A Raisin in the Sun, Study notes of English Literature

Download A Raisin in the Sun and more Study notes English Literature in PDF only on Docsity! A Raisin in the Sun By Lorraine Hansberry HISTORICAL CONTEXT “Strange Fruit” performed by Billie Holiday Southern trees bear strange fruit Blood on the leaves Blood at the root Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees Pastoral scene of the gallant south The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh Then the sudden smell of burning flesh Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck for the rain to gather for the wind to suck for the sun to rot for the tree to drop Here is a strange and bitter crop The Play on Broadway…  Judge orders the Hansberrys eviction on August 19, 1938  Hansberry appeals to the Supreme Court of Illinois  The case of Hansberry, et al vs. Lee, et al goes all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States on October 25, 1940 – The U.S. Supreme Court deems restrictive covenants non-existant “Hansberry Decision Opens 500 New Homes to Race” The Chicago Defender Saturday, November 16, 1940 “Iron Ring in Housing” The Crisis (NAACP Magazine) 47.7 (July, 1940)  NAACP estimates that 80% of Chicago is covered by restrictive covenants  “The iron ring of restrictive covenants which surrounds the Negro community has prevented its normal expansion in spite of the fact that the colored population has more than doubled in the last two decades. Within the community practically no living units have been built and few new residences have been made available during the past twelve years.” The Play you’re about to read… A Note on the Title  Lorraine Hansberry took the title of A Raisin in the Sun from a line in Langston Hughes’ famous 1951 poem “Harlem.”  “Harlem” captures the tension between the need for black expression and the impossibility of that expression because of American society’s oppression of its black population.  In the poem, Hughes asks whether a “dream deferred”—a dream put on hold— withers up “like a raisin in the sun.” Harlem Langston Hughes What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?  Hansberry addressed feminist questions ahead of their time in A Raisin in the Sun. Through the character of Beneatha, Hansberry proposes that marriage is not mandatory for women, and that it’s acceptable for women to have ambitious career goals. – She even approaches an abortion debate, allowing the topic of abortion to enter the action in an era when abortion was illegal.  All of this idealism about race and gender relations boils down to a larger, timeless point—that dreams are crucial. In fact, Hansberry’s play focuses primarily on the dreams driving and motivating its main characters. Character List  Walter Lee Younger - The protagonist of the play. He wants to be rich; wants to invest his father’s insurance money in a new liquor store venture.  Beneatha Younger (“Bennie”) - Beneatha is twenty years old, she attends college, and is better educated than the rest of the Younger family. She dreams of being a doctor and struggles to determine her identity as a well- educated black woman. More Characters  Lena Younger (“Mama”) - religious, moral, and maternal. She wants to use her husband’s insurance money as a down payment on a house with a backyard to fulfill her dream for her family to move up in the world.  Ruth Younger - Walter’s wife and Travis’s mother. Ruth takes care of the Youngers’ small apartment. She is about thirty, but her weariness makes her seem older. Themes  A Raisin in the Sun is about dreams, as the main characters struggle to deal with the oppressive circumstances that rule their lives.  Every member of the Younger family has a separate, individual dream  The Youngers struggle to attain these dreams throughout the play, and much of their happiness and depression is directly related to their attainment of, or failure to attain, these dreams. Themes Continued…  Dreams and Deferred Dreams  Needing to Fight Racial Discrimination and Stereotypes  The Importance of Family & Unity  Love and Trust vs. Deceit and Selfishness  The Home  Don’t Sell Out Symbols  “Eat Your Eggs”  Beneatha’s Hair  Mama’s Plant  Money  And many others… Keep your eyes peeled and your mind open… The meaning of these symbols change throughout the play. Use your imagination!