Posted by Tatyana Lazukova (165.196.105.192) on June 22, 2005 at 1:56:20 p.m.:
In Reply to: A Raisin in the Sun and "Harlem" Wednesday Discussion posted by Jeanne Guerin on June 21, 2005 at 12:57:24 p.m.:
>Discuss the title of A Raisin in the Sun
>and the connection with Langston Hughes poem
>printed right before the play.
>Read and respond to your classmates
>(8 sentences minimum).
I think that the title of the play “A Raisin in the Sun" has a very
deep meaning and is very essential for understanding the theme of the
play. Raisin is a dried out grape. In the play a raisin can be a symbol
for Younger family who are exhausted in their fight with the poverty. In the
opening scene of they play the author says that a long time ago there
were love, hope, care and pride in that family. But today things are
different. In act 1, scene 1 Lena starts thinking about her family. She
voices her concerns that she doesn't understand her children any more.
She realizes that her family weakened and lost the strength they used to
have. The reader may conclude that all that happened because of the
constant fight for surviving and constant financial difficulties. The
reader witnesses how a family with close family bonds and strong family
values looses life energy and becomes a raisin.
Through the dialogs of the family members, the author demonstrates,
that every person in the Younger family has dreams about a better future. Thus, Beneatha wants to become a doctor, Walter wants to have a decent job in the office, Ruth wants to have a beautiful home. There is always a beautiful dream about future in their lives. When Lena informs the family about the purchase of a new home, the reader is sure that life finally changes for this family and all their dreams will very soon come true. Unfortunately, the author illustrates that there is no end of the struggle for this family. There is no escape from the poverty for Younger family. The dream about a better future fades, disappears and dries out. The dream of the Younger family becomes a raisin at the end of the play.
There is a very close connection between the play and the poem “Harlem"
by Langston Hughes, printed right before the play. First, the author asks a question about what happens to a dream deferred. Then, in form of questions, Langston Hughes guesses what might happen to a dream deferred. The dream may dry up, fester, stink, sag, explode. Langston Hughes doesn't provide the reader with the answer as the reader must find the answer by himself.
While reading the play, the reader needs to answer the question about the
dream of the Younger family and decide what happened to their dream. There is a possibility that most readers will decide that the dream of the Younger family dried out and lost its beauty. At the end of the play, the reader comes to the conclusion that the fight with poverty and discrimination dried out both the family members and their dream about a better future.