A Raisin in the Sun Discussion Responses
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A Raisin in the Sun
Discussion Responses
Act I
1.
What do most of the characters in this play seem to have in common?
What are their key differences?
Let’s discuss what they have in common first.
If we look at each of the main
characters—Walter, Ruth, Beneatha, and Mama—then it is fairly easy to see
what they have in common.
Obviously they are all part of the same family, live in
the same apartment, and face many of the same struggles (such as racism and
poverty).
Their differences really make them stand out as individuals, however.
Walter is
ambitious and wants to be the head of the household.
He wants to be in control
of the insurance money and invest it in business, specifically in a liquor store with
some partners.
He sees this as his way out of his routine, subservient job as a
chauffeur that does not even fully support the family.
Walter is going through
what we might call a “midlife crisis” during the play.
He badly wants to escape
poverty and “be somebody.”
Beneatha, Walter’s sister, is also ambitious but in a different way.
She sees
education as the answer to her problems and wants to be a doctor.
She is also
facing an identity crisis between her African heritage and her American
upbringing, one that we will discuss further a bit later.
Mama is the true head of the household at the play’s beginning.
She makes
most of the big decisions, such as what to do with the insurance money.
It is her
apartment that the others live in.
She cares deeply about her family.
Ruth is Walter’s wife and more than anything just wants to be a good mother to
their son, Travis.
She is probably the least ambitious of the main characters, but
even she has dreams and desires that seem out of reach.
2.
This play first ran on Broadway in 1959.
How does this time period
influence how we perceive the play and its characters?
This play premiered just before the Civil Rights movement was really gaining
steam in the 1960s.
This was when segregation laws were in full effect.
Interestingly, this means that
A Raisin in the Sun
—a play dealing with the
struggles of the African American community against racism and poverty—would
have premiered to a mostly white audience.
Despite that, it was well received
and now regarded as a modern classic of drama due to its powerful themes of
family and dream fulfillment.
3.
What might Mama’s plant symbolize?
Mama’s plant represents her dreams of a better home for her family.
She wants
a home where she can have an actual garden rather than just one pitiful plant in
a pot.
The plant could also be said to represent Mama’s family.
The plant does not
receive much in the way of sunlight (nourishment), but she cares for it as well as
she can under the circumstances.
This is similar to how she cares for her family
as well as she can given their struggles with money and a tiny, substandard
home to live in.
Act II
1.
In what ways could we consider Beneatha to be a radical character?
In
what ways is she typical?
Consider what we discussed above about the time period of the play.
Beneatha
is having a bit of an identity crisis, one that is meant to represent the same kind
of crisis that many members of the African American community were faced with
at this time—should she embrace her African heritage, or forego it and assimilate
into American culture?
To embrace her African heritage might seem purer, yet it
would mean changing everything she has known in America.
To assimilate into
American culture during this time period would seem less than ideal, however,
due to racism and a lack of opportunities.
In addition to the issue of race, Beneatha also faces the sexist attitudes of the
period.
She wants to get an education and become a doctor—two things that
women were simply not encouraged to do at the time.
While she is radical in the ways mentioned above, we can also say that she is
typical in that she is struggling to find her place in the world as a young person.
2.
How are Asagai and George in opposition to one another?
Explain their
differing viewpoints.
Asagai represents the African heritage viewpoint, and George represents the
assimilationist viewpoint.
Asagai, being from Africa himself, points out to Beneatha some of the things she
does that Africans would not do—like straightening her hair.
He uses this as an
example to show her how she has “assimilated” into American culture.
He even
goes so far as to give her a record of African music and some Nigerian robes to
wear.
The other members of the family later mock Beneatha for this.
George is the very opposite of Asagai in that he is very comfortable in America.
His family is doing very well financially, and he is romantically interested in
Beneatha but faults her for her interest in her African heritage.
3.
Walter says, “That money is made out of my father’s flesh…”
What does
he mean by this? (p. 998)
This dramatic moment represents the most hopeless part of the play.
Most of the
life insurance money from their father’s death has just been lost due to Walter’s
poor decision to trust Willy Harris with it.
This money was meant for not only
Walter’s business investment, but Beneatha’s education—and he has lost all of it
save for what Mama had used as a down payment toward the house.
An inflation calculator will be useful here in helping us understand the gravity of
just how serious this financial loss is.
The Youngers had originally $10,000 from
the inheritance; Mama used $3,500 for the house, leaving $6,500 that Walter
loses to Willy Harris.
$6,500 in 1959 would have roughly the buying power of
$50,000 to $60,000 today.
This loss is tremendous.
When Walter says the money is “made out of [his] father’s flesh,” he is
acknowledging the life of hard work that his father put into raising the family and
also paying for the life insurance policy—most of which Walter has just lost.
Act III
1.
In what ways might Asagai and Mr. Lindner be similar?
Even though these two characters are different in many ways, they do have
something in common—they both believe in the notion that separate is better.
Asagai is clearly against the notion of assimilation, insisting that people of African
heritage belong in Africa.
Meanwhile, Lindner is representative of the racist
attitudes of the time period that enforced segregation.
2.
What is the significance of the play’s title,
A Raisin in the Sun
?
Where does
it come from?
How does it reinforce the play’s themes?
Hopefully you paid attention to the Langston Hughes poem at the beginning of
the play.
The play’s title is an allusion to a line from the poem “Harlem (A Dream
Deferred).”
The poem asks “what happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry
up / Like a raisin in the sun?”
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At its core,
A Raisin in the Sun
is about dreams deferred.
Here are some
examples:
Mama’s dream for a better home for her family and a garden
Walter’s dream of being a businessman
Beneatha’s dream of being a doctor
Ruth’s dream of providing adequately for her family
Out of all of those, Mama’s is the only one that is realized by the end of the play,
and this is in the twilight of her life, after many decades of waiting to see it
realized.
3.
By the play’s conclusion, which characters, if any, have seen their dreams
fulfilled?
Which characters have not?
I partially answered this above with Mama’s dream of the house finally being
realized, but we could also say that moving into the house at least somewhat
fulfills Ruth’s dream since she now will feel better about having the child.
Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor is now uncertain due to the loss of the
money, and she also has a decision to make about Asagai’s proposal—her future
is left open to speculation.
Walter does not see his dream of being a business owner come to fruition, but he
does seem to learn an important lesson when he tells Mr. Lindner that they will
not accept the buyout offer.