A Raisin in the Sun By Lorraine Hansberry Important Facts and How to Read a Play

Important Facts Produced in 1959 –Foretold the revolution in black consciousness. Consciousness means : –1. A sense of one's personal or collective identity, including the attitudes, beliefs, and sensitivities held by or considered characteristic of an individual or group: Love of freedom runs deep in the national consciousness. –2. Special awareness or sensitivity: class consciousness; race consciousness. –3. Alertness to or concern for a particular issue or situation.

…foretold the revolution in womens consciousness

Why do you think this play dealt with these issues?

Meet Lorraine Hansberry We are things of dry hours and the involuntary plan, Grayed in, and gray. Dream makes a giddy sound, not strong like "rent," "feeding a wife," "satisfying a man."

Important Themes (look for similar issues in other pieces of literature)

Value systems within families, particularly the African-American family

Concepts of African American beauty vs. European beauty

Concepts of African American identity

Class and generational conflicts

The relationships of husbands and wives

The relationships between men and women

Rising feminism

The difference between what it means to be African American vs. African

A series of FIRSTS The first play brought to Broadway by a black woman (young and unknown) Directed by a young black unknown director (Lloyd Richards) There had never been a serious commercially successful black drama Shown in a theatre with few black audience members… AND IT WAS A HIT!!!

Analyzing Literature Look at the book now… What is one of the things we should ask ourselves right now, before weve even read the play?

The significance of the TITLE From a poem by Langston Hughes. Title: Harlem What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? Deferred: To put off; postpone

What happens if you DONT get your DREAM?

How to read a play

Check the CAST LIST Can you tell anything about the relationship of the characters based on the cast list? Ruth Younger Travis Younger Walter Lee Younger (Brother) Beneatha Younger (Sister) Lena Younger (Mama)

Check the SETTING Does the setting give you any clues about the story? Does the time period give you any clues? Over what period of time does the action take place? Set on Chicagos Southside, sometime between World War I and the present… Why do you think its such a wide range of time? See your book…

Read the DIRECTORS NOTES The italicized parts interspersed throughout the play should not be skipped. They give you IMPORTANT INFORMATION about the set, characters, and movements of characters. They tell you HOW A LINE IS SAID, which gives you more information about the characters

STAGE RIGHT, CENTER, LEFT, Proscenium, Leg, Border

UP STAGE vs. DOWN STAGE Check your stage knowledge Up stagefurthest from audience Down stageclosest to audience Prosceniumarch separating stage from auditorium Stage leftfrom actors p.o.v. Stage rightfrom actors p.o.v. Legcurtains used to hide lighting/props Borderused to hide lighting/props

Youre ready to read!!!