Think about grade level. The A Raisin in the Sun grade level is 9th grade and up. (I have used the play for an advanced group of 8th graders.) Even though the reading grade level for A Raisin in the Sun is low, the issues, themes, and context are more appropriate for High School.
Why should students read A Raisin in the Sun?
A critical reading of A Raisin in the Sun offers students many opportunities to evaluate the shifting meaning of and access to what has been constructed as “The American Dream” in U.S. history and culture.
Who needs 50 cents for school in A Raisin in the Sun?
Travis
Clearly, Travis is spoiled. In the first scene of the play, we watch him cleverly get what he wants (the fifty cents his teacher has told him to bring to school) from his father after his mother has emphatically stated that they just don’t have fifty cents.
What does A Raisin in the Sun teach us?
At the heart of Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ is the universal message of the desire for social progress amid the differing opinions on how to achieve it. A Raisin in the Sun is a play about an African American family aspiring to move beyond segregation and disenfranchisement in 1950s Chicago.
Is A Raisin in the Sun based on a true story?
The events of the play, which portrays an African-American family’s effort to improve their lives by buying a home in a racially restricted neighborhood, are based on true events to a degree not fully appreciated by many theatergoers (or at least this one).
Why is it called raisin in the sun?
The play’s title is taken from “Harlem,” a poem by Langston Hughes, which examines the question “What happens to a dream deferred?/Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?” This penetrating psychological study of a working-class black family on the south side of Chicago in the late 1940s reflected Hansberry’s own
Why do you think Walter says he is choking to death?
Ruth is focused on making breakfast while Walter is focused on how a man would respond as, “I got to change my life, I’m choking to death, baby!.” (37) The fact that it’s choking walter to death that he can not provide for his family and be successful without the life insurance money shows that his mainfocus is
What does Beneatha’s hair symbolize?
Beneatha’s Hair Symbol Analysis. Beneatha’s natural hair symbolizes her pride in her African heritage and her desire to explore her African roots.
How did Mama Lena get the check for 10000?
This money comes from the deceased Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy. Each of the adult members of the family has an idea as to what he or she would like to do with this money. The matriarch of the family, Mama, wants to buy a house to fulfill a dream she shared with her husband.
What does eat your eggs symbolize in A Raisin in the Sun?
“Eat Your Eggs”
Being quiet and eating one’s eggs represents an acceptance of the adversity that Walter and the rest of the Youngers face in life. Walter believes that Ruth, who is making his eggs, keeps him from achieving his dream, and he argues that she should be more supportive of him.
What are the symbols in A Raisin the Sun?
What are some symbols in A Raisin in the Sun? Some of the symbols are Mama’s plant, Beneatha’s hair, music, the phrase “eat your eggs,” the $10,000 insurance payment, and money more generally.
What is the conflict of the story A Raisin in the Sun?
Major conflict The Youngers, a working-class Black family, struggle against economic hardship and racial prejudice.
What happened at the end of A Raisin in the Sun?
A Raisin in the Sun ends with the Younger family leaving their longtime apartment in Chicago’s South Side neighborhood in order to move into a house they’ve purchased in the otherwise all-white neighborhood of Clybourne Park.
Is A Raisin in the Sun a tragedy?
A Raisin in the Sun falls under domestic tragedy with the status and circumstances that the poor African American family with the constant struggle versus social roles and white America. Throughout the play, the Younger family has many hardships and difficult decisions come up.
Is A Raisin in the Sun a movie?
A Raisin in the Sun is a 1961 American drama film directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Roy Glenn, and Louis Gossett Jr. (in his film debut), and adapted from the 1959 play of the same name by Lorraine Hansberry.
How did Walter lose the money?
How does Walter lose the insurance money? Walter loses the insurance money to Willy, a crook that he mistakes for a friend. Mama entrusts Walter with all the money that remains after the down payment on the new house.
How old is Travis in A Raisin in the Sun?
ten-year-old
Travis Younger The ten-year-old son of Walter and Ruth Younger.
How old is Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun?
Twenty years old
Beneatha Younger (“Bennie”)
Beneatha is an intellectual. Twenty years old, she attends college and is better educated than the rest of the Younger family. Some of her personal beliefs and views have distanced her from conservative Mama.
What time period was A Raisin in the Sun set in?
A Raisin in the Sun takes place in an apartment in the South Side neighborhood in Chicago, sometime between the end of World War II and 1959.
Is A Raisin in the Sun sexist?
In the play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, there are many examples of sexism throughout its entirety. The character, Walter, demonstrates the acts of a sexist human being. Walter is sexist to not only women in general, but to the women in his family.
What does the 10 000 check symbolize in A Raisin in the Sun?
The life insurance check that Mama receives after the death of her husband represents hope, as each member of the family sees it as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make their dreams come true. However, the money doesn’t solve as many problems as they imagined.