Introduction to Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun

As you read “A Raisin in the Sun,” I want you to take special note of the fact that Hansberry has the entire play “set” in the apartment. Yesterday’s viewing had the revival film director say the “apartment was the “other character” in the play, and in the film he wanted to take the action outside to add to his own “work” of art” and make it more film like. Think about the apartment and the role it plays in Hansberry’s piece of work.

Some other covenants I thought of since yesterday: garage must be attached no car ports mail box must be on curb fence must be wood and no less that 6’ flowerbeds must be maintained no livestock or non-floral landscaping grass must not exceed 5” garage sales require permit no yard sales animal waste must be picked up

Why do we read “A Raisin in the Sun” ? It was the first play written by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway. At age 29, she became the youngest American playwright and only the fifth woman to receive the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play.

Who is Lorraine Hansberry? Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965 was an African American playwright and author of political speeches, letters, and essays. Her best known work, A Raisin in the Sun, was inspired by her family's battle against racial segregation in Chicago

Social Background Published in 1959, four years after Rosa Parks’ was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a bus, sparking the Civil Rights Movement, Hansberry’s play illustrates black America’s struggle to gain equal access to opportunity and expression of cultural identity.

Hansberry vs. Lee The US Supreme Court, on November 13, 1940, ruled in Hansberry v. Lee that whites cannot bar African Americans from white neighborhoods. I believe literature is a reflection of our human condition and fiction is indeed a historical document as evidenced by the beliefs expressed through the words of the autrhor.

Langston Hughes, a native of Joplin, Missouri, became one of the most popular figures of the Harlem Renaissance. His goal was to write a truly "Negro" poetry without perpetuating racial stereotypes. He attended Columbia University in New York. Who is Langston Hughes

Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil-Rights Leader I have a dream… a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’ Sentiments in A Raisin… will be echoed by MLK in later speeches, marches, and rallies

Cont’d dreams represented in the play and later echoed by King I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream…where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

In 1956, King leads a boycott of the bus laws.

In 1954, the Supreme Court found in favor of the plaintiffs in the Brown v. The Board of Education case. However, the segregation of schools didn’t begin to take effect until Moreover, the case’s decision did not abolish segregation in other public areas, such as restaurants and restrooms.

Hansberry’s Background

A Raisin…is the 1 st play by a black woman to be produced on Broadway Other Works: WHAT USE ARE FLOWERS? THE MOVEMENT: DOCUMENTARY OF A STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY, THE SIGN IN SIDNEY BRUSTEIN' WINDOWTO BE YOUNG, GIFTED, AND BLACK: LES BLANCS: THE COLLECTED LAST PLAYS: The Drinking Gourd / What Use Are Flowers?

Themes present in ARITS Manly Pride

Themes present in ARITS Cultural Pride

Themes present in ARITS Family Pride

ARITS

ARITS - Do Now Differentiation – Act 1 Scene Two (Boys) Where did Ruth actually go instead of the doctor’s office? (Find textual support) (Girls) Why did Mama call Walter a disgrace to his father’s memory? (Cite Textual Support)

How is “the American Dream” portrayed in literature? The Great Gatsby A Raisin in the Sun Death of a Salesman The Grapes of Wrath

Do Now – Thursday 1/24/2013 How do members of the Younger family show love for one another? Write out your answer an index card.