All through the play, Walter is the stereotypical African-American man of the mid-20th century. He serves as the head of the family who strives to provide for his family. Walter’s prime dream is to see and ensure the stability of his financial stability and that of his family . His aspirations are therefore not self-centered and are instead focused on the overall prosperity of the persons who are related to him. In the quest for economic progress, Walter encounters numerous difficulties and hitches, which cause him great frustration.
- Lena, who is in her early thirties, becomes the default head of the household upon the passing of her husband, Walter Sr.
- Joseph catches Beneatha off guard, she does not understand what is wrong with her hair.
- The theme of both her life and writing is to know when the right time to love is.
- The Beneatha-Asagai relationship also introduces into the drama the theme of pan-Africanism, a theme prevalent in African American drama of this period.
The nourishment of Walker by Ruth is symbolized through nature; eggs and life between man and woman. Difficulities in the Play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry In the four years between 1861 and 1865 this country was in civil war over the rights and freedom of blacks in America. When all was said and done, the blacks won their freedom and gained several rights that would make their lives better. Nearly one hundred years later, in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry wrote her great play, A Raisin in the Sun. Meanwhile when walter was losing over half of the inheritance money mama is buying a house that will fit their needs, is in a good neighborhood, and is my link in her budget.
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All the family members are dreaming of having a better lifestyle after having this amount, but their dreams ended in smoke when the money seems to have gone as easily as it has come. Yet another symbol of nature or natural symbol is mama’s plant, which represents her care and dream for her family. When she first appeared on stage, mama moves straight toward the plant to take care of it. She states that the plant never gets enough light or water, but she takes pride in how it still grows beautifully under her hands. So much nature is composed in this description of the plant and this therefore reveals about mama and how caring she is; a natural quality of any mother.
Petrie my link, however, downplays Joseph’s influence and in fact removes the very action that demonstrates Beneatha’s defiance of society’s oppression. Hansberry leads the reader to support the characters and their determination to rise above oppression. Petrie however, presents and develops the characters in a manner which leads the audience to conclude that although this family has been oppressed they are partially responsible. Words are more open for interpretation if they are just in print form. On the other hand, when the words come to life through interactions the tone and attitudes are less open to interpretation. Everyone in the younger family want something different out of the inheritance money.
Generational Disparity In Hansberrys A Raisin In The Sun
Gretta and Gabiel’s marriage has decayed, similar to any natural food, plant, or living organism-even human. Many comparisons metaphorically are made throughout the story to symbolize the state of certain situations such as the marriage. Joyce uses natural symbols of snow and ice and also represents the colors yellow and brown. She uses snow and ice as a way to point out that something is frozen and motionless just like paralysis. Daniel Petrie makes changes in his film version of A Raisin in the Sun, thus affecting Hansberry’s central theme of society’s responsibility of oppression.
Family life is not suited for everyone though, especially not for Beneatha Younger. Every so often, family can repulse an individual and they will find their true selves far away from home. The character Beneatha from Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, is a prime example of this. Beneatha had trouble discovering her own identity so she tried out a number of hobbies and activities. Throughout all of this, the only steady thing in Bennie’s life was her family and she relied on them heavily. By sticking close to her family and not venturing out as an individual, Beneatha could not answer the questions about the world she held close to her heart.
One can say that Hansberry’s motivation for her plays come from her personal experiences of being a black sheep. Hansberry could compare herself to a black sheep due to the objectivity she faced because of the color of her skin and later on her sexuality. A Raisin in the Sun gives a perspective of the Black experience in the 1950’s. The Black experience in the 1950’s reflects the freedom struggle of the civil rights movement. These experiences developed the fear of failure despite achievement, yearning for wealth and the pursuing of the American Dream. Family melodrama is an ever-evolving genre as it is subject to changes that occur within society.
In either case, you can also check our free essay examples for “A Raisin In The Sun”, which focuses on various relevant questions. Use quotes from the book to support your ideas and don’t forget to mention the symbolism of dreams. Mama attempts to teach her family that money isn’t everything and tries to instill in them strong values, such as taking pride in themselves and their dreams. However, Mama does hold the insurance check very dear to her heart. In The Dead, Joyce’s Dubliners are trapped in monotonous lives of frustration and negativity. Obviously, Gabriel has been enduring a broken marriage because of the paralysis, a natural condition experienced by most of the characters in the book.