Society and Family Conflict in A Raisin in the Sun by...

Society and Family Conflict in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Within the context of any given moment in history, the passage of time allows reflection on the attitudes and emotions of people. The political atmosphere, commercial fads, social trends or religious fervor of the time we observe, all lend spice to the attitudes that we will find there. Some aspects of our human nature are as timeless as eating or sleeping, such as the bonds of a family or the conflicts which tear them apart. In Lorraine Hansberrys work A Raisin in the Sun we can see clearly not only the drama each of us lives through in the ties of family and love, but it gives us an immortal slice of history of the times in which it was written.†¦show more content†¦Moore and his wife were killed by a bomb planted under their home on December 25, 1951 (AfroAmerican ). W.E.B. DuBois, a prominent black writer and intellectual had only recently been acquitted of chairing a Communist front organization in a highly publicized and hotly debated trial ( Encarta ). Dorothy Dandri dge, who only three years later became the black Goddess of Hollywood through her role in Carmen Jones, was still struggling to overcome racial stereotypes (A E ). The Korean war was in its second year, 70% of all American troops were in active duty, (Archer) and the armed forces still had segregated troops (Carlisle). In all, it was a turbulent time, and it put in motion ideas and beliefs that sparked the civil rights movement of the sixties. In the first act of the play, the characters display a wide variety of emotional tensions. We can see from the dialogue between Ruth and her husband Walter that their relationship has undergone a period of stressful transformation. Even in the opening narration, the author describes Ruths face as showing ...disappointment...that life has been little that she expected...(Hansberry 1382). The entire family lives together in a two bedroom apartment, the furniture described as well worn, and the common living area, which houses the kitchen as well, is wear(y)...[with]all pretenses but living itself having long since vanished from the very atmosphere of this room(HansberryShow MoreRelatedA Raisin Review673 Words   |  3 PagesA Raisin Review Kenneth Hawthorne English/125 3/15/2016 University of Phoenix A Raisin Review â€Å"What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or faster like a sore and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode†. (Langston Hughes, Harlem) The author Lorraine Hansberry was born May 19, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. Lorraine Hansberrys writing style is autobiographicalRead MoreSummary Of Lorraine Hansberry 1486 Words   |  6 PagesLorraine Hansberry, born May 19, 1930, made a very prominent contribution to society in her short lived life. She was born to a middle class family as the youngest of four children. Her father was a successful real estate broker who also founded one of the first Negro banks in Chicago (Adams 247). Lorraine’s mother was a schoolteacher named Nannie Perry who later became a ward committeewoman. In 1938, Lorraine’s father took a stand against the real estate covenants in Chicago due to the fact thatRead MoreTimeless Themes A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry1306 Words   |  6 Pagestopic of racial minorities and family issues, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, has continued to be popular since it was written in 1959. The play is about an African American family, consisting of five members, who live in Southside Chicago during the post-World-War-Two era. The Younger family is crowded in a tiny, worn, and shabby apartment and they are fairly poor. They never have much surplus money until Walter’s father, and Mama’s husband, died and the family received a life-insurance checkRead MoreThe Great Playwright s Life Story2415 Words   |  10 PagesBefore the relatively short life of Lorraine Hansberry tragically ended, the African-American playwright distinguished herself in American theatre and literature as she creatively and unknowingly cha llenged the views of African-American life, among other inescapable issues of the nation and the world, on the theatrical stage. The great playwright’s life story began on May 19, 1930. Although born during a time of hardship introduced by the Great Depression, Hansberry grew up rather comfortably in a middle-classRead MoreRacial Identity in A Raisin in the Sun: Who Am I?1102 Words   |  5 Pagesproviding a perverted rational for justifying segregation (Pilgrim â€Å"Mammy†; â€Å"Tom†). So when Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun (1959), confronted the issue of segregation through the lens of an African American family living in Chicago’s Southside, the Caucasian audience’s widespread acceptance of a family who was â€Å"just like any other† (Nemiroff 9) appears ironic. Contrary to public perception, Raisin sought to convey â€Å"the essence of black people’s striving and the will to defeat segregationRead More R acism and the American Dream in Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun1340 Words   |  6 PagesA Raisin in the Sun is written by a famous African- American play write, Lorraine Hansberry, in 1959. It was a first play written by a black woman and directed by a black man, Lloyd Richards, on Broadway in New York. The story of A Raisin in the Sun is based on Lorraine Hansberry’s own early life experiences, from which she and her whole family had to suffer, in Chicago. Hansberry’s father, Carol Hansberry, also fought a legal battle against a racial restrictive covenant that attempted to stop African-Read MoreEssay on Who Am I?: Racial Identity in A Raisin in the Sun1596 Words   |  7 Pagesa perverted rationale for justifying segregation (Pilgrim â€Å"Mammy†; â€Å"Tom†). So when Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun (1959), confronted the issue of segregation through the lens of an African American family living in Chicago’s South side, Caucasian audiences’ widespread acceptance of the Youngers, a family who was â€Å"just like any other,† appears ironic (Nemiroff 9). Contrary to public perception, Raisin sought to convey â€Å"the essence of black people’s striving and the will to defeat segregationRead MoreConflicts in an American Family in play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry842 Words   |  4 PagesConflicts in an American Family in play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry The play â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† illustrates three main conflicts in the younger family life; they are internal, social, and interpersonal. The conflicts in the story give insight as to who the characters are and what they really want out of life. Conflict is one of the underlying themes in the play, which was written by Lorraine Hansberry, it helps to tell the story and explain the situation that the Younger familyRead MoreAnalysis Of A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry784 Words   |  4 PagesA Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Introduction Lorraine Hansberry, the author of the play A Raisin in the Sun, indicates that she had always felt a need to put her life experiences in the black neighborhood in writing. In his book, she depicts in a realistic manner of the African-American life. The play portrays black characters combined with themes and conflicts naturally and realistically. A Raisin in the Sun provided a twist in the American art as it highlighted on key issues which wereRead MoreLorraine Hansberry Is An African American Play Writer Who1583 Words   |  7 PagesLorraine Hansberry is an African American play writer who wrote the play â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun.† The Play highlights the lives of a lower-class Black American family in the 1950s living under racial segregation and oppression in Chicago. The title of the play was inspired from the poem â€Å"Harlem† by Langston Hughes. The poem questions â€Å"What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?† (Hansberry , 2013, p. 976). The protagonist, Walter Lee Younger, struggles internally with