Why did Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun?
4 min read
Asked by: Melanie Thomas
Lorraine Hansberry drew inspiration from personal experience when she sat down to write a play about a working class family on the South Side of Chicago. See how she worked to find the words to describe their hopes and struggles, and how she pressed on to complete “A Raisin in the Sun.”
Why did Hansberry title her play A Raisin in the Sun?
Hansberry decided to use “a raisin in the sun” as her title because the characters’ dreams were all “raisins” that lost their “taste” because some dreams “exploded,” while others were “syrupy sweet” (Hughes 8).
How does Hansberry relate to A Raisin in the Sun?
Hansberry’s reference to Hughes’s poem in her play’s title highlights the importance of dreams in A Raisin in the Sun and the struggle that her characters face to realize their individual dreams, a struggle inextricably tied to the more fundamental Black dream of equality in America.
What did Hansberry write about?
Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun, a play about a struggling Black family, which opened on Broadway to great success. Hansberry was the first Black playwright and the youngest American to win a New York Critics’ Circle award. Throughout her life she was heavily involved in civil rights.
What is the meaning of the poem A Raisin in the Sun?
A Raisin in the Sun is essentially about dreams, as the main characters struggle to deal with the oppressive circumstances that rule their lives. The title of the play references a conjecture that Langston Hughes famously posed in a poem he wrote about dreams that were forgotten or put off.
Who inspired the title of the raisin in the sun?
Langston Hughes inspired the title of the play A Raisin in the Sun. The title comes from a line in Hughes’s 1925 poem “Harlem:” “What…
Which line from the poem did Hansberry use as the title of her play?
When Lorraine Hansberry wrote her play about a struggling black family in a cramped Chicago apartment, she borrowed a line from Hughes’ poem “Harlem” for her play’s title: “What happens to a dream deferred?
When did Hansberry wrote raisin in the sun?
1959
| A Raisin in the Sun | |
|---|---|
| First-edition publication (Random House 1959) | |
| Written by | Lorraine Hansberry |
| Characters | Walter Younger Ruth Younger Beneatha Younger Travis Younger Lena Younger (Mama) George Murchison Joseph Asagai Karl Lindner Mrs. Johnson Moving Men |
| Date premiered | March 11, 1959 |
What lawsuit influenced the writing of A Raisin in the Sun?
One of the central conflicts of A Raisin in the Sun was loosely based on an event from Hansberry’s own childhood. In 1938, her family bought a house in a White neighborhood, in violation of a restrictive covenant—which was legal at the time—prohibiting a Black buyer from purchasing the house.
Does it stink like rotten meat meaning?
The poem suggests that the deferred dream could “dry up” or “fester like a sore”; it might “stink like rotten meat … Or crust and sugar over / like a syrupy sweet.” Each of these images suggests something spoiling, losing potency, or outright decaying—which is perhaps exactly the outcome a racist society, hoping to …
What is one reason the drama A Raisin in the Sun is so significant apex?
What is one reason the drama A raisin in the sun is so significant? It was the first play about African Americans to make it onto Broadway.
What are the major themes in A Raisin in the Sun?
A Raisin in the Sun Themes
- Dreams. Dreams possess great importance in A Raisin in the Sun, with the play’s name coming from a 1951 Langston Hughes poem titled Montage of a Dream Deferred. …
- Dignity and Pride. …
- Race, Discrimination, and Assimilation. …
- Gender and Feminism. …
- Money.
What is a good thesis statement for A Raisin in the Sun?
One of the most important themes in “A Raisin in the Sun” is the unity of the family. Initially, the Youngers are presented as a family that is loving but which experiences conflicts that intensify over the course of the play.
What are some symbols in A Raisin in the Sun?
What are some symbols in A Raisin in the Sun? Some of the symbols are Mama’s plant, Beneatha’s hair, music, the phrase “eat your eggs,” the $10,000 insurance payment, and money more generally.
Who is the only white character in A Raisin in the Sun?
Karl Lindner
Karl Lindner. The only white character in the play. Mr. Lindner arrives at the Youngers’ apartment from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association.
Who revealed Walter’s pregnancy?
Mama sits down with Walter who is upset by—and ashamed of—his poverty, his job as a chauffeur, and his lack of upward mobility. Finally, Mama tells him that Ruth is pregnant and that she fears that Ruth is considering having an abortion.
