A Raisin in The Sun - summary PDF

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EN-218, -219 Week 44 – Monday

A Raisin in The Sun, Lorrain Hansberry Summary An African-American play that portrays a few weeks in the life of the Youngers, an African-American family who lives on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s At the beginning of the play, the Youngers are about to receive an insurance check for 10,000 dollars. The money is from the deceased Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy. Each of the adults has an idea of what they want to do with the insurance money: -

The matriarch, Mama wants to buy a house to fulfill a dream she shared with her husband

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Mama’s son, Walter Lee, wants to invest in a liquor store with his friends – believes the investments will save the family’s problems

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Walter’s wife, Ruth, wants to buy a house to provide more space and opportunities for their son, Travis

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Beneatha, Walter’s sister and Mama’s daughter, wants to use the money for medical school tuition. She wishes the family would not care so much to join the white world. She tries to find her identity by looking back to the past and to Africa.

As the play progresses, the Youngers clash with their competing dreams. Ruth discovers she is pregnant but fears that an extra child will put more financial pressure on her family members.

Walter says nothing to

Ruth’s admission that she is considering abortion, so Mama puts down a payment on a house for the whole family. She believes a bigger, brighter dwelling will help everyone. The house is in Clybourne Park, an entirely white neighborhood. When the Younger’s neighbors figure out about them moving in, Mr. Lindner (only white figure in the play), from the Clybourne Park improvement

EN-218, -219 Week 44 – Monday Association, is sent to offer the family money to move away. They refuse the deal, even after Walter loses the rest of the money (6,500 dollars) to his friend, Willy Harris, who persuaded Walter to invest in the liquor store and runs off with his cash. Simultaneously, Beneatha rejects her suiter, George Murchison, whom she believes to be shallow and blind to the problems of race injustice. Subsequently, she receives a marriage proposal from her Nigerian boyfriend, Joseph Asagai, who supports her dream of getting a medical degree and move to Africa with him. She does not make her choice until the ending of the play. Eventually, the Youngers move out of the apartment, fulfilling the family’s long-held dream of living in a house. Their future seems uncertain and dangerous as they surround themselves with white people, living in a white neighborhood. They are optimistic and determined to live a better life, so they hold their grounds. They believe that they can succeed if they stick together as a family and resolve to defer their dreams no longer due to race problems. Walter originally believed that investing in a liquor store was the best choice for the family’s wealth and happiness. He felt inferior to the people around him being black in a racist society and not being able to provide for his family. At the end, he puts away his own needs, and accepts Mamas dream of buying the house. He stays true to their dream and signs the papers. Here, he regains his manhood and acts as a role model for their son. Source: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/raisin/summary/

Themes and symbols Dreams: Walter:

EN-218, -219 Week 44 – Monday “see there, that just goes to show you that women understand of the world. Baby don’t nothing happen for you in this world!” (18) “… go be a nurse like other women, or just get married and be quiet…” (22) -

Want to invest in a liquor store and be the sole provider for the family

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Sexist? Does he believe women cannot do the same things as men? Are they not as intelligent as men?

Beneatha: “… it doesn’t seem deep enough, close enough to what ails mankind!” (105) -

Conflicts with her identity. She is an independent woman, yet wants to fit in and adapt to the society they live in

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Assimilationist: She tries to become someone else by cutting her hair and putting on a gown before their date to please her teacher/date Joseph Asagai

Mama (Lena) “… ain’t got nothing, don’t own nothing, ain’ t never reallot wanting nothing that wasn’t for you.” (82) -

She unites the family rather than distances them further

Ruth: She has no specific dream. She is a minor figure in the play – goes along with Mama’s dreams to avoid trouble. Housing situation: “We got to get out of here…” (111) “Walter Lee – it makes a difference in a man when he can walk on floors that belong to him…” (70)

EN-218, -219 Week 44 – Monday “… for the happiness of all concerned… our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities.” (91) -

Set in the South of Chicago in the 1950s

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Racial segregation, suppression...