The Connection Between Freedom in American History and the Freedom of A Raisin in the Sun - Essay Example

  The Connection between freedom in American history and the freedom of " A Raisin in the Sun" A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that unveiled in 1959 on Broadway (Hill and James, 376). The label is derived from the rhyme "Harlem" by Langston Hughes. The tale is found upon a black family experiences in Chicagos Woodlawn neighborhood and I will discuss this in the light of personal freedom. The play illustrates us this reality as a vision getting higher in the sun regardless of all the societal prejudice and racism. The idea struggles not to dry out the heat of daily routine and accomplish its aspiration that made black Americans existence miserable. It takes us back to the instance of late 1950s. When plenty of capital that emerged from the post WW II phase allowed numerous black Americans to at last realize the American dream of possessing their personal accommodation. Hansberry´s play explains us the image of the typical black family unit struggling to pull off this fantasy in the middle of all the unfairness and ethnic limitations established in the town of Chicago. According to inter ethnic study in 1944, rental fee in black vicinity was fifteen to fifty percent costlier than those for white family units with identical cover in white locality. The most vital feature in the societal discrimination was the lofty price of the rental fee and ownership of houses for black American family units. Black family units living in white locality were charged similar figure or sometime even extra. Not simply was the rental fee steep but also the fee of purchasing a new house was unbelievably more costly for black family units. These restrictions confined black family units in the black ghetto; they also restricted the employment opportunities for black American family units. Whereas, white family units had riches to conserve for their family schooling or to purchase their own homes; the black American family units had to pay out nearly all their earnings in the rental fee, leaving small to no cash for their family schooling or to purchase their own homes. The American dreams core is to be the owner of a house. Owning a personal house offers the sense of steadiness and safety, what was almost unattainable for black Americans to accomplish in the 1950s. It also liberates us from being coupled to a rental fee which results in more financial independence. The freedom to get tax reductions, credits, save cash for our kids schooling, and health requirements. Not simply the rental fee and sum of a residence was exceptionally more costly for blacks but also the superior post and stipends were set aside only for whites in the 1950s. This communal reality is evidently replicated in the play through the personality of Walter Jr. & life of his father, who had worn-out his whole life working hard regardless of accomplishing anything. The lofty price of rental fee combined with the educational inequity, employment, and low wages plunged the black populace into despair. In the play the subject is discussed very comprehensively as the Younger’s purchase a residence in a white locality. Accommodations in black vicinity were twice the cost and their vision is to escape their shabby dwelling. In this argue; Hansberry sketch the favoritism assembled into accommodation in Chicago & other town locale. So, they purchased the home in the white locality and are ecstatic, but their joy is brief as Mr. Lindner turn-up and tries to talk them out of moving in to which the Youngers retaliated. A Raisin in the Sun is a brilliant exemplar of the association between character & conflict i.e. the barrier in the way of a personality for getting what they desire. These personalities have distinct wishes which are extremely essential to them. Walter wishes to be wealthy since that is a sign of achievement. Beneatha desires to be a medical doctor as she has an aspiration to cure. Ruth & Mama yearn for harmony for their kin. Mama wishes Walter to rise and be in charge of the unit. The most challenging hindrance that blocks a person from optimism is personal conflict. Hansberry undergoes inner conflict by this stage. It proves to be hard for her to address this conflict and face it. Walter is also stuck in a viscous circle as his approach to attaining his dreams is applying shortcuts. His aim is success and being rich by devising a scheme that could make him rich overnight. Such schemes are bound to fail time and again. When Beneatha feels she deserved to be entitled as a doctor and this title is not granted to her, she reacts by ceasing to help people. Walter finds Ruth always in a sour mood with him which worsens when she finds out she is pregnant. Under such circumstances Mama gets desperate and tells Walter to face the circumstances boldly. This turns out to be an unwise advice. Furthermore, it is depicted that characters consciously take extra measures to deal with their hindrances to achieve their goals. Mama moves out to a white neighborhood to maintain peace in her family. Walter starts off his business with the money his sister kept for school. He also acts hostile towards Clybourne Park neighborhoods association to get money from them. Ruth considers aborting the baby to avoid future issues in life. This play proved to be ahead of its time. The depiction of abuse that black people faced in their day to day life makes people understand what a tough time was given to them. Particularly when one considers that a culture was developing to protect the civil rights of people, it becomes hard to realize how the implementation affected people in those times. The reader is touched by Mamas feelings for her folks and her hard work for them to have a better life. This was depicted by not allowing Travis to sleep on the couch and Beneatha to select medicine as a profession but she should be mindful not to over speak. Beneathas feels an annoyance with the old ways of her mother. Her brothers conventional matrimony is also felt by the reader to be troublesome. The reader realizes that she is an idealist but still is inclined to believe as she does. Walter being angry seems the right thing for the reader but his anger is an obstacle for letting him progress. Similarly the reader feels the frustration of Ruth for her husband as justified because they were going to have a baby. The reader wished for Walter’s ideas to work even when they know it is bound to fail. The interesting part is when the family accepts the challenges coming their way embrace it. They realize that theyll have to toil more than ever to keep their house, and that they will in no way mingle into their vicinity. They are prone to facing acts of bigotry openly, but they choose not to injure their dignity and give in to the wishes of Lindner and their locality. The struggle of African Americans is clearly depicted in this play. Hansberry, following her parent’s footsteps, has been very dedicated to the battle for social civil liberties. It contrasts the hardships of the Younger family unit along with the resistance of African Americans in an era where the injustice was just starting to explode. The writer has clearly showed a contrast between the supremacy of whites and the idea of blacks in those times. It is shown without doubt that K. Lindner & Walters boss is at an advantage pertaining to the fact that they are white. Compared to the Youngers, even the blacks who cave in any way are placed better as. An example of this is G. Murchison or W. Harris. It shows how the family unit finds it hard to move ahead in life as the structure of society is against them. The play depicts the writers desire to see blacks pursuing entrepreneurial ventures. Blacks have been so few in number in businesses in 1959 that sociologists took up this concern in academic publications. To see what an accurate view of the coming days the writer had, it is sufficient to see the number of black people who started their own businesses has increased dramatically since 1959. Lorraine Hansberry has presented the idea of women demanding their freedom long before people imagined it. This is done in the form of Beneatha. The nationwide society for Women was founded in the late 1960s. Beneatha like and Hansberry was also a feminist that was uncommon in her time and she dared to place these thoughts into text. Beneatha seems to be in route of unveiling her identity. She making friends with Joseph Asagai is an act that shows her exploration of her own self as she progresses towards womanhood. She desires to be recognized in-dependent of a guy and refuses to lose her identity trying to be someone she is not. It is a classical play based on the life of a contemporary 1950s family. It gives us a closer at the life of black American society at the time, the difficulties, and injustices it faced. It also shows how all these things made their lives difficult until they finally decided to rebel against conformity. Rejecting Mr. Linder´s offer clearly showed how the family acts against racism and discrimination. References Hansberry, Lorraine. Lorraine Hansberrys A raisin in the sun. Samuel French, 1984. Hill, Errol G, and James V. Hatch. A History of African American Theatre. Cambridge [u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004. Print. Read More