A Raisin In The Sun

6 Pages 1553 Words

A Raisin in the Sun

Title - A Raisin in the Sun

Author – Lorraine Hansberry

Genre – Drama

Copyright Date – 1958, 1986 by Robert Nemiroff, as an unpublished work
1959, 1966, 1987, 1988 by Robert Nemiroff

Setting – The setting was after WWII and the present (1958), in the south side of Chicago.

Effect of Setting on Characters and Plot – The Younger family is a low class African-American family, who plans to move into an all Caucasian neighborhood. In this time period, an African-American can hardly have any rights because of discrimination and prejudice. The family faces some decisions that change their lives and make conflicts between family members.

Main Characters – The mother, Lena Younger, works as a maid for a Caucasian family. She is expecting to receive a $10,000 check from life insurance because of her husband’s death, Walter Lee. With the money that she receives, she hopes to retire.
Lena’s son, Walter Lee Younger, also known as Junior, is a dreamer. He wants to open a liquor store, which was his father’s dream. He hopes to use the check that the family receives to open his own business. But, when he pursues this, his plan falls apart, and makes conflicts between his family members.
Walter Lee’s wife, Ruth Younger, has some problems with her husband, and wants to make peace with him. She wants the family to learn about their history, and she strongly believes that learning about their past could help the family make a decision about the money. She wants to move into a bigger apartment, because of the amount of people in the house, especially when she finds out she is pregnant.
Beneatha Younger, Lena’s daughter, plans to make something of herself and go to medical school. She is a perfectionist and takes pride in being a South African. She has morals and views, and some in which came from college, causes disagreements with her mother’s orthodox beliefs.
Travis Younger, the son...