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While the other characters wonder why Othello, once so strong and noble, acts horrifically to his wife before murdering her, the audience knows why: it is partially the mechanics of Iago's plot, but also Iago's cunning words and attitude that enable him to prey upon Othello's vulnerable mind. Othello has experienced slavery and discrimination from a young age, and although he tries to create the impression that peoples' racist attitudes do not matter to him, the fact that he is so easily swayed to become jealous and angry suggests that such attitudes do have an influence in shaping his mentality. "Is this the nature/Whom passion could not shake?... Could neither graze nor pierce?" wonders those who observe Othello after Iago has used his deceitful persuasive strategies upon Othello's vulnerable psyche (IV.1).
Walter Lee is similarly vulnerable because of his insecurities. He works all day in the service to rich individuals who treat him as if he is beneath contempt because he is black. His sister's...
Without the permission of the rest of the family, he takes part of his father's insurance money and invests it in a liquor store, going against his mother's express wishes. The scheme ends disastrously, as Walter's partner runs off with the money. Beneatha says in disgust that not even Travis (Walter's little boy) would have trusted such a man with money. There is still enough insurance money left for a down payment on the house and the ending is bittersweet but joyfully. Yet the play depicts starkly how deeply ingrained racism is within society, as a white resident of the suburb where the Youngers wish to live vainly attempts to persuade them to look elsewhere for housing before the family departs for their new life.
Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Vintage, 2004.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Shakespeare Homepage.
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/othello/index.html [February 8, 2011]
Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Vintage, 2004.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Shakespeare Homepage.
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/othello/index.html [February 8, 2011]
FILM -- "A RAISIN IN THE SUN" AND THE AMERICAN DREAM Lena (Mama) What is the dream? Lena is the strong, traditional matriarch of the Younger family. Her dream is for her family: that they will be safe, emotionally and physically well, principled and happy. Why does it matter to the character? The dream matters to Lena because she lived through the difficult time in which many blacks left the South and moved North to
Lorraine Hansberry looks at a variety of themes in her play Raisin in the Sun. These themes include the challenge of upward mobility for blacks, the problem of inequality—particularly when the Youngers find a home they want to buy in a white neighborhood and are pressed by another home owner there to live somewhere else. The themes of dignity and family are also important in the play, as the head
Setting in "A Raisin in the Sun" In the play, "A Raisin in the Sun," by Lorraine Handsberry, the primary setting is the apartment of the Youngers family. In fact, the majority of the action of the play occurs within the confines of the family apartment. The plot of the play is focuses upon the apartment as well -- what the apartment is, and what the apartment is not. Primary,
Deferred Dreams The two plays A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry are two classical plays that are based on the daily struggles by families trying to live life as best as they know how. There in are several setbacks and obstructions that come their way and work against them in achieving their dreams. Some of the hindrances are from without yet
Antonia: Introduction etc. The landscape of the agrarian lifestyle in Nebraska is such that Mr. Shimerda is the least suited for this type of life. He has the soul of an artist and so longs for a more refined world in which to express himself. He is a man who needs to live among people with ideas who express those concepts in conversation, which is not the world he finds
Raisin in the Sun Beneatha is ahead of her time in a Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha is the daughter of Lena Younger and younger sister of Walter Lee who is married to Ruth. Walter Lee and Ruth have a ten-year-old son Travis, who gets his way often being the only grandson. Beneatha is a college student who desires to attend