Thematic Analysis Of Lorraine Hansberry’s “a Raisin In The Sun”

In the play, Beneatha is presented as hope against the oppression she is suppressed by which reinforces her central theme. However, Petrie minimizes her role in establishing the central theme. Beneatha embraces her ethnicity in the play, however Petrie removes this aspect in his film. Daniel Petrie’s directorial decisions in the movie adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun portrays Hansberry’s central message of oppression however he fails to reinforce society’s responsibilities for this oppression. In the film Petrie alters the setting of the Youngers’ living room thus revising Hansberry’s intent to present the family as impoverished.

a raisin in the sun theme essay

Lena represents the old woman, while Beneatha represents the new. A Raisin in the Sun – WomenA Raisin in the Sun – Women A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry presents many themes that are found in everyday life. This is shown through the differences in opinion about religion, marriage, and their d…

A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry

Stay tuned for full the production of, “Storms Weathered”, slated for Spring 2023 debut. As a producer and promoter of special events, Ife Basim has received local acclaim for the Annual Women’s History Month Celebrations held each March. Each event has played to a packed house, with audiences being treated to virtuoso performance by the Tri-state’s most talented artists. Achieving dreams is a major theme in this play, and here, dreams are what fuel everything, including emotions and the future. The play debuted in 1959 and made Hansberry the first African American woman dramatist produced on Broadway, and its tensions unfold as the United States worked to convince people of color that they would never be at home.

a raisin in the sun theme essay

The major theme is that families must remain united; when family members act selfishly, as Walter does when he takes his mother’s money and invests it in a fly-by-night scheme to buy a liquor store, the family may disintegrate. At the last minute, however, Walter realizes what he is doing and abruptly rejects Lindner’s offer . The problem of moving into a White neighborhood lies in the future.

The Role Of Women In “a Raisin In The Sun”

A Raisin in the Sun was made sixteen years after A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, in 1965, when the classical period had ended and the post classical period was coming to an end. The post-classical era began right after the Second World War and ended, in 1962. It was characterised by its experimental and transitional nature, as its position in the film-period time-line was the next step towards the Modernist Period. Mama’s disapproval does not stop with Walter’s decision to invest in a liquor store, but continues with Ruth’s decision to have an abortion.

  • Rather than force her hair to conform to the current society’s styles, which dictate so many girls, Beneatha chooses a style that assists her to easily reveal and represent her identity and culture.
  • Lorraine Hansberry’s father died when they were young too, and he was also a hardworking man.
  • Hansberry’s avant-garde concerns, her prophetic political vision, and her ability to perceive the future importance of events that few people in 1959 were even aware of are used as lesser motifs or minor themes throughout the play.
  • In this play their is sexism, racism, and many other cultural differences that we might not have been able to see if we were not in the minority until this play.

She becomes willing to sacrifice anything for her children’s future. However, one can argue that the catalyst for her family’s success is money, wealth. A Raisin in the Sun is a play telling the story of an African-American tragedy. The Younger family lives in the ghetto and is at a crossroads after the father’s death. Mother Lena Younger and her grown up children Walter Lee and Beneatha share a cramped apartment in a poor district of Chicago, in which she and Walter Lee’s wife Ruth and son Travis barely fit together inside. Lena’s husband, the family’s father died and his life insurance brings the family $ 10,000.

Themes And Meanings

Beneatha and her brother Walter didn’t agree on what a better life actually was. Beneatha thinks Walter’s idea is a waste of money, and she thinks Walter doesn’t have the drive or skills to be successful and is happy mama said no to the liquor store. However, if one focuses on how African Americans would encounter the work’s theme of Black achievement, the terms of the debate change. In the Younger household, success is defined in patriarchal terms, devaluing half the community. Scholars and readers rarely notice this, however, because most insist upon seeing Mama Lena as the embodiment of resistance to racism. Besides slapping Beneatha, she “starts to beat senselessly in the face” for losing the insurance money.

Mama would rather spend that money on a new and better house for the family to live in. Walter has a new idea that Mama’s family had never thought of in the past. Later in the play, Walter then realizes that his mother is right and he did not invest in a liquor store.

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