A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A Raisin in the Sun set

          Summary: This story takes place in the small apartment of the Youngers family, which has 3 generations living in just a few rooms. Just before the play begins, the patriarch of the family, Mr. Younger, has passed away, and the family is expecting to receive an insurance check. Mama wants to buy a new house for the family with the money. Walter wants to buy into a liquor store with a couple of men with the money. He believes that if they buy into a business it will solve their financial concerns indefinitely. His wife, Ruth, agrees with Mama, and Beneatha wants to pay her college tuition with it. Beneatha is also very interested in African culture, and wishes the family was interested in this too. Ruth discovers she is pregnant but fears this new baby will put too much pressure on the family. When she admits that she is considering abortion, Walter says nothing, and Mama puts the down payment on a house in an entirely white neighborhood. Before moving in, the neighborhood sends Mr. Linder to pay the family to move to another neighborhood. The family rejects the deal, and at the end of the play they are moving out to this house despite knowing the persecution they will likely face.

            Problems: The only problem I predict is the notion of abortion. However, this is never actually discussed in detail, nor does the family go through with it. Instead, the family chooses to bring the baby to term and fulfill their dreams no matter what. I don't know who would have a problem with that!

            Purpose and Educational Significance: One of the reasons I feel this is an important work to include is because it is a play. The majority of the works in this anthology are either novels or short stories, both of which my students will have been exposed to several times. Plays, however, are discussed less frequently in literature class, and I want to make sure my students have an opportunity to be exposed to many different types of literature.

            This story definitely opens the door for a discussion on race theory. Beneatha opens the door for a class discussion on Neo-Africanism. Again, I don’t want to go into race theory deeply, but I want my students to understand the historical and social context this theory was developed. I would also like the to put themselves in Beneatha’s shoes. Would they ever consider going back to their ancestral home, especially if they had no relatives immediately from there and had no connection to the people, culture, or language?

            Additionally, I would like to talk about the names of the characters. Why is Beneatha named so? It is because she is socially suppressed as a woman, a black, or a black woman? Or is it related to how her family sometimes (depending on the character) views her education or her aspirations to embrace African culture? Is Ruth somehow like the Ruth in the bible, going and doing whatever her mother-in-law and husband want? Walter Jr is obviously an homage to his father; what can that tell us about how his parents view him?

            Most importantly, I want to talk about the historical context this play was written. Hansberry wrote this play after her own family went to court regarding racial discrimination in a housing contract. Her family had to fight to even be heard by the court. Hansberry reflected on this time:

Lorraine Hansberry

"25 years ago, [my father] spent a small personal fortune, his considerable talents, and many years of his life fighting, in association with NAACP attorneys, Chicago’s ‘restrictive covenants’ in one of this nation's ugliest ghettos. That fight also required our family to occupy disputed property in a hellishly hostile ‘white neighborhood’ in which literally howling mobs surrounded our house… My memories of this ‘correct’ way of fighting white supremacy in America include being spat at, cursed and pummeled in the daily trek to and from school. And I also remember my desperate and courageous mother, patrolling our household all night with a loaded German Luger (pistol), doggedly guarding her four children, while my father fought the respectable part of the battle in the Washington court."

Clearly, this experience heavily influenced the play.

Book cover

           To read about her family’s fight in court, click here.                      Click here for a more general biography.

            For essay questions click here and here.

            For a discussion on theme, click here.

            A character map can be found here. 

            Click here to read an analysis of the dialogue. It explains why the characters realistically speak a pidgin English and how a language like that develops.

            For an analysis of the three versions of the play, the play, the screen write, and the American Playhouse rendition, click here.

            For a glossary on terms and phrases, click here.