Racism In A Raisin In The Sun

Words: 600
Pages: 3
Open Document
A Raisin In the Sun
A Raisin in the Sun is a play set in the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s. It focuses on the lives and tribulations of the Younger family. Three of the four working-age Youngers hold full-time service jobs. Lena Younger works as a maid/nanny for a white family. Ruth works from home doing laundry for other families, and Walter Lee is a chauffer for a wealthy white man. The Youngers work constantly and very hard and are still living in poverty. Racism is blatant in this play. Cars owned by black people will get tickets for parking in places that white people’s cars will not. Carl Lindner, who is merely racism personified, visits the Youngers and bribes them to stay out of an all-white neighborhood. When the Younger family declines the offer and at the climax of the play and move into their new house, the white neighbors are angry and disgusted that a color family is moving in near them.

The Younger family lives in a common 1950s tenement, which included entire families living in one to two-bedroom apartments with a shared bathroom on each floor. These apartments were small and run-down, and were made especially crowded by the large …show more content…
Colored people were not welcome in white neighborhoods, and got tickets for things white people did not. Now, however, the racism in Chicago, mostly in the form of fatal police shootings. Chicago has one of the highest police brutality rates of anywhere in the county. So, while racism is present in both eras, today’s is understated, which, I believe, is worse. Other aspects of the modern South Side, however, are improving. The rate of violent crime is down and continuing to drop. So, while racism is present in both time periods, the fact that is was more obvious in the 1950s made it easier to combat. Living conditions may have improved, but poverty is still unusually high. Because of this, I believe that racial equality has, in fact, not improved since the
Show More

Related Documents: Racism In A Raisin In The Sun

Raisin In The Sun Racism

1. Why do you think Hansberry titled the play "A Raisin in the Sun"? What happens in Acts I and II of the play that suggest something about the title? Explain. In Hansberry’s play “A Rising in the Sun” the Act I and II describe how the African-Americans were living? The confined space the poverty and the struggle to get ahead. Hansberry did a wonder full job in detailing the small apartment in which conditions are ideal for hygiene. It also discusses the ideological tensions among the individuals…

Words 538 - Pages 3

Examples Of Racism In A Raisin In The Sun

Racism. No opportunities. Struggle for acceptance. This is what African Americans had to deal with back in the 1950s. They fought through racism for their opportunities and struggled for acceptance in society. The play A Raisin in the Sun, created by Lorraine Hansberry, explains how a family lives through these tough times for African Americans. Walter Lee Younger, a naive, selfish, and money hungry man, wants to own a business to make a better life for himself. He will try to convince his family…

Words 660 - Pages 3

A Raisin In The Sun And Zoot Suit Racism

The Tones of Racism Racism is an ongoing issue that affects the social, economy, and the justice system. During the 20th century, there were tons of racial tension in America, which would spark new social movements. Moreover, playwrights Lorraine Hansberry and Luis Valdez would incorporate these racial issues into their plays. A Raisin in the Sun and Zoot Suit utilizes racial tones that are both similar. However, the differences are Hansberrry focuses on the social racial issues while Valdez emphasizes…

Words 696 - Pages 3

Racism In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

through, but they know about is the racism against African Americans. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry portrays this not just perfectly, but flawlessly to the readers. The reader not only can imagine how the racism was back then, and still to this day, but Lorraine makes us, the reader, feel exactly how the characters felt when acting this play out, and after publishing it and even reading about it. During the times of the civil rights movement, racism was at it’s highest and African Americans…

Words 1535 - Pages 7

Essay Martin Luther King

English II 17 March 2015 A Raisin in the Sun & “ I Have a Dream” The play, A Raisin in the Sun portrays the life of a colored family that have had many issues with racism within society. The problems that they have faced have also been shown and mentioned in “ I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King. Both works contribute to the same idea that life for Black Americans were very different than those of White Americans. Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun , and Martin Luther King’s…

Words 805 - Pages 4

A Raisin In The Sun Critical Essay

A Raisin In The Sun critical analysis A Raisin In The Sun was the first play/book written by a woman of African descent about a black family which was later was showed on Broadway. Back in the 1950s, the city of Chicago was segregated much like other cities and states in the United States. This is the time period in which the book A Raisin In The Sun was set during. Critics and analysts have taken their time to put forth their input on the book A Raisin In The Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry.…

Words 614 - Pages 3

A Raisin In The Sun Essay

Dreams are something that everyone has. No matter the age, time period, race, or part of the world they may be from every person has a dream. In “A Raisin in the Sun” the author tells a story of deferred dreams and the way one family tries to cope with everyday life when their dreams seem unattainable. Through her use of literary elements like symbolism, conflict, and setting Lorraine Hansberry is able to clearly demonstrate her theme of deferred dreams. Through the use of symbolism Hansberry is…

Words 886 - Pages 4

Gender Roles In A Raisin In The Sun

Americans have suffered from an assortment of social issues from education, to racism, to poverty. Social issues are a common conflict that influences individuals within a society, these are characterized by a large amount of the population recognizing the problem as a valid concern. Today people are more open about expressing their opinions and how they might feel about a situation. However, a 1959 play “A Raisin In The Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry explores different social issues that are almost easy…

Words 560 - Pages 3

Raisin In The Sun Essay

Raisin In The Sun—The Continually Compelling Drama Raisin In The Sun—a play written by Lorraine Hansberry—appeared nearly 50 years ago on Broadway. Raisin In The Sun confronts, racism, grief, power struggle, gender discrimination and the thirst for money all within a two-hour play. The themes discussed previously are still very prevalent in today’s society, as they were to the characters in the play; which makes Raisin In The sun a continually compelling drama today. Throughout Hansberry’s play…

Words 420 - Pages 2

Prejudice In William Hazlitt's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

once said by William Hazlitt and most accurately describes how racism towards African Americans has been handled; with ignorance. William Hazlitt an English writer, as well as a social commentator and philosopher, believed that racism towards African Americans was the result of the un-educated not realizing the color of one’s skin is just pigmentation and nothing more; it does not determine mental capacity and or ones morals etc. Racism and prejudice towards African Americans has been present before…

Words 968 - Pages 4