Problems of African Americans in the Play Raisins in the Sun - Book Report/Review Example

Introduction

A raisin in the Sun is a work by one of the greatest and most influential authors, Lorraine Hansberry. The play came into public in 1959 and gained popularity in different parts of America and other parts of the world. The information in the play is very influential as it incorporates various aspects concerning family life and racism, among other elements, which has made it accessible to many people. This has made it to be read even today due to the message it portrays to the people. In this paper, I will be focusing on the different aspects and themes evident in the play and which Lorraine Hansberry tried to pass through to the audience.

Focusing on a short plot of the play, there are the main characters who have acted in the entire play: Walter, Travis, ruth younger, Lena, who is the mother to Walter and other actors who have played different significant roles in the play.

At the start of the play, the author tries to show a sense of poverty. This is in that Walter’s family was living in a dilapidated apartment which has two bedrooms. Comparing the number of people in the family and the size of the house showed that there were many congestions, which is one of the greatest shows of poverty in the family. With this level of debt, ruth younger, the wife to Walter seems to be satisfied with the current situation of the family but to the side of Walter, being a limousine driver, feels uncomfortable with the case in the family and aspires to wealthier shortly and take his family out of this poverty. Many occasions occur in the entire play, including marriage proposals and migrations, which are surrounded by incidences of racism and discrimination according to the statements made by the different characters in the play (Čerče pg. 229- 235).

Lorraine Hansberry

Lorraine Hansberry is one of the greatest playwrights who have written some of the most important and famous plays, including the one under discussion in this paper. Lorraine was born on May 19th, 1930, and died on January 12th, 1965. She has made many achievements regarding writing and making plays. One of Lorraine's significant results is that she emerged the first African American whose work was sold and reached many areas across the world and impacted much on the lives of the people. This is the reason that made her much famous due to her creativity in indirectly addressing racial discrimination and other challenges that the families and more so those of African Americans were facing from time to time. An excellent example of the play which she wrote and which brought about significant impact in the society, is the raisin in the Sun, which sheds light on the lifestyle of the African Americans living in Chicago, and who have been exposed to massive racial discrimination by the whites in the regions, and which has made their lives harder. The title of the play tries to figure out what happens to deferred dream and seeking to evaluate whether is dies or dries up, or it will at one point come tries even if it takes a longer time to become real (King pg. 53-58).

The great migration

The great migration was the massive movement of the African Americans from the areas, such as rural areas to the urban cities of north and other areas. There were more than six million African Americans who were forced to migrate during the great migration and which was a show of the kind of suffering they were facing, which triggered them to migrate to those areas from time to time. In the areas where they were living, different factors did not favor their living there. Therefore they decided to move to the other regions which looked much safer. They felt that they would live a happier life than before, and thereby being a solution that they came into conclusion and decided to migrate. Some of the significant challenges the African Americans faced in the rural south included that of economic crisis and the laws there were too much segregate. They only favored the whites in the community and overlooked the needs of the African Americans in the region. In terms of the job opportunities, the African Americans were denied the job opportunities, and as a result, they were only given the jobs with the lowest pay. The amount of money they were being paid was not enough to cater to the needs of the family, and therefore there were exposed to much suffering in terms of poverty. Therefore, most of them felt unsatisfied with the conditions they were being exposed to, and they decided to migrate to the other regions, which seemed to be better (Čerče pg. 229- 235).

This was also the case in A Raisin in the Sun, where Walter was just a driver, and all the family members depended on him for the different financial needs. This way, they lived below the poverty level and therefore aspiring to have a better life. Consequently, it seems that Walter’s family was among those families involved in the great migrations of the African Americans from those areas where they were facing the oppression and racial discrimination and where they wanted to go to a place where they have equal treatment as the other people. The whites at that time were imposing the African Americas to massive oppressions and which made the life of the African Americans worse of than before and therefore some of the African Americans inspired the other people through different ways such as writing among other forms, which made them migrate from that regions to the north, where they felt that would be much better than the current situation which they were going through. One of the characters in the play that people will be reading in the newspapers soon on a family that has been bombed was a powerful statement that showed the suffering the African Americans were going through. This means that there was minimal coordination between the African Americans and the whites, as the whites felt that they were more superior to the black Americans who were living there during that time. Even the white’s felts that they were more superior as compared to the African Americans, and thereby they exposed them to massive suffering including denying them the opportunity to get well-paid jobs even in the incidence where they were in a position to undertake those jobs effectively (King pg. 53-58).

Some of the laws in the region were oppressive to African Americans and allowed the violation of African Americans' rights. The legislation seemed to favor the application of racism in the regions. This is what made the whites take advantage of discriminating African Americans based on their race. This was evident in Walter’s family's lifestyle, which was in a locality surrounded by the whites and the kinds of treatment that those people were imposing to the family. It reached a point where some of the family members claimed that it would be better to migrate to Nigeria. This is a result of the kind of suffering which those people were being exposed to during that time and which made them find a solution to find a new place where there are no such oppressions from time to time. Comparing the size of the family and the needs of everyone in the family compared to the income of the provider who was Walter, there was much suffering to those people. Therefore Walter was being stressed in the way to handle the problems of finances facing the family. That significantly contributed to the family's decision to move to other places where they get better living conditions and have a friendly community that treats them with utmost dignity without much discrimination in terms of their race as they experienced before (Nathaniel pg 75-82).

Racism and views on blackness

In the early and mid-20th century, there was massive racism in American and which applied mainly to the African Americans or the black Americans who lived in the region. The concept of racism is where one race seems to feel superior to other races, thereby imposing them on massive oppressions and denying them an opportunity to access the services and other resources in the region. Racism was severe in the early and mid-20th century in America. Most African Americans even died and starved from the challenges they faced out of racial discrimination in the region. One of the primary reasons that led to the migrations of the people to the other areas in the period of great migrations was mainly due to racism, which imposed African Americans to massive oppression (Nathaniel pg 75-82).

During that time, being black meant that an individual is useless and has no value in the community. Therefore, African Americans were denied privileges such as access to well-paid job opportunities to cater to their needs and the needs of their families. They were only allowed to take place in hard jobs and where they were poorly paid in such a way that they could not even afford to pay for their bills and cater adequately for the family needs during that time. The first and well-paying jobs were unique for the whites, and it was like a taboo to find an African American working in those areas. This was a massive violation of human rights and more do to African Americans.

The view of blackness was a form of the curse, where being black automatically denied many individual opportunities, including access to proper education. In schools, some schools were purely for the whites, and no African American student was allowed to get into those schools. Also, the kind of learning that was going on in those schools seemed very different from those in the other schools of African Americans. That showed the kind of inequality present to those people and showed that racism was highly practiced in those areas. Some of the African Americans even regretted being born as African Americans. They claimed that they would instead be born whites to enjoy all those privileges they were denied because they were from a different race, which seemed to be inferior (Nathaniel pg. 75-82).

Also, as stated earlier, some discriminative laws were put in place during that time, mainly aimed at oppressing African Americans and denying them equal opportunities just like the other Americans. That significantly negatively impacted the lives of the African Americans and was one of the primary reasons for the great migration from those areas to other areas, which seemed to be a bit favorable for the lives of the people in that regard. That negative view of being a black really led to much suffering and increased the feeling of inferiority to the African Americans and therefore, may of them aspired to go back to their mother continent, where they will live freely and happily without such kind of oppression and lack of opportunities (King pg. 53-58).

In the play, there are evident incidences of racism coming out, which exist between African Americans and whites and blacks. An excellent example of this kind of discrimination is Lena's younger. After getting insurance of $10000, she uses a large proportion of the money to buy an apartment for the family and is in a neighborhood of the whites. On seeing this, Mr. Lindner warns the family that that is a whites' territory, and they are not happy about the family coming to that place. To offer them a solution, Lindner offers a more considerable amount than the deposit, denying it. The reaction Walter towards Lindner is a clear indication of racism as despite all that help, he is not happy at him at all (Čerče pg. 229- 235).

Why Hansberry chose those characters

The pursuit of the American dream was not an easy deal, and that means that it requires an individual who is much involved in the entire process and is focused and determined to archive the dream. In her play, Hansberry chooses Walter as one of the main characters in the play and plays a significant role in the achievement of the dream from time to time in the entire play. I would like to have an insight on some of the possible reasons which might have made the author undertake to chose Walter as the only individual to take part in pursuing the dream despite his social class as well as the family background. Looking at Walter, he is from a humble background and is living below the poverty levels compared to the other families in the regions belonging to the whites. Despite having too many responsibilities to accomplish in his life and catering to the needs of the family, Walter does not have a good job. Still, he is just a limousine driver whose salary cannot adequately cater to the family's needs. Despite all these challenges he is facing, the author decides to use him as the main character in the attempt to archive the dream (Nathaniel pg. 75-82).

One of the significant reasons the author chooses Walter is the determination that has in the future. From his plans, Walter is not satisfied with the current condition he Is in despite the other people such as ruth, who seem to be satisfied with their current situation. To Walter's side, he is determined to invest in the future, which gives him a broad knowledge to alleviate the poverty levels in the family. For one to archive an absolute dream, there must be that sense of determination to that kind of an individual and which makes the individual have a sense of focus in life. Therefore, I think that is one of the primary reasons which made Hansberry use him as a significant character in archiving the dream. Walter seems to be healthy and firm in his activities, and this gives him the power to make firm decisions on his behalf and behalf of the entire family when he leads. Therefore, for that reason, he has shown the ability to be successful in his dealings from time to time (King pg. 56-60).

Beneatha has a great dream of becoming a doctor to rescuer her race. However, many challenges she is having from time to time, such as lack of money and the first assumption of the community as the role of a woman, are to get a family and not pursue careers. For that reason, she has the potential of archiving the dream is she becomes a doctor as it has been her long-time dream. On the other hand, Asagai seems to be focused on changing the situation in his society. He claims that learned people are rare to find in society by using that opportunity to claim that he has the potential to go back to his community and positively impact them. The significant aspects he wants to go and address in her home community include the political and societal landscape of the community. He has a strong belief that he has the potential to make a difference in his home country. Therefore, in archiving of such a dream ensures that the entire American dream is archived at large and, therefore, that makes him an essential character in the play (Čerče pg. 225- 237).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the play A raisin in the Sun by Hansberry stands to be one of the most influential plays and which has information cornering the African Americans, which the kind of challenges which they faced concerning racism and other discriminations. The play tries to show how people were suffering and how they migrated from one area to another in search of a place where they would have fair treatment and have an opportunity to work and take care of their families. Therefore, in can term the play as a historical play that can be used by the future generations in referring to that their ancestors when through.

Work cited

Čerče, Danica. "Race and politics in the twentieth-century Black American play: Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun." Neohelicon 46.1 (2019): 227-239.

King, Eric S. "African Americans and the Crisis of Modernity: An Interpretation of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun." Ethnic Studies Review 41.1-2 (2018): 53-60.

Nathaniel, Ojima Sunday, Francis Ibe Mogu, and Winnie Zana Akpagu. "A new historicist analysis of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro." Swati: A Journal of Contemporary Research 13.2 (2016): 75-86.

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The whites at that time were imposing the African Americas to massive oppressions and which made the life of the African Americans worse of than before and therefore some of the African Americans inspired the other people through different ways such as writing among other forms, which made them migrate from that regions to the north, where they felt that would be much better than the current situation which they were going through. One of the characters in the play that people will be reading in the newspapers soon on a family that has been bombed was a powerful statement that showed the suffering the African Americans were going through. This means that there was minimal coordination between the African Americans and the whites, as the whites felt that they were more superior to the black Americans who were living there during that time. Even the white’s felts that they were more superior as compared to the African Americans, and thereby they exposed them to massive suffering including denying them the opportunity to get well-paid jobs even in the incidence where they were in a position to undertake those jobs effectively (King pg. 53-58).

Some of the laws in the region were oppressive to African Americans and allowed the violation of African Americans' rights. The legislation seemed to favor the application of racism in the regions. This is what made the whites take advantage of discriminating African Americans based on their race. This was evident in Walter’s family's lifestyle, which was in a locality surrounded by the whites and the kinds of treatment that those people were imposing to the family. It reached a point where some of the family members claimed that it would be better to migrate to Nigeria. This is a result of the kind of suffering which those people were being exposed to during that time and which made them find a solution to find a new place where there are no such oppressions from time to time. Comparing the size of the family and the needs of everyone in the family compared to the income of the provider who was Walter, there was much suffering to those people. Therefore Walter was being stressed in the way to handle the problems of finances facing the family. That significantly contributed to the family's decision to move to other places where they get better living conditions and have a friendly community that treats them with utmost dignity without much discrimination in terms of their race as they experienced before (Nathaniel pg 75-82).

Racism and views on blackness

In the early and mid-20th century, there was massive racism in American and which applied mainly to the African Americans or the black Americans who lived in the region. The concept of racism is where one race seems to feel superior to other races, thereby imposing them on massive oppressions and denying them an opportunity to access the services and other resources in the region. Racism was severe in the early and mid-20th century in America. Most African Americans even died and starved from the challenges they faced out of racial discrimination in the region. One of the primary reasons that led to the migrations of the people to the other areas in the period of great migrations was mainly due to racism, which imposed African Americans to massive oppression (Nathaniel pg 75-82).

During that time, being black meant that an individual is useless and has no value in the community. Therefore, African Americans were denied privileges such as access to well-paid job opportunities to cater to their needs and the needs of their families. They were only allowed to take place in hard jobs and where they were poorly paid in such a way that they could not even afford to pay for their bills and cater adequately for the family needs during that time. The first and well-paying jobs were unique for the whites, and it was like a taboo to find an African American working in those areas. This was a massive violation of human rights and more do to African Americans. Read More