A Raisin in the Sun
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A Raisin in the Sun
By Lorraine Hansberry
A Raisin in the Sun
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Presentation Overview:
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CONTENT WARNING!
Setting and Plot
Historical Context
Lorraine Hansberry
About the Title
Theme Subjects
Key Elements
Allusions and References
Final Task Preparation
Takeaways
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CONTENT WARNING
• Abortion
• Racism and internalized racism
A Raisin in the Sun
• Sexism
• Alcohol abuse
• Homophobia
• Religious arguments (atheism)
• Swearing
• Slurs (including the N-word)
• Antiquated terms (negro)
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Setting and Plot
A Raisin in the Sun
• Chicago, 1950s
• The “Black Belt” of the city
(between 12th and 79th Streets and
Wentworth and Cottage Grove
Avenues)
• A tenement apartment
The hard-working Younger family
live in a cramped, shabby
apartment. The family awaits a
life insurance payment following
the passing of Big Walter.
Photo by Edwin Rosskam
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Historical Context:
A Raisin in the Sun
• Post-War Period
• Civil Rights Movement
• The Women’s Movement
• Housing in Chicago
• Decolonization in Africa
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Post-War Period
A Raisin in the Sun
African Americans, women,
and other minority groups
contributed mightily during
World War II.
World War II ended in 1945,
leading to a period of
population growth and
prosperity in the United
States.
The wealth and opportunity of
this period was not shared
Library of Congress
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The Civil Rights Movement
1948: Executive Order 9981 ends segregation in the U.S.
military.
1954: Brown v. Board of Education ends segregation in public
schools.
A Raisin in the Sun
1955: Emmett Till, a 14-year-old from Chicago, is brutally
murdered in Mississippi for allegedly flirting with a white woman.
1955: Rosa Parks’ defiance prompts the Montgomery bus
boycott.
1957: the “Little Rock Nine” fight to integrate Little Rock
Central HS.
1957: The Civil Rights Act of 1957 helps protect voter rights.
1959: A Raisin in the Sun debuts on Broadway.
1961: “Freedom Riders” protest throughout the South.
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The Women’s Movement
A Raisin in the Sun
Women gained the right to universal
suffrage (voting in every state) with the
ratification of the 19th Amendment in
1920.
Lorrain Hansberry wrote A Raisin in
the Sun in what historians call the
“second wave” of feminism.
The second wave responded to the
growing cult of domesticity following
WWII.
During the second wave, feminists
aimed to overcome societal and
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Housing in Chicago
A Raisin in the Sun
The Great Migration (1916-1970):
More than 6 million African
Americans moved from the the
rural South to cities like Chicago.
Many Chicago neighborhoods
formed “restrictive covenants,”
legally binding contracts that
specified that an owner could not
rent or sell to black people.
Even after these contracts were
ruled illegal, banks, brokers,
neighborhood organizations, and
violent racists resisted integration.
“Chicago’s Black Belt, 1941” by Russell L
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Decolonization in Africa
A Raisin in the Sun
In 1959, much of Africa was still
controlled by European nations,
but independence movements
were gaining momentum.
On March 6, 1957, Ghana
(formerly Gold Coast) became
the second sub-Saharan African
country to gain its independence.
The play explores this topic
through a character named
Joseph Asagai, a college student
from Nigeria.
Africa in 1951 by Francisco Dojenia
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Lorraine Hansberry
• May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965
A Raisin in the Sun
• In 1938, her father bought a house in the allwhite Chicago neighborhood of Washington
Park.
• The Hansberrys were prominent figures in
the African American community and
socialized with people like W. E. B. DuBois
and Langston Hughes.
• In 1950, Lorraine moved to New York City to
pursue her career as a writer.
• Hired at the black newspaper Freedom in
1951
• Supported Daughters of Bilitis, a lesbian
rights group
• The first African American woman playwright
to have a play performed on Broadway
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About the Title
A Raisin in the Sun
The play’s title comes from a
1951 poem by Langston
Hughes.
Harlem
by Langstone Hughes
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
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Theme Subjects
A Raisin in the Sun
A theme in literature is the author’s
message about life or humanity. A
theme is always a complete
sentence.
A Raisin in the Sun Theme
Subjects:
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Money / poverty
Hopes and dreams
Identity
African heritage
Dignity
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
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Key Elements
Certain aspects of Hansberry’s
craft and structure deserve special
attention.
A Raisin in the Sun
We will be studying…
• Symbolism
• Dialogue and dialect
• Character motivation
• Word choice
• Effects of structure (such as
tension, mystery, and surprise)
• Theme development
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Allusions and References:
• What Is an Allusion?
A Raisin in the Sun
• The Bible
• African Civilizations and
Cultures
• Prometheus
• Booker T. Washington
• Movies and Performers
A Raisin in the Sun
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What Is an Allusion?
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
Allusion: A literary device where the author
creates a subtle connection to a wellknown idea, example, or text.
Knowledgeable readers will make the
connection.
For example, if an author names a
character Ophelia, it might allude to
Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
If the connection is directly stated, it is
Do you
think
the title of the play
usually
called
a reference.
is an allusion or a reference?
Benin mask, 16th century
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
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The Bible
A Raisin in the Sun
Christianity plays an important role
in the lives of the Youngers.
Pay special attention when
characters make allusions or
references to the Bible.
• “And then there are all those prophets
who would lead us out of the
wilderness…”
• “Thirty pieces and not a coin less!”
• “THAT MONEY IS MADE OUT OF
MY FATHER'S FLESH!”
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
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African History / Culture
References include…
A Raisin in the Sun
• The Benin, Ashanti, Ethiopian, and
Songhay civilizations
• Shaka Zulu: a king who re-organized
the Zulu military and developed a
spear known as the assegai.
• "Owimoweh" is the title of an African
chant, referring to the waking of the
lion.
• Jomo Kenyatta: anti-colonial activist
who became prime minister of an
independent Kenya in 1964.
Benin mask, 16th century
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Prometheus
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
A Raisin in the Sun
• One of the Titans in Greek
religion and a god of fire
• Prometheus means “forethinker,” and he is a mental
giant (literally).
• Creates the first humans out of
clay
• Defies the gods by stealing fire
and giving it to humanity
• The gods punish him by
Benin mask, 16th century
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
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Booker T. Washington
A Raisin in the Sun
April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915
American educator, author, orator,
and advisor to several presidents of
the United States
Washington advocated African
American progress through
economic success and
entrepreneurship rather than direct
challenges to Jim Crow segregation.
(We will study his ideas in his own
words later in the unit.)
Benin mask, 16th century
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Movies and Performers
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
A Raisin in the Sun
• Greta Garbo: Swedish-American actress known
for portraying tragic, melodramatic characters.
• Pearl Bailey: American actress and singer.
After appearing in vaudeville, she made her
Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946.
• Mrs. Miniver: A 1942 film starring Greer Garson
as Mrs. Miniver, an English middle-class
housewife who keeps her hopes (and her roses)
alive during WWII.
• Scarlett O'Hara: The over-the-top southern
belle from Gone with the Wind.
Pearl
Bailey
in 1946
Benin Mae
mask,
16th century
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Compan
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A Raisin in the Sun
Final Task:
• What is
Symbolism?
• Symbol Analysis
• Symbol Hunting
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
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What is Symbolism?
A Raisin in the Sun
Symbols are items, events, places,
or even people that represent
something more.
Example: The classic film Citizen
Kane uses a cheap, child’s sled
(named “Rosebud”) to symbolize the
main character’s grief, lost childhood,
and loving mother. A “Rosebud
moment” is now shorthand for a
Can you
think
of anyends.
literary
moment
when
childhood
symbols from famous stories?
Citizen Kane, 1941
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
A Raisin in the Sun
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Symbol Analysis
At the end of our study of
A Raisin in the Sun, you will present
analysis of Hansberry’s use of
symbolism. You will focus on ONE
symbol from the play.
• How does she add layers of
meaning to the object, event, or
person?
• What connections are created?
• What does the symbolism
Benin mask, 16th century
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Symbol Hunting
Photo by The Huntington Theatre Company
Want an unfair advantage? Choose a symbol in
advance and take notes when your symbol or its
associates pop up.
Plants – window, sun, raisin, light, yard, garden…
A Raisin in the Sun
Light – window, sun, plant, yard, garden…
The check – Big Walter, money, Willie Harris, ledger…
Beneatha’s hair – natural style, unstraightened,
heritage, mutilation, assimilation…
Food – bread, eggs, hot oats, Alaiyo, coffee, milk…
Fire – Flaming Spear, volcano, sun, light,
Prometheus…
Rugs / furnishings – doilies, cleaned, worn places,
Benin mask, 16th century
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Takeaways::
A Raisin in the Sun
DO NOT PANIC! That was a lot of information in a short
time. We will study these topics as we move through the
play.
Key takeaways:
• The play portrays a regular family in a realistic way, but grapples
with important and complex ideas about society.
• The play debuted during the Civil Rights Movement.
• A Raisin in the Sun holds an important place in theatre history
and in American literature.
• Lorraine Hansberry’s use of symbolism deserves special
attention.
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A Raisin in the Sun
This presentation comes from the
A Raisin in the Sun Unit and Materials resource.
Copyright 2021 TeachNovels