A Raisin in the Sun

Redefining

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Home

In the first half of the 20th century in the United States, many types of
people endured discrimination, all based on the color of their skin.
African Americans — and sometimes other people who weren't
Caucasian — lived, worked, and went to school separately from their
white peers, and this separation between the races was all legal.

Half of African American families lived in poverty, and throughout the
country, particularly the South, segregation still divided the races in
many public spheres, including housing, schooling, and employment.
For African Americans, jobs were difficult to come by, and most were
service related.

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The Civil Rights Movement

Despite the rich cultural products of the Harlem Renaissance
movement in the 1920s (Harlem Renaissance: A movement of
writers, musicians, and other artists, centered on the African
American Harlem neighborhood in New York City.), African American
art and literature remained fairly separate from white mainstream
culture — that is, until the publication of the drama A Raisin in the
Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.

It was the first play to feature a nearly all-black cast and the first
story about the African American lifestyle to make it big on
Broadway.

A Raisin in

the Sun

by Lorraine Hansberry

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A Raisin in the Sun

In 1959, A Raisin in the Sun was published, and it soon became the
first successful Broadway production written by an African American
woman.

A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on
Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also
known as "A Dream Deferred“) by Langston Hughes. The story tells of
a Black family's experiences in south Chicago, as they attempt to
improve their financial circumstances with an insurance pay-out
following the death of the father, and deals with matters of housing
discrimination, racism, and assimilation.

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A Raisin in the Sun

The drama tells the story of the Younger family and their struggle to
determine how to make the best use of an insurance check. The
characters in A Raisin in the Sun experience both external and internal
conflicts.

While external conflict — the conflict between the characters — is
central to the play, each character also deals with internal conflict.
Because they live in a culture that is overshadowed by racism, they all
feel a pull between what they want to do and what society will allow
them to do.

This conflict extends beyond the play to the bigger issue at the heart of
the civil rights movement.

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The title of Hansberry's play — A Raisin in the Sun — is a reference to the
famous Langston Hughes poem "Harlem." The play also explores much of
the symbolism raised in the poem. Take a look at the meaning of the poem.

So, Hansberry's use of a line
from the poem as the title for
her play reflects that she is
making a comment on what
happens to people's dreams
when they can't be pursued.

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Analyses of
A Raisin
in the Sun

Analyze A Raisin
in the Sun

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The passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 marked an important
moment in United States history: For the first time, individuals were
guaranteed legal protection from discrimination based on their
race, age, gender, or physical ability. This bill was made possible
through the tireless work of a large number of regular citizens,
activists, and politicians who took part in the civil rights movement.

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A Raisin in the Sun was first performed in 1959. The historical
context of the play, then, includes the fact that it was still entirely
legal to discriminate against individuals based on the color of
their skin.

Hansberry's characters endure this type of racial discrimination
on a daily basis in A Raisin in the Sun. In this study, you will
review the events, symbols, and characters from the first half of
the play and examine some of the major themes and ideas that
will be important as you continue reading.

Themes: Justice and Equality

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Which way do the scales of justice fall in A Raisin in the Sun?

At a time when racism was not only permitted, but actually
sanctioned by law, justice and equality could feel out of reach to
families like the Youngers. In the first half of the play, the
Youngers tease Beneatha about her interest in civil rights, but
through Mr. Lindner, inequality and injustice literally come
walking into their apartment.

Symbols

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Money

Money is a pervasive symbol for dreams and generational conflict. It
underpins the Youngers' life first due to its lack then due to its abundance.
The Youngers all feel differently about money, and they use it as both a tool
and a weapon. For example, by putting a deposit on a house in a white
neighborhood, Mama uses money as a tool to try to keep her family
together. Inadvertently, however, that money becomes a weapon to
keep Walter under her control.

When Walter invests the money with the untrustworthy Willy, he intends
the investment to be a tool toward becoming a businessman. But by taking
the money earmarked for Beneatha as well as his own, he turns the
investment into a weapon that imperils his sister's future.

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Mama's Plant and Sunlight

Mama is devoted to her plant, which symbolizes her nurturing of life
in a small space. The weak and ancient plant struggles to survive
throughout the play and travels to the new house with the Youngers.
It shows, like the characters, resilience and strength.

Because the Younger apartment doesn't get much sunlight it's not an
environment suitable for growth. The family, like the plant, is
constricted. The sunlight in the new house represents a better
environment, not just physically but emotionally and financially.

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Beneatha's Hair
Beneatha begins to wear her hair naturally, without straightening it, as
she's exploring her identity in the middle of the play. Her hair
symbolizes her pride as a black woman and her changing racial identity.

Cooking and Food
The Youngers offer hospitality through food and drink, both to other
family members and to guests. Food is dismissed as a pedestrian
concern by Walter, but it's the way Mama and Ruth show their support
for and allegiance to family. Mama's desire to invite Asagai over for a
home-cooked meal reveals the way she makes a shabby apartment
into a home—by providing nourishment.

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Gender Roles

Through the Youngers, Hansberry shows how men and women face different obstacles
and have different priorities. She questions the validity of many accepted gender
stereotypes.
The exploration of gender roles is shown through women breaking
barriers. Beneatha works toward a career in the male-dominated field of medicine. In a
more subtle way Ruth and Mama not only provide a backbone of strength for the
family by creating a domestic sanctuary but also counsel and challenge the men in
their lives. Beneatha challenges Joseph Asagai intellectually; Mama and Ruth
advise Walter.

Increasingly throughout the play the women make decisions for themselves (Mama to buy the
house, Ruth to keep the baby, Beneatha to go to Africa) without consulting men—a departure
from traditional patriarchal structures.

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Gender Roles …

Also related to gender roles is the importance of men building
legacies. The death of Big Walter, the Youngers' deceased patriarch,
provides the money that sets the engine of the plot in motion. The
family considers how best to honor his legacy as they debate how to
use the money. Walter seeks to create an investment of lasting value
for future generations. His son Travis looks up to him, and Walter
wants Travis to select a career that will give him a sense of meaning,
that will be "big enough" to make him feel like a man.