Posted by Katie Hartman (24.23.28.152) on June 21, 2005 at 3:58:15 p.m.:
Katie Hartman
English 301
Jeanne Guerin
Essay #2-Rough Draft
June 23, 2005
“A Life of Disappointments”
Drama continuously keeps readers and viewers alike on the edge of their seat, waiting to see what twisted turn will encounter the characters next. There are many elements of drama that play an intrical part in creating drama, whether it is plays, poems, or short stories. Nine major elements of drama are exposition, conflict, plot, subplot, protagonist, antagonist, pyramidal pattern, foil, and a theme. Throughout this essay the elements exposition and conflict will be discussed and analyzed in relation to the story “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry. Background information is always needed and preferred by many readers and viewers about a story or a play. There is always a conflict, sometimes more than one, that exposes the characters personalities and shows how they will deal with the hardships that are handed to them. Both of these elements provide important information and an element of drama for the story that keeps reader and viewers entertained and enthralled throughout the writing. P1
The setting is extremely important to the play or stories foundation and the exposition develops the setting. The setting can develop through the characters dialogue in the beginning of the writing. The dialogue can give important information about the where the story or play takes place, an event than happened in a time period prior to the beginning of the writing, or even a few of the characters personalities and a few of their states of mind. Michael Meyer states on his book The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, “, a device that provides the necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances”(Meyer, 945). The exposition can provide vital information in order for the reader to understand the writing or why certain events happen. P2
The theme throughout the story “A Raisin in the Sun” is one of hardships for the lower class working African Americans. Lorraine Hansberry reveals the brutal truth of how hard life was for African Americans and what they strived and hoped for throughout their lives. Information provided before the play began gave an overview of the Young family’s house and how small and confined it was. Each room in the house is described as barely hanging together and very old. Hansberry describes one room very briefly, but the one sentence gives the reader enough information to figure out how this family lived. “The Younger living room would be a comfortable and well-ordered room if it were not for a number of indestructible contradictions to this state of being”(Hansberry, 1372). Ruth, one of the characters in described before the play starts by the author, Lorraine Hansberry, as wanting more from her life and her sadness of not reaching that shows on her face. There are more ways then just the information provided before the play begins to find out more information about the characters. P3
The dialogue by the characters in the beginning of “A Raisin in the Sun” provided decent information about the life style of the African American family. The reader can get the feel of a cramped and busy lifestyle because the characters are constantly waiting on the one bathroom in the house to be free. The first conversation between Ruth and Walter is about the insurance check mama should be receiving in the mail. “ They said Saturday and this is just Friday and I hope to God you ain’t going to get up here first thing this morning and start talking to me ‘bout no money-‘cause I ‘bout don’t want to hear it”(1373). Even Ruth and Walter’s son Travis asks about the insurance check as a young boy. The reader is able to get a sense of money issues and a hectic live style the family leads. The information provided through dialogue shows that the family lacks money, live in a small place, and work low-end jobs. This information contributes to the theme of a hard life for lower class working African Americans. P4
The information taken from the use of exposition provides a build up to the conflict in the play, which is a fight between hardships and survival. The conflict provides the hard times for the characters, which usually portrays a theme. The Young family had to over come race issues because they were discriminated against at a difficult time in their lives. Immediately after they receive the first conflict another hard blow is bestowed upon them when all of Walter’s money he invests is gone because unfortunately for him his friend betrayed him. When Walter wanted to make something out of his life and not be a chauffeur for the rest of his life his only hope if taken away. The struggles of lower class workers are shown in true reality through the conflicts the characters go through. P5
The theme of “A Raisin in the Sun” was of the hard lives of lower class African Americans where racism was still an issue. The conflict encountered by the Young family was that they were not wanted in their new community, which consisted of all white people. This was continuously a struggle for African Americans and it was brought up for this family. The character Mr. Lindner comes to talk to the family before they move into their new community and tries to bargain with them and explain exactly how the community feels about them moving into it. “It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities”(1417). This is not the only conflict the family encounters. The other part of the theme is hardships for lower class workers who are trying to create a better life for themselves. When Walter invests most of the insurance check into buying a liquor store, against his family’s wishes, and his friend Willy runs away with the money Walter and his family are left with nothing. An investment with all the money Walter had was gone, all the dreams of a better life for him family were gone in an instant. The conflicts the Youngs had to go through provided insight into the struggles of African American lower class family’s issues with money and with discrimination. P6
“O God…Look down here – and show me the strength”(1423). This is Mama’s reaction to finding out that her son Walter lost the rest of their insurance money. This is just an insight into what hard working lower class families had to encounter on a day-to-day basis. The dreams and hopes for something better for themselves. And the agony and anguish of losing everything they ever wanted in a day. The Young family also had the issue of race and discrimination to deal with, which complicated their lives even more. Through the use of exposition the author, Hansberry, was able to provide important background information about the characters and this helped the reader understand the lifestyle of the Young family easier. The conflict of the play tied directly to theme of the play, one of hardship for the working class and discrimination against African Americans. These two elements of drama have a huge impact on the story because without exposition and conflict the play would have no meaning and the theme would not be supported. P7
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