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 make life better for themselves. At that point, they were concerned with more basic human needs like food, shelter, safety, employment and dignity. Consequently, she wants basic well-being for her family, even as they pursue dreams beyond hers.

What obstacles does it face?

Lena's dream faces internal family obstacles and external obstacles. The internal family obstacles include Walter Lee's consuming dream to be successful, his loss of 2/3 of her husband's life insurance proceeds through a foolish deal, eneatha's sampling of many…...

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By the play's end, Beneatha's basic dream of fulfillment is intact. It appears that she might never be a doctor but she is going to Africa with Asagai and will get to experience a new continent, a government and society run by black people, and an adventurous life.

5. Are all the dreams variations of the American Dream, either the American dream defined up through 1960 or a new American dream in process of taking shape

All the dreams are variations on the American Dream: Lena dreams that her family will be safe, emotionally and physically well, principled and happy, as do many Americans of any race. Walter Lee's dream of becoming an important man who makes big business deals seems to be the dream of many American men of any race. Lena's dream of having their own home with plenty of room and sunshine is also desired by many Americans of any race, who want to own their own homes. Finally, Beneatha's dream for personal fulfillment, however that may be accomplished, is certainly shared by many Americans of all races. Safety, emotional and physical well-being, high principles, happiness, importance, one's own home and one's personal fulfillment: all facets of the American Dream. That is a great film, which might be why it is still powerful more than half a century after it debuted.

Setting in "A aisin in the Sun"
In the play, "A aisin 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, the apartment is not an adequate domicile for the Youngers family for a variety of reasons, which play out over the course of the narrative. The apartment is arguably a character in the play, just as the Youngers family members and the other assorted characters are in "A aisin in the Sun." The paper will explain how the description of the Youngers' apartment contributes to the mood of the play.

Before describing the internal elements of the apartment, understanding where the…...

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References:

Handsberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York, NY: Random house, 1959. Print.

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 some are from within the family itself. One common factor between the families however is that they are both struggling to cope with the hostile societies that they live in and optimistic that some day things will look up and better days will come.

Langston Hughes in his poem poses the question "What happens to a dream deferred?" And there after gives several suggestions in form of questions to the possibilities that can befall a deferred dream. This poem perfectly applies…...

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 in Nebraska. Indeed, he is like a man sent to this part of the world as a punishment. He admits that at times life on the farm has made him "crazy with lonesomeness" (367). He is refined in a world that does not recognize that refinement as anything but a weakness. This sense of being out of place contributes to his death.

The relationship between Antonia and Jim in the section "The Shimerdas" is an antagonistic on her part because of…...

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Works Cited

Cather, Willa. My Antonia. New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1954.

Glaspell, Susan. "Trifles."

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun & The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. New York: Signet, 1966.

As J. Charles Washington notes, Mama and Walter have two different versions or ideas what the American Dream means in Raisin in the Sun. For Mama the dream is simply about change and doing what is necessary to protect and preserve one’s family. Her version of the dream “sets her at odds with her son Walter,” whose dream is much more influenced by the white Americans he sees: their opulence and prosperity, their ability to be upwardly mobile (Washington 113). Walter dreams of wealth; Mama dreams of family. The American Dream for them is manifested in different ways, yet, in the end, it is the dream of family that wins out and that shows how the materialistic American Dream is empty if it is not accompanied by the family and the heart
Washington describes Mama’s dream “as a second-class version of it reserved for Black Americans and other poor people. Considering…...

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Works Cited

Brown, Lloyd W. \\\\"Lorraine Hansberry as Ironist: A Reappraisal of A Raisin in the Sun.\\\\" Journal of Black Studies 4.3 (1974): 237-247.

Hansberry, Lorraine. Raisin in the Sun.  

Matthews, Kristin L. \\\\"The Politics of “Home” in Lorraine Hansberry\\\\'s A Raisin in the Sun.\\\\" Modern Drama 51.4 (2008): 556-578.

Washington, J. Charles. \\\\"A Raisin in the Sun revisited.\\\\" Black American Literature Forum. Vol. 22. No. 1. School of Education, Indiana State University, 1988.

http://khdzamlit.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/6/11261956/a_raisin_in_the_sun_-_lorraine_hansberry.pdf 

Analyzing Lorraine Hansberrys 'A Raisin in the Sun': An Exploration of Themes, Symbolism, Setting, and Narrative Voice (Rough Draft)Introduction"A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry, first performed in 1959, is a play that captures the dreams and aspirations of a working-class African-American family, the Youngers, who are grappling with issues of race, class, and identity in a racially segregated Chicago. The play utilizes symbolism, a specific setting, and first-person narrative to convey its themes and deepen its exploration of the human condition.Thematic AnalysisOne of the major themes of "A Raisin in the Sun" is the centrality of dreams and aspirations. Each member of the Younger family has their own dreamWalter Lee's desire to own a business, Beneatha's aspiration to become a doctor, and Mama's wish for a house with a yard. These dreams act as a driving force for the characters, pushing them towards their goals, yet they also…...

Analysis of A Raisin in the SunOverviewA Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry first performed in 1959. The play is about a small black family in Chicago. The family is poor, but Mama has come into some money by way of inheritance. Ruth is pregnant and considering an abortion. Walter is focusing on a get rich quick scheme. And little Travis has pluck and heart and shows why life is special. The family comes together over the purchase of a house in a white neighborhood. A rich white neighbor offers to buy them out of the property. Walter considers taking the offer, but in the end chooses to stay there with the family and essentially chooses life over any more get rich quick schemes. The ending is hopeful and bright because the family is no longer deferring on a dream. They are now pursuing the American…...

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Works Cited

Brown, Lloyd W. "Lorraine Hansberry as Ironist: A Reappraisal of A Raisin in the Sun." Journal of Black Studies 4.3 (1974): 237-247.

Hansberry, Lorraine. Raisin in the Sun.  http://khdzamlit.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/6/11261956/a_raisin_in_the_sun_-_lorraine_hansberry.pdf 

Matthews, Kristin L. "The Politics of “Home” in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun." Modern Drama 51.4 (2008): 556-578.

Raisin in the Sun: Travis and Important Themes In Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun, the themes of identity, materialism, pride, heritage, family, upward mobility, equality and even life and death all play a part in the story’s development and plot. The play’s main characters the Youngers—an impoverished African American family living in a one bedroom apartment. After receiving an inheritance, Mama puts a down payment on a new home that the family can expand into—but the home is in a white neighborhood, which leads to a tense scene between Walter and a man who offers to buy him out of his purchase in order to avoid conflict in the white community. Travis is the son of Walter and Ruth and set to become an older brother (so long as Ruth does not have an abortion). In one regard, Travis, as a child in a poor family, represents the financial strain…...

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Works Cited

Hansberry, Lorraine. Raisin in the Sun.  

http://khdzamlit.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/6/11261956/a_raisin_in_the_sun_-_lorraine_hansberry.pdf 

Dreams are what give people hope. Dreams are the stuff of imaginings and day dreams. For the Younger family in a Raisin in the Sun, dreams provide each character a motivation and desire. The play shows each member of the Younger family's dream through various instances throughout the text. hat starts off a desire or a whim, evolves into a defining moment for each Younger family member.
The first of the Younger family to reveal his or her dream is alter. alter desperately desires to become wealthy. As a limousine driver, he barely makes enough to get by and plans on investing on a partnership with Bobo and illy, that would produce a liquor store. alter explains the liquor store idea to Ruth demonstrating his zeal to get out of the dilapidates surroundings he lives in. "...this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the…...

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Works Cited

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun: With Connections. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2011.

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 alter Lee who is married to Ruth. alter 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 medical school. Though this is a poor African-American family that has just lost the breadwinner, Beneatha and alter Lee's father, alter Sr. who has died and left the family $10,000 in insurance money. Beneatha is in need of money to attend medical school while her brother wishes to invest the money in a liquor store. Their mother, Lena desires to buy the family a home in a middle class neighborhood where all the residents are Caucasian (hite). Beneatha clearly will…...

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Works Cited

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Robert Nemerhoff. Random House: New York. 1958.

.. Don't understand nothing about building their men up and making 'em feel like they somebody. Like they can do something" (Hansberry, I, i.). It is clear that alter Lee still believes it is the woman's role to support the man in his endeavors, and not to make decisions or act on them. In her responses to him, Ruth displays her growing frustration with and rejection of this belief, which was also largely typical of the time -- as the fifties wore on and moved into the sixties, many women began to demand the same rights to money and work that they had experienced during the war (Learn History).
But though both Ruth and Mamma are quite telling about the role of women in the play and in society at large, Beneatha is arguably the most symbolic of the women. Her struggle is much more rooted in the upcoming 1960s, when…...

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Works Cited

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Samuel French, Inc., 1989.

Learn History. "USA - a Divided Union 1941-80: Women and Families in the 1950s."  http://www.learnhistory.org.uk/usa/women1950s.htm 

Washington. J. Charles. "A Raisin in the Sun Revisited." Black American Literature Forum, 23(1), 1988.

"Women's History: Sixties/Seventies." About.com. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/60s70s/Sixties_Seventies.htm

She misrepresents the proposal of marriage of Asagai and is unable to provide the man who loves her so much and who understand her well. The complex character of Beneatha demonstrates another hidden quality towards the end of the play. The confrontation of Walter with Mr. Lindner reveals the arrogant statement of Mr. Lindner, "I take it then that you have decided to occupy." The easiness of Beneatha's reply illustrates in the statement, "That is what the man said." Beneatha implements an ironic return where she indicates Walter as 'the man' and not the white Mr. Lindner. Hansberry points out that with the prior statement that Beneatha has the capability to acknowledge greatness in others as well as the capability to react with warmth and love to words and actions of family pride and dignity. Beneatha still involves some immaturity, but she reveals great potential for good. Beneatha Younger…...

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References

Advanced Exemplar for an Untimed Writing. Retrieved at   Accessed on 24 May, 2005http://bls.org/doc_content/E9Untimed.htm .

Raisin in the Sun: WebQuest. Retrieved at   Accessed on 24 May, 2005http://www.writeonill.org/raisinwebquest.htm .

Boyle, Leryn; Rogers, Gardner. The American Dream. 9 March 2004. Retrieved at Accessed on 24 May, 2005http://www.eotu.uiuc.edu/pedagogy/grogers/Narrative/S1/Leryn_Narrative_Final.htm.

Evans, Tritano. A Raisin in the Sun. 9 May, 2004. Retrieved at on 24 May, 2005http://www.theaterscene.net/ts/articles.nsf/BP/B698D3C9E3935CF785256E90002C1536Accessed

It is the last thing Mama carries out of the apartment when the family moves, symbolizing the family's failure to thrive in their neighborhood. Both the plant and the Younger family are expected to blossom in their new surroundings.
alter Jr. wants to use the money to buy a liquor store with his friends. He believes that owning a business will give the family the financial freedom that will make a better life possible for all of them. alter's sister, Beneatha, attends college and dreams of being a doctor. She very much wants the money to attend medical school. In a way, her dream distances her from her brother and the rest of the family. She is better educated than they are and her dream, if fulfilled, would take her much farther than a new home or a family business ever could. She is eager to forge her own identity…...

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Works Cited

"A Raisin in the Sun." Wikipedia. 1 May 2011. Web. 6 May 2011.

Ardolino, Frank. 'Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun.' Explicator. 63.3 (2005): 181-183. Online. 5

May 2011.

Gordon, Michelle. "Somewhat Like War": The Aesthetics of Segregation, Black Liberation, and 'A Raisin in the Sun.'" African-American Review 42.1 (2008): 121-133.

At the same time Bernice doesn't tell her daughter the history of the heirloom, in fear of waking the spirit. This means that even Bernice is not using her legacy positively, but is afraid of it. Both characters are able to embrace their history with pride by the end of the play, as Boy illie comes to understand the Piano's significance and Bernice begins to play it again (Sparknotes.com)
3. The Little Foxes

a. Significance of the Title

Lillian Hellman was born in New Orleans and educated at New York and Columbia University. Her first success was the play 'The Children's Hour'; she was an active part of political activities and spoke openly about her ideals. 'The Little Foxes' brought her greater fame and reflects her opinion of and her remembrances of the South (kirjasto.sci.fi).

The play is a satire or a criticism of the machinations of capitalists who live to feed of…...

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Works Cited:

Bradford, W. The Piano Lesson: Study Guide. 2012. 11 June, 2012.  http://plays.about.com/od/plays/a/pianolesson.htm 

Cannon, J. "Local Women's History Celebrated." "The Dernopolis Times." 2011. Web. 11 June, 2012.

Cliffnotes.com. A Raisin in the Sun. 2012. Web. 11 June, 2012.

Enotes.com. The Little Foxes: Introduction. 2012. 11 June, 2012.  http://www.enotes.com/little-foxes

The climax opens alter's eyes to the wickedness of people. He realizes he cannot trust everyone. Life is full of those who take and those who are taken. He admits to being "mixed up bad" (2258). His dream was short-lived and so was the money. He learns to keep his "eye on what counts in this world" (2258). This experience is good for alter because it forces him to grow up. It forces him to realize the fly-by-night ideas he had are generally bad ideas and hard work may be the way to get what he wants from this world. At least with that, he can have the satisfaction knowing he worked hard and tried to earn an honest living. alter becomes a man when he realizes illy swindles him. This is important to the play because up until this point, alter is not a likable person. He wants…...

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Work Cited

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Vol. II.

Lauter, Paul, et al., eds. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company. 2202-63.