain their individual pride and self worth. A Raisin In The Sun evokes many emotions that are specific to the African American culture, such as racism and pride in one’s heritage. A Raisin In The Sun is a very popular title. It has been translated into French, German, Italian, Polish, Hebrew and Swedish among others. A&E produced a movie version of A Raisin In The Sun in 2008 starring Sean Combs as Walter Lee Younger Jr..
A Raisin In The Sun begins with Lena Younger packing her clothes for work the next day at the New York City hotel where she works as a housekeeper. As soon as she is finished packing up her things, she goes out to call on Cora Johnson (the mother of Beneatha) to see if she can spend the night. A young man, Joseph Asagai is coming over to spend the night as well. A younger sister who is away at college (Ruth) will return home as well during this time. Lena goes back into her apartment and begins to make dinner for her family even though they aren’t hungry and Walter Lee Young (the head of the household) is there with his friend Bobo.
Soon after, Ruth comes in and asks why she has left school (she isn’t signed up for summer classes). Walter convinces Ruth that college isn’t important and suggests that maybe she should work instead. Then he tries to convince his wife that they need a new out in an all-white neighborhood in the suburbs. A new out would cost them $5,000 dollars and Lena has already saved up some towards it. A problem arises when Walter discovers that Ruth has spent all of her inheritance (that was intended for A New Out) on books by African authors.
They get into a fight about A New Out and how they disagree. After the family goes to bed, Joseph Asagai wakes them up because he is going back home to Nigeria to finish his education. He gives Ruth a book from Africa before leaving and thanks her for being so kind during his visit with them. In return she gives him a copy of A Raisin In The Sun which she says he might enjoy reading sometime in his free time. A Raisin In The Sun ends with Lena and Walter getting into an argument about A New Out. The Big Question: Is it worth saving up to move from a black neighborhood into a white area?
A Raisin In The Sun is all about this one question that arises as soon as the play begins. Will moving from a lower-middle class neighborhood, which has its ups and downs, but does have some benefits to being close to family and friends, help Walter Lee Younger Jr. ‘s family to be better off or will they run into too many problems? A couple of examples of the difficulties would be having to put up with racist neighbors who don’t want you in their community just because of your skin color. Also being a black family in a white community could easily make you targets for other people’s anger.
A few examples of the benefit to A New Out would be having less crime, better education and shopping opportunities, not to mention a much nicer house, because it wouldn’t be as over-priced due to its location. People should move into an all-white neighborhood if they can afford it and aren’t going to come face to face with too many problems that will end up costing more than it does worth. A Raisin In The Sun shows exactly how hard this transition from one place to another can be on a person and their family if they don’t know what is waiting ahead of them.
