A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry portrays the life of a black family living in a bad section of Chicago. A Raisin in the Sun is full of symbolism. A couple of examples are, “The man” representing Death and the house representing the American Dream. The first example of symbolism is The Man (Death). He appears to Walter as well as Lena and Ruth. The Man symbolizes death staring everyone down at some point or another. When A big black car pulls up to Walter Lee Younger’s apartment, he sees his grandfather slumped over dead in it!
This shows how Walter has already expected him to die, therefore he isn’t scared when he sees him again. A second time The Man appears is after Youngers’ conversation with Mae about dreams, then “the man” walks into the kitchen. A third time Youngers see The Man in the kitchen when he looks in “the man’s” pocket for money. A fourth time is after Youngers got into an argument with Lena about her buying a house, then they see “the man” again. A fifth time occurs when Walter Lee is talking to his mother and sister about what they are going to do about the money.
A sixth time he appears is when Mamas tells everyone that she has bought the house, so now it’s up to them if they want to live there or not. A seventh time The Man appears is when Mama gets upset at Ruth for wearing Lena’s necklace because it belonged to their friend Alberta who died. The final appearance of Death symbolizes how death comes in many forms and shapes sometimes you don’t even recognize it. A Raisin in the Sun is full of death symbols, another one being Mama’s Jesus, but that will be explained later.
The House is also a symbol in A Raisin in the Sun because if they had the money to buy it then they would have everything that they want. For example, Walter Lee Younger wants to own his own business and take care of his family without Miss Johnson doing all of their work for them. He wants Ruth to go back to school so she doesn’t need a man for money and he wants Lena to get married so she doesn’t sleep with men just for her house bills. The house also symbolizes dreams and goals as well as protection. A good way for people who don’t have much to protect what they do have, A house is a wonderful way to safely keep all of your belongings.
Lorraine Hansberry uses symbols in A Raisin in the Sun. A major symbol is A Man that appears throughout the play representing Death. Lorraine Hansberry also used The House as another symbol that represents the American Dream. A final example is Mama’s Jesus who can be seen as a symbolism of hope for Ruth and Walter Lee Younger because he saved Ruth from being raped even though she wasn’t baptized yet, so he must love her enough not to let anything bad happen to her or else he would have taken her with him when she was 3 years old.
Now each time Youngers’ see this “Jesus” whether it’s Walter Lee Younger seeing him when he was a kid, then again when he is talking to his mother about buying the house or even just seeing him in Ruth’s hand, they know that nothing bad will happen and their hopes and dreams won’t be shattered. A Raisin in the Sun is full of symbols. The first symbol you see is Mama’s Jesus which appears throughout A Raisin in the Sun. A second symbol is A Man representing Death which appears throughout A Raisin in the Sun.
A final symbol is The House Lorraine Hansberry used to represent the American Dream and how if Youngers’ dream come true they would have everything they want . The most obvious symbol in the play for Mama is her plant that represents both Mama’s care and her dream for her family. Mama’s plant is a symbol of both her love and passion for wanting the best for her family and the different ways that she shows it. A good example of this would be when Mama asks Ruth to water her plant and then proceeds to care about where she is from, so, therefore, leaving without any water in the pot.
Once again Mama loves all of her children but they never seem to understand it fully until they leave home. A Raisin in the Sun is filled with symbols. A major one would be Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun which can be seen throughout A Raisin in the Sun most obviously when Walter Lee Younger talks about dreams, right before he asks Lena if she wants to buy a house with him because he feels like he can change his life for the better. A second symbol is Mama’s plant which represents both her love and hope for all of her children, especially Ruth.
A final symbol is A Man who Lorraine Hansberry uses to represent Death. A good way Lorraine Hansberry shows this would be when Mamas’ says that she buys the house then it’s up to them if they want to live there or not because The Man appears before someone dies, so, therefore, buying the house means that somebody is going to die. “Death comes in many forms. A baby can die even before it has a chance. ” This quote by Mama exemplifies how death comes in many shapes sometimes you may not even recognize it. A Raisin in the Sun is full of symbols. A major symbol would be Death which appears throughout A Raisin in the Sun.
A good example would be when Mama talks about buying the house thinking that something will happen so therefore she doesn’t want them to buy it because whoever dies first probably will not like who lives there next. A second symbol is A Man which Lorraine Hansberry uses to represent death. A final example would be Richard’s aunt who gives him an old black baby doll that was passed down by generations but Richard’s mother tells him that it’s ugly and he scolds her for saying this because his aunt gave it to him with love, affection, and pride (158-162)
The most obvious symbolism in A Raisin in the Sun would be A Raisin In The Sun which Lorraine Hansberry uses as a symbol for hope for all of Youngers’. A good example of this is when Walter Lee Younger asks Ruth if she wants to buy a house with him and she says yes and he responds by saying “Maybe we can make some changes, maybe we can try to do better” (136) because A Raisin In The Sun will give them everything they want and it’s their only hope. A second symbol is the Plant Mama brings into the house that represents both her love and desire for wanting more out of life even though she doesn’t have enough money.