Stereotypes In A Raisin In The Sun

A Raisin in the Sun has many events throughout the story that teach something. They teach us the importance of family, the need to fight against racial discrimination to show who you are, and to always follow your dreams. The Youngers struggle socially and economically throughout the play but unite in the end to realize their dream of buying a house. Mama strongly believes in the importance of family, and she tries to teach this value to her family as she struggles to keep them together and functioning.

In the play Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry takes place on the southside of Chicago where Walter and his family are racially profiled and show us how the survive throughout their struggles. The central struggles for the younger family in their search for the American dream is mostly poverty and being racially profiled against for their actions. Hansberry challenges the traditional gender roles and issues of dominance throughout the play when Mama gives Walter lee the rest of the money at the end of the play. He becomes all excited and was supposed to save some for himself and put the rest of the money to Beneatha 's education. Instead, he gave all that money to Willy another character in the play which later on that he stole from him.

The Youngers refuse the offer and, at the end of the book, end up moving into the white neighborhood. Despite the challenges they face, many associated with racism, the Younger family manages to keep their pride and persevere. Another very prominent theme in Raisin in the Sun was family. Family is what seems to influence many of the Youngers’ decisions in this story. Some examples of this include when Ruth was willing to get rid of her baby so she can care for the family (page 75), when Walter tells Mr. Linder that the Youngers will be moving into the neighborhood (page 148), and when Mama decides to put some money aside for Walter and Beneatha (pages 106-107).

In the play “A Raisin in the Sun,” the family explores many issues, both within their family and with outside conflicts. This play has a historical feel to it. In Chicago 's south side a black family is living in a run-down apartment. It takes the readers back to a time that many young people don’t know of, and a time that offers respect to older generations (1959). The play takes on a few social reforms.

Lorraine Hansberry's drama A Raisin in the Sun takes place in the 1950s on Chicago's South Side. The play illustrates the lifestyle of an African American family dealing with financial troubles. Lena (Mama), her son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, their son Travis, and Lena's daughter Beneatha are the play's key figures. Both the movie and the play displays an excellent picture of life in South Side Chicago, but the movie's representation portrays the authors purpose more accurately. This is due to the film's visual presentation of body language and facial expressions, which provides additional insight into the characters and situations throughout the film.

As previously stated, Mama is an older woman in her sixties who was probably born in or around slavery. She even says to Walter, “‘...In my time we was worried about not being lynched and getting to the North if we could and how to stay alive…’”(1520). During Mama’s generation, they were worried about staying alive and were actually actively persecuted, sold, and, often times killed because of their skin color. Mama says this because Walter really does not realize how good he has it compared to the generation before him. Sure, there are problems that still plague America and African American culture at this time, but at least the family can own an apartment and they are not the property of a white man.

Reading and Reimagining Social Life In Allan Johnson’s Privilege, Power, and Difference, Patricia Hill Collins describes the Matrix of Domination as an intersectionality between all the isms, especially racism and sexism. Collins describes this cycle of domination saying “that each form of privilege is part of a much larger system of privilege” (Johnson, 52). Work for change needs to focus on the idea of privilege in all forms and the way in which it enables people to think in relation to inequality and power. The only way to understand the matrix, is by understanding its dimensions.

While her family goes through difficult times after Walter Sr. has passed away, Beneatha faces many challenges. Beneatha, a resilient young woman, must try to find herself while overcoming the ridicule of others and being treated like a child, not a mature adult in the Younger’s family. Chicago in the 1950’s was also a difficult time for African Americans to face. Dealing with discrimination, segregation, and less opportunities as

Raisin in the Sun Book Report     Being in close relations with family member definitely has its ups and downs. There is nothing easy about being in a close relationship with family, but to many family is the most important relationship in their lives. In the story “A Raisin in the Sun” there are many great examples of importance in family relationship just from the way they treat each other and the conversations they have. In the story, Lena Younger, Ruth Younger and Walter Younger all make it very obvious how important family relationships are. Lena Younger (Mama) is the head of the family.

Family is important to everyone in some way because family sticks together no matter what. The play A Raisin in the Sun is about a black family named the Youngers and the hardships they face together as a family. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Ruth Younger is motivated by her family. This is shown by Ruth wanting to make her family happy, her working even though she is tired, and later when Ruth finds out there is going to be another mouth to feed. Ruth Younger is constantly worrying about her family’s well being and happiness for them.

The famous play shows the audience the life it was like to live as a black female, and shows the struggles that the Young family faced being the first African American family to move into a white neighborhood. This play is considered a

Reader Response: 3 “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, is a play about a black families experience in 1950s South Side Chicago. The story revolves around what happens to the family when Lena Younger, the matriarch of the family, receives a ten thousand dollar life insurance check upon the death of her husband. Everyone from the family has different plans for what they want to do with the money. Lena Younger serves as the head of the family. She is Walter and Beneatha’s caring mother so they and Ruth call her Mama.

The character purchased a house for her family to enrich and grow in life, regardless of the challenges they face just like the plant with little sunlight to survive. The family soon held together once they moved into their new house which also meant a new beginning. Susan Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, themes identified are dreams and faith that each character signifies throughout the entire play. The family was slowly falling apart from the challenges that they faced that pushed their dreams away and faith was slowly leaving as well. Through these trials, Lena Younger did what she felt was the right and new beginning for her

Dylan Bridges A World of Change Prejudice. Merriam Webster defines Prejudice as a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. (Webster)

Just within the recent decades, men and women started to fight against the gender stereotypes and started to challenge their roles in a family and in the society. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, portrays the lives of African–Americans during the 1950s. Lorraine Hansberry, a writer and a social activist, reinforced the traditional gender roles, especially female’s, by depicting how the Youngers interact and how they act in an economical struggle. Throughout the play, A Raisin in the Sun, she uses Walter Lee Younger, Ruth Younger and Lena Younger to reinforce the traditional role of fathers, wives and mothers within a family.