Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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A Raisin in the Sun is one of the best works of Lorraine Hansberry. Hansberry talks about the vital issues such as poverty, gender, and racial discrimination through a black family, the Youngers. Hansberry’s play focuses primarily on the dreams of the main characters Mama, Walter, Ruth and Beneatha. The title 'A Raisin in the Sun' has been taken from the poem "Montage of a Dream Deferred" written by Langston Hughes in which he talks about the consequences when dreams are put off for later. The title is appropriate for Hansberry’s play since it shows how deferred dreams of the Younger family shrivel up like a raisin in the sun leading to disillusionment and leaving very little hope for the future. A Raisin in the Sun tells the story about …show more content…
In the beginning of the play Walter is constantly thinking and talking about himself and his dreams which will in turn benefit the family as well as him. Knowing that there was a great amount of money coming their way only amplified his talk, which lead him astray into all kinds of trouble. By the end of the play Walter steps up and forgets about what his wants are and focuses on the needs of the family. By losing the money and seeing that he still had his family made him realize what was truly important which caused the change in his character. Beneatha was also in the midst of finding herself and knew that dating a rich black man, George, would not make her happy. Beneatha was experiencing and trying out new things as every woman at that age does, she found that her interests were mostly in her heritage, becoming a doctor, and ultimately finding someone who would back her up along the way. Joseph Asagi was just that guy. By the end of the play Joseph proposes but Beneatha doesn’t make her decision by the end of the play. Mama was the glue that held this family together. With the strength of her faith and hope she was able to guide and keep her family together as one through the struggles that they faced. Mama stayed steady as a character during the play as being very much unmaterialistic as well as nurturing toward her family, in addition to the plant, which represented her trust in her family. …show more content…
Paul quickly grabs a gun and starts calling the girl a looter and accuses her of stealing and eating his food. Paul tells her that he has called the police, although the power is out and he is unable to do so, and threatens to shoot her. Shortly after Daneen tells Paul that the world is going to end, the room starts to shake. The earthquake caused Paul to fire the gun and ends up grazing Daneen with a bullet. The two are now trapped in the basement due to the debris that has blocked the only way out. While Daneen is unconscious Paul treats her wound by wrapping gauze around it to stop the bleeding. Throughout the play Paul continues to care for Daneen by providing her food that he found in the basement. As time passes while they are in the basement Paul and Daneen begin to ask each other questions and tell one another stories about themselves. Although they come from two different walks of life they find that have some similarities, one being the loss and grief they shared for their fathers. The two teenagers continuously argue throughout the play but overcome their differences and end up becoming somewhat of friends. Their friendship continues to grow and Paul begins to catch feelings for Daneen, but sadly she dies and their
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