An Analysis of The Drama a Raisin in The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

In the drama A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, there are many different argumentative themes present. One of the major themes in this literary work was that of fighting racial discrimination for the good of one’s self. This drama took place in the South Side of Chicago between the years 1945 and 1959, when racial discrimination against African Americans was obviously present. Through the refusal to be bought out by the white folk to make sure that the neighborhood of Clybourne Park was not integrated, this theme was ever present in making the readers believe that in order to deal with discrimination, you must stand up to it and be confident about it, rather than letting it stomp all over your ethnicity and pride; showing that you are not a human doormat and that it is not acceptable to be treated like one.

In her drama, Tansberry wants the reader to read and comprehend the context in the way that it had actually occurred. Her syntax, or sentence structure, was sort of choppy but extremely realistic. Her sentences were written as they were spoken in the South Side during the 40s and 50s. Many verbs were abused, especially “to be”. As an example, “Walter: I can’t be bein’ late to work on account of him fooling around in there.” This sentence structure is a bit choppy and almost hard to follow unless you know what the author is trying to say. In this example, Walter is saying that he can’t keep being late to work just because Travis. Hansberry’s diction, or word choice, also reflected her desire to showcase the actual word choice of the culture she was writing about. She wanted to establish the fact that her characters had obviously lacked some education, which was normal for the African American community of the South Side of Chicago. For example, “Mrs. Johnson: I finds I can’t close my eyes right lessen I done had that last cup of coffee…,”clearly indicates that not only the Younger family, but their African American neighbor’s also are not very grammatically correct, thus providing a stronger sense of lack of education of the African American community at the time to the reader. The overall language in this book is complex but very realistic. As was stated, the sentence structure is choppy and the word choice does not flow very well, but this was how it was during the 1940s and 50s, no doubt about it. Hansberry obviously did not write this book so the readers could just skim over it and understand the message. She wrote in this style to make the readers really grasp and comprehend all of the material that was thrown in front of them, maybe to even make them read between the lines a little bit.

Hansberry used literary techniques while writing this drama. One literary clement that was used was that of foreshadowing, or to show or indicate before hand. An example of foreshadowing is when the Younger family’s neighbor, Mrs. Johnson, brings news that an African American family’s house has been bombed. This foreshadows the later troubles that the Youngers will face when the Clyboume Park Improvement Association tries to buy out their dreams of a new house in the area. Another example of foreshadowing is when Walter hints to Travis that the insurance money will be invested somehow. This foreshadows the disappearance and lack of investment of the money. Another literary technique Hansberry uses is that of symbolism, or representing things by the use of symbols. For example, Mama’s plant symbolizes her unconditional love and care for her family. She tries her hardest to keep the plant alive and thriving, even though she realizes that the environment she is raising it in is not the best suited for that duty, just like her children. Her plant also symbolizes the more concrete fact that she desires a fresh, new start in a new home. But not just any home, a home with a lavish garden that she wishes to take care of and look after with as much love and care as her plant that she has been nursing for quite some time now. Another major symbol in this drama by Hansberry was that of Beneatha’s hair. At the beginning of the play, she had her hair straightened, conformed to society’s ideas of beauty. As the play goes on and she spends more time with Asagai, she stops straightening her hair and cuts it, leaving her to a short, choppy afro. This symbolizes that she no longer will conform to what society wants her to be, but rather try to understand and grasp her native ties from Africa, even if it means to diminish society’s views of beauty directed her way. A final literary technique that Hansberry used was setting. She took the idea of setting and went with it, to create a mental picture of the time and place in which this drama took part. Setting the play in the South Side of Chicago between 1944 and 1959, made the readers think of the slums. The busy streets and noise of the buses; the lack of presence of white people and the abundance of African Americans. The author did this to make the syntax, diction, and plot of her story more realistic and easier to comprehend her motives behind doing so.

In my opinion, I believe this book was a very good read. Not only is it one of the most well known dramas ever published, but it also really makes the reader think about how life has changed and how society has adjusted and almost conformed to consider everyone equal. It taught good lessons and made the readers think, even when the book was down.

Cite this page