Introduction to Lorraine Hansberry’s
A Raisin in the Sun
As you read “A Raisin in the Sun,”
I want you to take special note of
the fact that Hansberry has the
entire play “set” in the apartment.
Yesterday’s viewing had the
revival film director say the
“apartment was the “other
character” in the play, and in the
film he wanted to take the action
outside to add to his own “work”
of art” and make it more film like.
Think about the apartment and
the role it plays in Hansberry’s
piece of work.
•
Some other covenants I thought of since
yesterday:
garage must be attached
no car ports
mail box must be on curb
fence must be wood and no less that 6’
flowerbeds must be maintained
no livestock or non-floral landscaping
grass must not exceed 5”
garage sales require permit
no yard sales
animal waste must be picked up
Why do we read
“A Raisin in the Sun” ?
• It was the first play written by
an African-American woman to
be produced on Broadway. At
age 29, she became the
youngest American playwright
and only the fifth woman to
receive the New York Drama
Critics Circle Award for Best
Play.
Who is Lorraine Hansberry?
• Lorraine Vivian Hansberry
(May 19, 1930 – January 12,
1965 was an African American
playwright and author of
political speeches, letters, and
essays. Her best known work,
A Raisin in the Sun, was
inspired by her family's battle
against racial segregation in
Chicago
Social Background
• Published in 1959, four years
after Rosa Parks’ was arrested
for refusing to give up her seat
to a white person on a bus,
sparking the Civil Rights
Movement, Hansberry’s play
illustrates black America’s
struggle to gain equal access
to opportunity and expression
of cultural identity.
Hansberry vs. Lee
• The US Supreme Court,
on November 13, 1940,
ruled in Hansberry v. Lee
that whites cannot bar
African Americans from
white neighborhoods.
I believe literature is a reflection of our human condition and fiction is
indeed a historical document as evidenced by the beliefs expressed
through the words of the autrhor.
Who is Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes, a native of Joplin, Missouri, became one of the
most popular figures of the Harlem Renaissance. His goal was to write
a truly "Negro" poetry without perpetuating racial stereotypes. He
attended Columbia University in New York.
Sentiments in A Raisin… will be echoed by
MLK in later speeches, marches, and rallies
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Civil-Rights Leader
1929-1968
I have a dream… a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all
men are created equal.’
Cont’d dreams represented in the play and later
echoed by King
• I have a dream that my four
children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be
judged by the color of their
skin but by the content of
their character.
• I have a dream…where little
black boys and black girls
will be able to join hands
with little white boys and
white girls and walk together
as sisters and brothers.
In 1956, King leads a boycott of the
bus laws.
In 1954, the Supreme Court found in favor of the plaintiffs in the Brown v. The
Board of Education case. However, the segregation of schools didn’t begin to take
effect until 1957. Moreover, the case’s decision did not abolish segregation in
other public areas, such as restaurants and restrooms.
Hansberry’s Background
1930-1965
• A Raisin…is the 1st play by a black
woman to be produced on
Broadway
Other Works:
•
•
•
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WHAT USE ARE FLOWERS?
THE MOVEMENT: DOCUMENTARY OF
A STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY,
THE SIGN IN SIDNEY BRUSTEIN'
WINDOWTO BE YOUNG, GIFTED, AND
BLACK:
LES BLANCS: THE COLLECTED LAST
PLAYS: The Drinking Gourd / What
Use Are Flowers?
Themes present in ARITS
Manly Pride
Themes present in ARITS
Cultural Pride
Themes present in ARITS
Family Pride
ARITS
ARITS - Do Now
Differentiation – Act 1 Scene Two
(Boys) Where did Ruth actually go instead of the
doctor’s office? (Find textual support)
(Girls) Why did Mama call Walter a disgrace to
his father’s memory? (Cite Textual Support)
How is “the American Dream” portrayed in
literature?
The Great Gatsby
A Raisin in the Sun
Death of a Salesman
The Grapes of Wrath
Do Now – Thursday 1/24/2013
How do members of the Younger
family show love for one another?
Write out your answer
an index card.