At the beginning of the play, Walter Lee and Beneatha’s father has recently died, and Mama (Lena) is waiting for a life insurance check for $10,000. Walter has a sense of entitlement to the money, but Mama has religious objections to alcohol, and Beneatha has to remind him it is Mama’s call how to spend it.
What is happening in the first scene of a raisin in the sun?
The Youngers are the main characters in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. In Scene 1, the family is obsessed with a $10,000 insurance check that is set to arrive any day. Each person in the family wants to escape poverty by using the money to fulfill their own dreams.
What is Act 1 Scene 1 about in raisin in the sun?
Raisin opens on a Friday morning as everyone is getting ready to leave the apartment for their respective obligations: Walter Lee and Ruth have to go to their jobs; Travis and Beneatha have to go to school.
What is the climax of the story of a raisin in the sun?
Climax Bobo tells the Youngers that Willy has run off with all of Walter’s invested insurance money; Asagai makes Beneatha realize that she is not as independent as she thinks.
What is the plot of raisin in the sun?
Set in the aftermath of World War II, the Younger family is facing its own war against racism in the Chicago slums. America’s complicated history of racial tension between black Americans and white Americans is ingrained into the Youngers’ everyday lives.
What is the setting of Raisin in the Sun Act 1 Scene 1?
The play opens in an apartment worn down from generations of ownership. It’s in the South Side of Chicago, and it’s a three-room apartment – there’s a bedroom for Mama and Beneatha, a bedroom for Ruth and Walter Lee, and their son Travis sleeps on a couch in a living room. Ruth Younger is preparing for the day.
What happens in Act 1 Scene 2 of a raisin in the sun?
Summary: Act I, scene ii. Once upon a time freedom used to be life—now it’s money. The next day, Saturday, the Youngers are cleaning their apartment and waiting for the insurance check to arrive. Walter receives a phone call from his friend Willy Harris, who is coordinating the potential liquor store venture.
What do the stage directions at the very beginning of Act 1 Scene 1 reveal about Ruth?
The stage directions indicate that the furniture, though apparently once chosen with care, is now very worn and faded. Ruth gets up first and after some noticeable difficulty, rouses Travis and Walter as she makes breakfast.
What is the theme of A Raisin in the Sun Act 1?
What is the major theme in A Raisin in the Sun? Dreams and dreams deferred are the central themes in the play. Each character has a dream of their own and in some way, each of their dreams conflicts with someone else’s dream.
How many acts and scenes are in a raisin in the sun?
A Raisin in the Sun, drama in three acts by Lorraine Hansberry, first published and produced in 1959.
What is rising action in a story?
What Is Rising Action? The rising action is the second of six essential plot elements, which comes right after the opening of a story, otherwise known as the exposition. It is usually made up of a series of events that lay down breadcrumbs, ask questions, and set roadblocks and conflicts that must be overcome.
What is falling action in a story?
In storytelling, falling action refers to the period after the dramatic confrontation of the climax. This portion of the narrative helps deflate the plot’s tension and gives the character time to unwind after the emotional scene.
What is the falling action of raisin in the sun?
The climax of Raisin occurs with Bobo’s telling Walter that the money is gone and includes the family’s immediate response to this tragic news. The falling action occurs as Walter is contemplating selling his pride for Lindner’s money and then deciding not to do so.
Who is the main character in A Raisin in the Sun?
A Raisin in the SunCharacters
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).
Who is 35 in raisin in the sun?
Everyone’s moaning about Denzel Washington’s age: How can a man who’s 59 play the 35-year-old Walter Lee Younger in A Raisin in the Sun, a character whose very name suggests the drama of coming into manhood?
Who revealed Walter’s pregnancy?
8. Walter finds out about Ruth’s pregnancy from his mother who realizes that Ruth is considering an abortion, illegal during that time, and knows that Walter Lee needs to be aware of this and to provide support for his wife.
What does Mama’s plant symbolize?
Mama’s Plant
Her care for her plant is similar to her care for her children, unconditional and unending despite a less-than-perfect environment for growth. The plant also symbolizes her dream to own a house and, more specifically, to have a garden and a yard.
Why does Mama give Walter the money?
She believed the realization of her dream could eventually open the door for other family member’s dreams. When she realizes she was doing to Walter what the rest of the world was doing, not giving him a chance to be a man, she corrected her actions by giving Walter part of the money to open a personal bank account.
What happens in Act 2 Scene 2 of a raisin in the sun?
Analysis: Act II, scene ii. In Beneatha and George’s conversation, Hansberry reveals two sets of values regarding education. Beneatha believes in education as a means to understanding and self-fulfillment, while George sees education as a means to get a good job.
Why does Ruth want an abortion?
She contemplates an abortion, for example, not because she wants to, but because she is worried about the additional burden she would bring to the family that she already has. Still, Ruth is not an “emotional weakling.” She never raises her voice (as Walter does quite often), but she exhibits a remarkable strength.