"What happens to a dream deferred?" Langston Hughes asks in his 1959 poem "Dream Deferred." He suggests that it might "dry up like a raisin in the sun" or "stink like rotten meat"; however, at the end of the poem, Hughes offers another alternative by asking, "Or does it explode?" This is the view Lorraine Hansberry supports in her 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun. The drama opens with Walter reading, "Set off another bomb ... yesterday" (1831), from the front page of the morning newspaper; however, he is unaware that ... about cleaning her room and makes fun of her experimentation with "differe...

• Word Count: 1274
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959. It was the first play by a black woman ever to be produced on Broadway (Carter 19). The play won the New York Drama Critics Circle's award for the Best play of the year beating A Touch of the Poet by Eugene O"Neill, Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams, and J.B. by Archibald MacLeish (Carter 19). The play is about a struggling black family ... 50's. This was a very hard period for black people to be upwardly mobile in society. The play focuses on the families struggles as they try to get out of their small apartment in ...

• Word Count: 1434
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

"What happens to a dream deferred?," (1) Langston Hughes asked in his 1959 Poem "Harlem: A Dream Deferred." In Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play "A Raisin in the Sun," she expr In her play, Hansberry described the dreams of the Younger family and how those dreams became "dreams deferred." The family consisted of Mama (Lena Younger), Walter Lee (her son), Ruth (his wife), Travis (their son), and Beneatha (Walter younger sister). They all have a common dream ... of having a better life. Mama Walter wants to get rich quickly by investing the money in a liquor store ... ...

• Word Count: 1719
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Walter has this brillant idea to invest in a liquor store with two of his buddies, BoBo and Willie. His part of the investment would be $10,000, which happens to be the amount of the insurance money Mama has inherited from Big Walter. Walter Lee has it in his head that if he invests in this liquor store,it will rise him and his family out of the "slums". It would make him feel proud to be a man. When his wife, Ruth ignores his idea and does not listen to him, his self-esteem lowers and he gets angry because he wants so badly to be the man of the house, proud and well-respected. Beneatha is als...

• Word Count: 1383
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Walter Lee's inner journey in A Raisin In The Sun Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun, as the first play written by an African American to be produced on Broadway, explores the struggles of ordinary African American people to achieve their desires. An African American family pursuing the American dream of owning a home encounters racism and must decide what is really important in life. Through describing Walter Lee's inner journey, Hansberry has produced a perfect play ... black neighborhood, Walter Lee is not satisfied of what he owned. He doesnt want to be a poor hopeless chauffeur for...

• Word Count: 1867
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In the play A Raisin in the Sun an African-American family is in a tough situation in which some of the family members can't get their dreams fulfilled. At some points they are forced into situations in which they must use other family members to fulfill their own dream. "You mean your sister's school money you used that too- (Pg129) In situations as those other members were hurt and were left with hatred ... to let Mama's dream be destroyed. Mrs. Johnson, which was one of the neighbors living in the apartments along with the Younger family, came over to the apartment and made fun of the idea...

• Word Count: 1486
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School