“A Raisin In A Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry Essay

I waste a fantasyA moon deeply rooted in the American Dream.I submit a dream that one day this nation depart rise up and stick up without the authorized crockeding of its creed we hold these truths to be self- evident that entirely me be make upd equal. I confound a dream that my four children will one day lodge in a nation where they will not be judge by the dealness of their skin except by the content of their character. I have a dream that one day unforesightful black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with white boys and white girls are walk to wash upher as sisters and brothers. Martin Luther exponent Jr.In the admit A Raisin In A cheerfulnessbathe by Lorraine Hansberry is essenti eachy closely dreams, including the American Dream. The play contains start around the 1950s in Chicagos south side, when separationism was good-tempered around. In this play you meet a cast of people with dreams of a better support that compares the novel A Rai sin in the Sun with Martin Luther male monarchs language I guard a Dream. It Analyzes the similar themes found in play akin racial injustice, socio-economic discrimination, dream fulfillment and the fact that it outsmart downs place during the identical time. There are many aspects that are hold forthed in some(prenominal) A Raisin in the Sun and I have a dream speech. Perhaps the most classical of those are racial injustice, socio-economic discrimination, unity, and the struggles for the American dream.In this play there are many different dreams, mommas dream is to create a better breeding-time for her family. The American dream, which is the idea of success that involves owning a home plate, being able to give a better life for your family and to attain certain material objects. mummys dream is the American dream of moving her family out the small cramped house and into a bigger house, that is perfect for a family of louvre with a yard children can play and wher e she can tend a garden. For many African Americans during the 1950s The American dream was to be treated equally and before that their dream was innocent(p)dom, an end to slavery.Martin Luther tabbys famous I Have a Dream Speech and the play A Raisin in the Sun have many similarities. They both have thedesire for black and white equivalence. They besides motivation to make a change and live the way they feel is right for them to live. They both willing to take chances in doing so and begin to achieve by trying. A Raisin in the Sun and I Have a Dream speech both deal with many issues but none more than important than injustice.Racism was the root cause of all the discrimination and injustice African Americans faced. Martin Luther fagot Jr. speech and Lorraine Hansberry both are examples of the starving freedom of black American and both speak the truth of the realities of life and dreams for the future of all Americans. Even after many years of African Americans being release d from slavery and became free Americans, they were still treated the same and that they are not actually free until the people are all equal regardless to skin color. Walter leeward and Martin Luther baron Jr. both make the same points because they both have their big dreams and are willing to do anything to make their dreams come true. A dream is to go steady another life or characteristic that could be better or worse than what the person already has. In the case of most people it is a dream that is positive.People mainly are selfish wishful thinkers who dream only about(predicate) themselves but there are some who dream about the cosmos or others such as friends and family. Two examples of these types of dreamers are Mama and Martin Luther King Jr. In Dr. Kings speech he brings up that his dream is not only for him but also for others with the same problem. He is a caring dreamer, one who believes others come initiatory whence him. Mama is this type of dreamer because her dreams are for her family and the well being of them. Even though Mamas dream is not as deep or motivational as Dr. King, it is still a non-selfish dream. Mamas dream was to get a house that was more suitable to live in then the current house that the juniors live in. Which was dirty and small. They were cramped up and highly uncomfortable, it was defiantly not a proper house for five people and a baby on the way.Therefore Mamas dream of having better donjon qualities was a smart investment. Them houses they put up for colored in them areas way out all calculate to cost twice as frequently as other houses. She found a nice house for a good price in a White neighborhood white neighborhoods had bigger and cheaper homes then black neighborhoods. She found the best deal as she said her self I did the best I could (Act 2. Scene 1.93) Mama thinks she chose the best option for the family and she did. This can be related to MarinLuther King Jr.s dream as well.He dreamed of a world where black and whites and all races would live in peace. He envisioned that there would be no hate because of skin tone or place of origin. He dreamt that We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negros basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one (I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr.)By this line he meant that they should not stop fighting for equal rights until they move out of little suburban areas classified as ghettos. Once again that speech can relate to Walter lee side, when he lastly takes a stand in his manly hood and shows his pride in his family. The story ended as him being the head of the family because he took control and became a family man by rejected an offer from a white businessman to stay out of a white neighborhood and to stay with all blacks. When Travis smiles up at his father this is when Walter Lee has a sudden change of heart. He explains to Mr. Lindner that his family members are plain sublime people and how his father worked for decades as a labor er, which his father basically earned the right for his family to move into their advanced home in Clybourne Park.They have come so far and worked so hard why moody it down, they have earned it, its only fare. Walter realizes and rediscovers his self-worth, Self-respect and self-esteem and he proves this when he said to Mr. Lindner that the sixth times of our family in this country. He finally reclaims his personal pride, defends his familys historical right to be treated pretty in their country, and to protect his familys dignity. They both reflect the conditions that African Americans had to go through to get equality from discrimination and segregation.It was clear that in both accounts of dreams that there was a time to strike and in both accounts that time was now. Both the youngers and black people of the Civil Rights Movement had one common dream privy by many materialistic desires dignity, equality, and progress. Dr. King said, I have a dream today Walter Younger wants to make a business deal that could help him obtain dignity, equality, and progress for his family, and the damages money that Mama will get is a once-in-a-lifetime deal.A rare opportunity, that opens the door to propositions that could help his family acquire those qualities. Both Walter and Dr. King are telling their families and followers that the time for change is now and that change is a now or never deal.While one was real and one was not, the desire, dreams, and struggles mentioned in the speech matched those of the novel perfectly. Martin Luther King and the characters of A Raisin In A Sun had the same ambitions, which included a better life for future generations, liberation from the unsportsmanlike living conditions of African-American citizens, and the importance on the urgency necessary for making these dreams happen. Both pieces represented a fight, one for a family, and one for a group of millions. As well as wars against inequality, injustice, and unfairness were win.Mama historically represents Rosa Parks because she acts as a leader through out the story.They both spoke up for what they believed in. Mama speaking up gave he courage and wisdom. The courage Rosa Parks had was when she got arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus because of what she believe and in the military personnel rights. Just like Mama when she stood up for her husband, when Walter Lee was not setting an example for his rights. She didnt not want him to take Mr. Lindner offer of money in exchange of his family not to moving in to its dream house in a white neighborhood because she believed in her and her familys rights. Therefore she also stood up for what she believes in and the human rights.The Great Migration was a period in American history where blacks moved north to escape the Jim crowing laws and prejudice of the South. The civil rights movement brought enlightenment towards the abolishment of segregation laws. Although the laws are gone, on e might ask, does segregation still exist? Yes it does but our segregation problems now arent just about race. Theyre about income too, and the web of connections between what it means to be poor and a person of color in the city. non only are people segregated by race and by income, meaning that people of color are probable to live with other people of color and poor people are likely to live with poor people. For example in East Harlem there isnt really any sanguine places to eat just fast food and the supermarkets are pricy. If you were to go downtown were wealthy people live thru have a variety of healthy places to eat that is affordable as well as their supermarkets like Trader Joes. In todays society one can agree with Walter Lee that life now is about money, t is now the rich vs. the poor.In the beginning of the play it mentions their dreams being deferred, which means their swear of full equality is postponed. What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Langston Hughes wrote the poem, and Lorraine Hansberry was inspired by both by the poem and by her own real-life experience to write ARaisin in the Sun. This play was the first play on Broadway that was written by an African-American woman as well as the first African American to direct a play on Broadway. The play was inspired by Hansberrys own experience with racism and housing discrimination. Her father was tried to acquire a house in a white neighborhood much like the one in the play but he was blocked because in the 1950s African American could not get housing in good neighborhoods because of the color of their skin. They were still segregated, and many times they were treated violently. They were unable to bewilder good paying jobs as they were overlooked in favor of white people. Often times, they received shortsighted medical care, and were made to wait for treatment in hospitals while white folks got treatment first. As a child, Hansberrys family became one of the first to move into a white neighborhood.When their neighbors rebelled, both with threats of violence and legitimate action, the Hansberrys defended themselves Hansberrys father successfully brought his case all the way to the Supreme Court. Her father sued and won a partial victory in the US Supreme Court. Lorraine Hansberry used her play A Raisin In A Sun to tell people about her own life struggle with racism and womanish discrimination. Her play shows us her problems were handled with determination and a will to keep striving for her goal of becoming a writer. Langston Hughes anticipated such an uprising in his poem, just as Hansberry illustrated the effects of a dream deferred by the Youngers. Raisin answers the last line of Hughes poem Or does it explode? Indeed it did, and Raisin became a beacon for a changing nation.Hansberry was also the first black playwright as well as he youngest to win the spick-and-span York Drama Critics Circle Award. Since then, the drama ab out a black familys dream to move into a white neighborhood in pre-civil-rights-era Chicago has been translated into 30 languages and has been continually produced in church basements, community halls, condition auditoriums, and professional theaters.A dream deferred is a dream put off to another time, each character from A Raisin in the Sun had a deferred dream, and their dreams become dehydrated up like a raisin in the sun. non just dreams are dried up though Walter Lee and Ruths marriage became dried up also. Their marriage was no longer of much importance, like a dream it was post-phoned and it became dry. Their struggle for delight dried up because they had to concentrate all of their energies on surviving. Their needs seem no longerto be satisfied by each other. But they both saw a resolution in the insurance check arriving in the mail. The money would permit Ruth fulfill her dream of owning her own house and departure the apartment.Money seemed to get in the way of all of their dreams. It was the force that controlled their lives. The money is like the sun that leaves no choice to the grape but to dry up until a raisin never the less it does not mean that the raisin is no longer good, it is still sweet. Dreams are good to shoot for, but dont let them ruin your life trying to fulfill them (Robinson). At the end Ruth and Walter Lee reconcile because they still loved each other, Walter took her out a date to the movies, where they finally had some quality time. Ruth sees foretaste in their marriage as she describes her date to Beneatha Ruth we went to the movies. We went to the movies. You know the last time ma and Walter went to the movies unitedly? Beneatha No. Ruth Me either. Thats how long its been (smiling again) but we went last night. The picture wasnt much good, but that didnt seem to matter. We went and we held hands. (Act 1. Scene 2.51) this shows that once Walter has control over money, he becomes much more affectionate with Ruth and th at there is still love between them.Many dream in raisin in the sun were deferred like Beneathas dream of becoming a doctor and to save her race from ignorance. The first part of her dream may be deferred because of the money Walter loses. Her dream is also one deferred for all women. Beneatha lives in a time when society expects women to build homes rather than careers. In other words play the fictitious character of a housewife. Women were also discriminated around this time, women werent really admitted to medical school, same with law school, teachers and they were not regular allow to sit in jury.Walters dream of owning his own business has been so long deferred and remaining festering of his family. The open sores of his deferred dream blind him to the consequences of his actions and to the ache he causes Mama Younger.After Willy Harris convinces Walter that investing in the liquor store is a great idea, Willy takes Walters money and runs. It is because of the thieving Will y Harris that Walters dream is deferred.The dream of owning your own business and having all the money you will ever need is a goal held by many in society, then and now. Walter Lee Younger becomes obsessed with his dream of a business peril that will give him financial and social independence, after getting and losing themoney that will help this dream become reality he realizes that pride and dignity are more important for him and his family. There are also many figures in A Raisin In The Sun but one important symbol that represented dreams was Mamas plant. It was weak but resilient it represented her dream of living in a bigger house with a lawn. Whenever she tends to her plant, she symbolically shows her dedication to her dream.The first thing that Mama does in the morning as mention in the beginning of the play in Act 1 towards the finis of Scene 1 is that is that she goes to the window, opens it, and brings in a feeble little plant growing doggedly in a small pot on the win dow. The plant is just as important as her dream. Mama admits that the plant has never had enough sunshine but still survives. In other words, her dream has perpetually been deferred but still remains strong. When Beneatha asks why Mama would want to keep that raggedy-looking old thing, Mama Younger replies It expresses me.(Actv2. Scene 3) At the end of the play, Mama decides to bring the plant with her to their new home. While it initially stands for her deferred dream, now, as her dream comes true, it reminds her of her strength in working and waiting for so many years.Her plant will also have a new home and beginning for it may now get more temperateness in its bigger home.In conclusion for all these reasons, A Raisin in the Sun is an ideal work to discuss in terms of the American dream. It shows how the admirable idea that everyone can achieve their ambitions if they work doesnt constantly stand up in the face of real life, and how people can redeem them as Walter Lee does wh en he refuses the buyout offer through moral courage. Society in the 1959 was full of racial discrimination. Martin Luther King and Walter Lee both have the starvation to stop the desolation of discrimination. Hansberry, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. all have inspiring stories and if they were still alive today they can see how far there dreams have come that has inspire many. Hughes asks whether a dream is deferred is like A Raisin In The Sun and he specifically asking whether a dream will dry up. Grapes in the South dry into raisins, but it never lose their sweetness, no matter how much they dry up.