Lorraine Hansberry "Raisin In The Sun"

The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry tells the story of an African American family who tries to make their dreams come true when the mother of the family receives a $10,000 check in the mail. This play is an interesting one and is well told. The many themes of the play also make it interesting. There are many themes in the play, A Raisin in the Sun; among them are strength of family, dreams, and prejudice.

The major theme in A Raisin in the Sun is the strength of family. The Younger family is strong through the good times and the bad. They remain strong while fighting amongst each other, through deception by outside people, and even through racism. One of the times there strength is evident, is when Mr. Lindner come to buy the house that Mama purchased back from them. It is at this point when they all agreed that it is their house and nobody can take it back from them. The whole point of Mama buying the house is to keep the family together. It really hurt Mama when the family is fighting with each other. She purchase the house to bring the family together and to make them closer. This is evident on page 1000. It is here that Mama tells Walter, "Son---you---you understand what I done, don't you? I--I just seen my family falling apart today...We was going backwards 'stead of forwards...When it gets like that in life - you just got to do something different, push on out and do something bigger..." In essence she thinks that by buying the house, she is strengthen her family and will make them stronger.

As well as a strong family, Lorraine Hansberry also talks about dreams and aspirations in the play. Each member of the Younger family has their own dreams. They all want to use the money that Mama is getting for the death of her husband to finance their own dream. Proof of this is located on page 976. It begins to surface when Beneatha and Walter begin to argue about her becoming a doctor. During the argument Beneatha says, "...it's Mama's money." Walter responds with, "He was my father, too!" Beneatha counters Walter's statement by saying, "So what? He was mine, too...but the insurance money belongs to Mama. Picking on me is not going to make her give it to you to invest in a liquor store..." Beneatha thinks that she deserved the money because she wants to use it for medical school. The money is coming between the sister and brother, as well as, the rest of the family.

Another major theme