Preview

Comparative Report - a Raisin in the Sun vs. a Have a Dream

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
721 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparative Report - a Raisin in the Sun vs. a Have a Dream
Ottawa, April 18th, 2013
ENG4C
By: Eumar Tovar

COMPARATIVE REPORT

In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and the discourse I have a dream by Martin Luther King, Jr. there are many similarities. These texts are strongly related to each other by three important topics such as Dreams, Barriers and Family, because they per se give the people the courage to face challenges in life.

Dreams are represented in both texts as a part of strong desires to achieve personal goals either for the family's greater good or society in general. A good example it is in the Hansberry's play, when every member of the Younger family had a separate and individual dream. Beneatha wanted to become a doctor, but Walter wanted to have money for his business so that he could afford things for his family. Throughout the play the family struggled to achieve these dreams. However, by the end they learn that the dream of Mama's house is the most important dream because it keeps the family together. In the same way it happens in the King's speech, because he had a dream where all people were created equal, although not the case in America at that time, King felt it must be the case for the future. Based on his prophet-like beliefs and desires he said: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character". Then, Dreams are crucial in life, because they drive and motivate people to do either personal or group changes.

Barriers in this context, are those dissatisfying situations in life where is up to people manage them to face and conquer challeges. There is a magnificent example in A Raisin in the Sun when the Youngers’ new neighborhood, sends Mr. Lindner to persuade them not to move into the all-white Clybourne Park neighbourhood and Mr. Lindner and the people he represents offer to bribe the Youngers to keep them from moving.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Many people have dreams that they want to accomplish. In A Raisin in the Sun, characters have a goal. Walter’s passion is to own a liquor store because he wants to be an entrepreneur. Beneatha’s dream is to become a doctor to help cure people. Mama pursues her dream of having a garden and a house. Each person’s aspiration is important to them. Thesis…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The French author Victor Hugo once said, “There is nothing like a dream to create the future.” The quote means whenever you have a dream, the dream shapes and sets your future. Hugo’s quote is correct because dreams are the key to setting your goals so you can achieve further in the future. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, this quote is true because of Walter’s dream to be the man of the house, Benethea’s dream to live past society’s expectations of an African American woman and become a doctor, and Mama’s dream is to have her family united as one.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun,” was a radically new representation of black life, resolutely authentic, fiercely unsentimental, and unflinching in its vision of what happens to people whose dreams are constantly deferred.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Deferred dreams are an ongoing theme throughout the play Raisin in the Sun. In the play some people had their dreams deferred like Walter, Mama, and Beneatha.…

    • 200 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Within Lorraine Hansberry’s play Raisin in the Sun and Martin Luther King Junior’s “I Have a Dream” speech, they each share similar ideas of dreams. Hansberry’s character Mama, or Lena Younger, has dreams of the world becoming free from segregation. This was exactly Martin Luther King Junior’s thoughts as he led the Civil Rights Movement. When Mama was recalled her husbands thoughts on dreams she stated, “Seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dream” (Hansberry 1553). This statement showcases that Mama and Big Walter were hopeful of freedom and equality so they could have the opportunity to prosper in the world. Martin Luther King Junior’s speech also addressed the dream of equality by detailing, “I have a dream that…

    • 221 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “A Raisin in the Sun,” by Lorraine Hansberry has many connections with the previous books we’ve read. “Of Mice and Men,” by John Steinback mainly focused on dreams, similar to “A Raisin in the Sun.” Jane from “Jane Eyre” also is very similar to Beneatha from, “A Raisin in the Sun.” They are both independent and feminist women. The theme in “Native Sun” was mainly about racism. This effects many important things in the story. This had the same kind of theme as “A Raisin in the Sun.” It contrasts beautifully contrasts with some of the most of the books we’ve read with dreams, characteristics and similar theme.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is realistic fiction in which the play's title and characters represent the play's themes. The play focused on black Americans struggles to reach the American Dream of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness during the 1950’s and 1960’s. the idea of everyone having a the chance to achieve a better life should exist. Hansberry created her title using a line from Langston Hughes poem “ A Dream Deferred”. The original poem was written in 1951 about Harlem. Hughes line from the poem claimed that when dreams are deferred they become broken. This meant that they are lost/hopeless. Hughes poem further suggested that when dreams and goals are denied to be pursued people forget about them and put them off.…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “I have a dream” is more than just a title it stands out the first time you hear it. Words are powerful just like when king says “were fused to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. When he mentions this he means that no matter how impossible…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Some people have the opportunity and easier access to make the American dream a reality, for others it remains just a dream. A dream that is deferred by many obstacles and such. Larry Hughes poem, a dream deferred describes this situation. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family each have dreams that they want to fulfill but is disrupted because of family selfishness and family issues. Each character had different dreams of their own. Big Walter, Walter Lee, and Mama Younger and the effects of their dreams on the family’s morale. Hughes uses a metaphor of a raisin to describe neglected hopes and dreams, which in turn is reflected in Hansberry’s exanple of the Younger family and their greed to fulfill the American…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    When I finished A Raisin in the Sun, I sat back and reflected on the primary thematic messages the author had shown. One of the themes I came across was the strength of a dream. Throughout the play, you are reminded of every dream each character has. Beneatha yearns to have a medical degree and become a doctor while Mama’s dream is for her children to be humble and grateful in a new home. Walter’s dream is to open up a liquor store and make money for his family to have a “better” life. Early on in the story, readers find out that Mama has a large check coming from her late husband’s life insurance. This excitement starts to create a large uproar of arguments in the family. The arguments ranged from Walter and Ruth to Mama and Walter to…

    • 1483 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”- Pope John XXIII. Everybody has dreams or goals that they want to achieve in order to better their future, or the future of their family. Everybody also has challenges that they have to overcome in order to make these hopes and dreams come true. An example of this can be seen in Lorraine Hansberry’s most notable and landmark play A Raisin in the Sun. This groundbreaking play is about the younger family who are a poor black family that lives on the Southside of Chicago. In this play Walter, Elaine, Beneatha have…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    King says his dream is “deeply unmoving within the American Dream.” This reinforces the protest’ rights to equality in America. He says he dreams that “the sons of former slaves and also the sons of former slave homeowners are ready to sit down along at the table of brotherhood.” This emphasizes the necessity for black and white Americans to figure along. Central to the message of this speech, and also the Civil Rights movement additional typically, is that this line: “I have a dream that my four little kids can sooner or later sleep in a nation wherever they're going to not be judged by the colour of their skin however by the content of their character.”…

    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963 and it became one of the most iconic speeches to go down in history. In front of thousands, he spoke of freedom and hope that one day people wouldn’t be treated differently because of the color of their skin. This theme coincides with the theme for the play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. The play also involves discrimination and hope, but focused more on the importance and struggles of family. A family of five received a welfare check of ten thousands dollars, but couldn’t quite make a decision on what to do with it to make everyone happy. They wanted to spend it on a new home of their own and start anew, but Walter Lee wanted to invest in a liquor store. King’s “I…

    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lorraine Hansberry

    • 343 Words
    • 3 Pages

    LORRAINE HANSBERRY By: Annie Malcolm      Playwright Political Author 1930 Chicago Youngest of 4 Parents intellectuals and activists BACKGROUND Woodland area of Chicago All-white neighborhood “all-white” public school Reflected in “A Raisin in the Sun” DURING THIS ERA… Segregation still legal and widely spread through the south Northern states had no official policy, but most were generally segregated Chicago was strictly divided among black and white neighborhoods Hansberry’s family was one of the first to move into a white neighborhood A RAISIN IN THE SUN First African-American play on Broadway Published 1959 Received NY Drama Award Critics Award Youngest and first African American to receive it…

    • 343 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is faced with many big issues and themes that affect African Americans in the 1950’s. These overlying themes appear in the form of individuals in the play, even for those characters that play only minor roles. George Murchison, Willy Harris, and Mr. Lindner each represent different obstacles that the Younger’s must overcome in order to follow their dreams and trust what is in their hearts. This is Hansberry’s way of telling her readers to not be afraid to follow their dreams, even if there are obstacles in your path, because if they don’t then they will be worse off than ever before.…

    • 1065 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays