Conflict is one of the underlying themes in the play, which was written by Lorraine guests of the sheik chapter summaries Hansberry, it helps to tell the story and explain the situation that the Younger family is in. Of the Youngers has been before they have learned about anticipated changes. You can also explore the subject of family ties and affection as a possible theme unless you have already been given a prompt to write on.

  • Lena, who is in her early thirties, becomes the default head of the household upon the passing of her husband, Walter Sr.
  • In Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees, Taylor had always valued being independent.
  • He thinks that money defines a man by measuring his success and ability to provide for his family.
  • The Beneatha-Asagai relationship also introduces into the drama the theme of pan-Africanism, a theme prevalent in African American drama of this period.

Mama’s daughters name is Beneatha younger she is an aspiring doctor and she knows she can do it even with her being an African American woman. Then there’s the youngest which you do not really hear a lot about he is walter and ruth’s son his name is travis all he wants to do is have a real house. In the play and Lorraine Hansberry’s life, there are many connections.

Money

Walter Lee shows a type of pride that could be called “manly” pride. A Raisin in the Sun realistically presents the struggles of the oppressed class against a privileged majority working to maintain society’s status quo. Hansberry also addresses the personal crutches we sometimes use to justify our own failures. Her main theme focuses on the power of the family structure and the need to stand up to injustice.

a raisin in the sun theme essay

He pretends to love his son so much and wants to appear innocent and honorable in hiseyes. She ends up doing all kinds of jobs to enable the family to move to a better house. On the other hand, Beneatha is a no-nonsense feminist college student who is against the unfair treatment and expectations of the society from women .

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A Raisin in the Sun displays a great recurring theme in life that many times the good of the few has to be sacrificed through the needs and propagation of the group. The character of Mr. Lindner makes the theme of racial discrimination prominent in the plot as an issue that the Youngers cannot avoid. The governing body of the Youngers’ new neighborhood, the Clybourne Park Improvement Association, sends Mr. Lindner to persuade them not to move into the all-white Clybourne Park neighborhood. Mr. Lindner and the people he represents can only see the color of the Younger family’s skin, and his offer to bribe the Youngers to keep them from moving threatens to tear apart the Younger family and the values for which it stands. Ultimately, the Youngers respond to this discrimination with defiance and strength.

However, she conveys the message that money is not life, as Walter claimed it was. Rather, family, pride in yourself, and pursuing your dreams are the things that are really important. The character that seems to express this view the closest is Mama. In Act I Mama tells Beneatha, “There is always something left to love. Even after all the mistakes Walter has made, Mama shows that love for your family, not money holds greater value.

He feels that investing money plays a huge role in gaining money, which is why he wants to invest in a Liquor company, which ultimately fails, and he loses all… Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Since this would have given a negative impression of the natural look, both Hansberry and Sands decided to omit the hairstyle change from the Broadway opening. At the beginning of the play, Ruth serves eggs — but not without getting into an argument with Walter over the eggs — which again accentuates the importance of this symbol of fertility to the play. In addition, toward the end of the play, we learn that Mama’s maiden name was Lena Eggleston, a name that underscores the theme of fecundity as much as the argument over eggs at the beginning of the play. Hansberry’s play is timeless because she is able to make contemporary political issues part of the very art of the stage, drawing her audience into a conversation that continues to be relevant even today.

Beneatha Character In a Raisin In The Sun

The Younger household is not a safe haven, especially for women who question male leadership. After years of labor, Walter Senior passed away, but from his hard work came an Insurance check that represented his dedicated life to his children. Mama’s nurturing personality is also represented in the play, this is symbolized by the way she treats the houseplant. Much the same as her family, Mama’s plant does not have the essential assets to prosper.