Buy essays on Dissension & Divisive Dreams

The outstanding American writer Lorraine Hansberry, became the first black woman, whose writing A Raisin in the Sun was produced on Broadway. This play won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and was called the best play of the year. The author did really brilliant job in presenting the bright individuals, irrespective of their racial background, Hansberry once said: “All art is ultimately social: that which agitates and that which prepares the mind for slumber,” (Lubell, 13). The play was also highly evaluated by other critics, namely James Baldwin wrote “…in order for a person to bear his life, he needs a valid re-creation of that life, which is why, as Ray Charles might put it, blacks chose to sing the blues. This is why Raisin in the Sun meant so much to black people – on the stage: the film is another matter. In the theater, a current flowed back and forth between the audience and the actors, flesh and blood corroborating flesh and blood – as we say, testifying…” (Lubell, 123).
A Raisin in the Sun is a fascinating story about one family, about their relations, about their dreams and life goals and finally about the great gap between these aims and dreams, which led to deterioration of family bonds.
Money plays an important role in life of most people, as it has the power to help people to fulfill their dreams and wishes it has also a great influence upon human relations and behavior in many life situations. Rather often money unites people, or on the contrary is able to ruin the strongest family or friendly bonds between individuals. Unfortunately, the human nature is built in such a way, that in most cases money stands between people, rather than unites them. The author of A Raisin in the Sun investigated the problems, related to gaining money and fulfillment of dreams against a background of family relations. Hansberry investigates the degree of influence, the money is able to have, upon one family and the family problems, caused by it. In the play the readers find the example of the situation, when money brings unhappiness instead of stability and prosperity. Actually all members of the Younger family are unexpectedly involved into the struggle for their dreams, actually the struggle for money. Mama, as the main female character of the story, used to teach the lessons of morals, claiming, that freedom is the key point of living. For Walter, the male head of the family, money is related to more materially-minded happiness. For him money is an integral part of everybody’s life and is first of all means for becoming happy and satisfied with life conditions. For Walter money is also the means for impressing Travis, instead of teaching him any morality issues. Walter’s dreams were limited to having enough money for opening a liquor store. According to his theory, money is somewhere close to the basis of the whole life and relations between individuals. Thus one of the key conflicts, depicted by the author is the confrontation of such life ideals as freedom and the power of money. Finally the Mama’s check, which could make this family happy and help these people, turns out to become the main sticking point for the relations between the members of the Younger family. The check makes them reveal their worst sides and qualities, which are the reflections of the money influence. Certainly the money is not the key theme of the play, rather the possible effect, it might have on people’s actions, choices and characters. Thus A Raisin in the Sun remains actual for many generations after it has been written, presenting an important life lesson to many readers.
One of the main aims of the author was also to introduce the life of a black family, namely of a poor black family, as before the issues, related to lives of such families in Africa, never received such a wide investigation. s
In order to provide a better understanding of the life of black people, Hansberry uses her heroes, as for example Asagai or even Beneatha for introducing the history, culture, political life of Africa to the readers. “Even the character of George Murchison glorifies, by default, the ancient African civilizations when he derisively mentions “the African past,” “the Great West African Heritage,” “the great Ashanti empires,” “the great Songhay civilizations,” “the great sculpture of Benin,” and “poetry in the Bantu.” (Weaver, 111).
The structure of the play is very close to the classical European form, namely there are three acts in the play with their corresponding distinct scenes. However, most critics agree, that there are the features of the absurdist dramas – namely the scene, when Walter Lee is drunk and he sees the African dancing, which unexpectedly recalls his memories, related to African past and African culture, as if he has been a part of this culture himself.
As it was already mentioned, as soon as the check, not the freedom, described by the Mama, becomes the real center of the Younger family’s life, there are a lot of problems appearing in their relations. Walter used to be a rather good father, but by the end of the play he seems to have lost the control. He starts to think, that the most important lesson for Travis would be teaching him, how to become rich and to enjoy the benefits of money – when the boy wants to find a job to earn some money, Walter gives him the money with the words “In fact, here’s another fifty cents… Buy yourself some fruit today or take a taxicab to school or something!”(Hansberry, 30). This is one of the moments, when the boy is deprived of his freedom of choice, whereas his father thinks, that he provides this freedom to his son. Walter probably realizes, that the ideals, praised by Mama have the stronger position, but he still agues with her about the position of money in life: “OH – so now it’s life? Money is life. Once open a time freedom used to be life – now it’s money. I guess the world really do change…” Walter then explains with confidence, “No- it was always money, Mama. We just didn’t know about it.”(Hansberry, 74).
Overall, we can conclude, that the play by Lorraine Hansberry A Raisin in the Sun is a profound and deeply emotional piece of writing, which is able to reveal the important insight to the readers – that there are priceless values in life, and irrespective of everything, what can be bought for money, these values never lose their importance to all people. These values include friendly and family bonds and relations, the power of dreams, moral and physical freedom and so on.

Works cited:

Hansberry, L. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Lubell, S. White and Black: Test of a Nation. New York: Harper & Row, 196

Weaver, R. C. The Negro Ghetto. New York: Russell and Russell, 1948.