Summary Of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Lorraine Hansberry, author of the play A Raisin In The Sun, was the first ever African American woman to ever have a play published and later have it performed on Broadway. Hansberry was born on May 30th 1930 in Chicago Illinois into a middle class family where she lived with her grandmother who was a freed slave, her father, mother and the 3 of her siblings. Her father was a very successful real estate broker and her mother was a teacher. Once Lorraine was 8 years old, her family moved into a white neighbourhood. Her family did not move due to the racism in the neighbourhood, and therefore took his situation to court. The court ordered him to evacuate the home, but then challenged the United States Supreme Court and succeeded. But after the …show more content…
He is thirty five years old, is married to Ruth Younger and is the father of Travis younger. Walter is outgoing, and full of dreams. Walter desperately wants to escape the life of poverty, he believes that all of his family's problems will disappear if they escape poverty. He also believes that he will be respected more within his community and looked up by others. Walter: “ ... This morning, I was lookin' in the mirror and thinking about it... I'm thirtyfive years old; I been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room —(very, very quietly) —and all I got to give him is stories about how rich white people live” shows Walters perspective on life and reveals how badly he wants to become rich because because he knows it will benefit his entire family. Lena Younger or “Mama” is the mother of Walter Lee Younger and Beneatha Younger. She is very proud of her accomplishments and has given her children the best life possible. She wants to make sure that her family lives a happy life and believes that the way to achieve that is by buying a larger place to live. Mama says “We ain't no business people, Ruth. We just plain working folks” to Ruth, explaining to her that wha she truly wants is a happy family in a nice house. She doesnt want to start a business but rather enjoy her life with her family and cherish the …show more content…
Beneatha and Walter are constantly bickering because Walter believes Beneatha's life long dream of being a doctor is not even nearly possible. He often crushes her dream by telling her to become a nurse, which is more likely to be possible. Otherwise, Beneatha criticizes Walter's because he wants to start off his business career by opening up a liquor store. The tone is sarcastic and realistic during most of the play especially when family members bicker. Sometimes the tone is saddening and solemn. The Younger family overcomes such a hard obstacles in life just to be where they are right