The Staging of Two Plays - Essay Example

A Raisin in the Sun vs. Othello Certain aspects in Othello by William Shakespeare and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry have similarities, while there are also several differences in some other aspects of the two plays. The theme, plot, characterization, genre and setting of the two plays bear some similarities and differences and some of these shall be analyzed in this paper. Lorraine Hansberry and William Shakespeare did well in putting these wonderful plays together as the manner at which the plot was given alludes to this fact. Argument and clashes were evident in the two plays as the Youngers family clashed over their different plans on how to spend the $10, 000 that was gotten from the insurance policy of the deceased Mr. Younger, who was the patriarch of the family (Hansberry). In Othello, there was also a sort of argument between Roderigo, who was a man of affluence and Iago as they argued over the fact that Iago did not inform Roderigo that Desdomona was being bethrothed secretly to Othello, a Moorish general after Roderigo had already paid Iago for a suit on Desdomona (Shakespeare 1-3). While the Youngers family argued over their passion and how to spend the money that was gotten from the insurance policy, Roderigo argued with Iago over the love he had for a lady, Desdomona. The sister of the protagonist of the play, A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha refused to marry her suitor, George Murchinson, but rather chose to accept the marriage proposal of Joseph Asagai, who is a Nigerian and this is quite similar to what happened in Othello as Desdemona refused to yield to the advances of Roderigo but chose to elope with Othello, who was also a dark-skinned man like Joseph Asagai in A Raisin in the Sun. There are however sharp differences in the way events unfolded in the two plays as Othello ends in tragedy with the dream of Othello and Desdomona shattered after Othello killed Desdomona for her suspected unfaithfulness, while Othello himself committed suicide (Shakespeare), A Raisin in the Sun on the other hand did not end in tragedy and saw some dreams fulfilled, with Mama, the matriarch of the play achieving the dream she shared with her husband, though it could be argued that the fulfillment of the dreams of most of the characters were incomplete, but the fact remains that most of them achieved their heart desires. Looking at the theme of the two plays, it would be seen that the theme of A Raisin in the Sun is centered on the essence of dreams as the Youngers family tried to achieve their dreams; it is also centered on the importance of fighting racial discrimination and the usefulness of a family in knitting a society together. The theme of Othello is centered on the incompatibility of the society with military heroism and love and it also focuses on the problems that come with being isolated. It is evident from the themes of the two plays that they are both centered on unity and diversity. The issue of race is common in the two plays, in A Raisin in the Sun as The Youngers family had to struggle with the racial segregation and prejudice that was in existence during the 1950s in the United States at that time, Othello and Desdemona had to deal with the fact that they were from different races as this issue stood in their way of trying to build a life together. In terms of settings, A Raisin in the Sun was set between 1945 and 1959, while Othello was set between 1601 and 1604, meaning that A Raisin in the Sun took place for about fifteen years, while Othello took place for about four years. This shows that there is over three centuries between them with Raisin in the Sun being more recent than Othello. The place that the story of Raisin in the Sun took place was in the South Side of Chicago, while Othello took place in Venice and some parts took place in the island of Cyprus. The two plays were written in English Language. Othello took place during the time of war between Venice and Turkey in the late sixteenth century, while A Raisin in the Sun was written at a period following the Second World War amidst growing racial tension in the United States of America. A Raisin in the Sun is a play and the genre is Realist drama, while Othello is an also a play but it is of a tragedy genre. Lorrain Hansberry is realistic in her narration of A Raisin in the Sun, while William Shakespeare could be described as viewing the events in Othello as tragic and he also used elements of heroism and nobility in the play, for example the marriage between Othello and Desdemona was described by Shakespeare as heroic and noble. The tone of A Raisin in the Sun could be described as being more realistic as it was more like the autobiography of Lorraine Hansberry, but Othello has some fictional element in it like monsters, demons and hells. Though, it could be argued that monsters, hell and demons exists, but the fact remains that these elements as described in Othello are the illusionary creation of William Shakespeare and they exist in a realm above the natural. In terms of characterization, the protagonist of A Raisin in the Sun is Walter Lee Younger and the protagonist of Othello is King Othello himself. It should be noted that the major characters of the two plays shared something in common and this was in the colour of their skins as they were both dark-skinned. A Raisin in the Sun presented black characters as it represented the lives of the African Americans in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States, while Othello presented the protagonist of the play as a Moorish general, which means that he was a dark-skinned man. Hansberry used the character of the Nigerian, Joseph Asagai to represent the African heritage and Shakespeare also uses the character of Othello to show the strength of the people of the black colour as Othello led several wars in the play. The character of Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun also represents the feminist perspective of the play as she was driven by career rather than marriage and this shows that a the pursuit of career goals is more important for a woman than marriage, while considering the period when Othello was written as women never really played any real role in the society, the importance of career was not really important in the character of Desdomona, but she was used to show the sexuality of women as several men like: Iago, Roderigo and Othello himself tried to woe her with only Othello becoming successful. It has been shown that there are certain similarities and differences between the plays, A Raisin in the Sun and Othello. The former had a happier ending than the latter as Othello utterly ended in tragedy, while A Raisin in the Sun saw the realization of some people’s dreams. Othello was centered on love and the betrayal of love as Othello had the feeling that Desdomona betrayed the love he had for her and as such killed her, while the importance of love in A Raisin in the Sun was clear as it was love that really kept the family together, for if it was not for the love in the family, the different dreams that the characters in A Raisin in the Sun would have torn the family apart. Works Cited Hansberry, Lorraine. A raisin in the sun. New York: Random House, Inc., 1994. Shakespeare, William. Othello. New York: Penguin Classics, 1968. Read More