"Raisin in the Sun"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, on the surface, the plot of the play "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry is merely about an African-American family's struggle to get out of the ghetto on Chicago's Southside; however, a deeper examination of the work demonstrates the author's utilization of numerous themes and complex characters, which require multiple levels of analysis: African-American identity, social status and racial challenges within the intricacies of universal human nature. The author points out that hints of Hansberry's childhood surface throughout the play and have clearly influenced her thoughts and beliefs: Father waged a legal battle for the right to purchase a home in a previously all-white neighborhood that reached the Supreme Court, "Hansberry vs. Lee", which they won, but the family was subjected to vicious physical attacks. The paper relates that the title of the play refers to the protagonist Mama's longing to escape the ghetto so that her children can be raised in the sunlight of a better neighborhood and thus better education.

From the Paper:

"Another way that Hansberry illustrated her world through her work was in her definition of universality. Indeed, prior to the publishing of the play, universality was monadic in its conception and application. It had been developed and applied to mean whiteness rather than including the diversity of modern-day society. Moreover, black art separated itself from the mainstream by isolating discussions of social problems from racial issues. However, Hansberry conversely sought to concurrently consider "social significance and racial consciousness." Her attention to details opened the door for white audiences into an understanding of black experiences that made those experiences understandable and relevant. The inclusion of the black experience within the framework of the human experience forced a redefinition that opened the term universality to include the minority voice. Author James Baldwin articulates this milestone, saying "never before in American theater history has so much of the truth of black people's lives been seen on stage.""

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