Write a critical response paper analyzing Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. Your paper should demonstrate close reading skills, textual analysis, and the ability to develop a clear argument supported by specific evidence from the play.
We will watch the play in class. There is a link to the text in out PDF for the class. Be advised that the link leads to a wonky text version (I didn't choose it:) so you may want to check a copy out of the library or find a free PDF version online.
Option 1: The American Dream Deferred
Analyze how Hansberry explores the concept of the "American Dream" through the Younger family's experiences. How do different characters define success and happiness? Consider how race, class, and generation influence each character's vision of the American Dream. Use specific examples to show how the play critiques or complicates traditional notions of upward mobility and success in America.
Option 2: Gender and Identity
Examine the roles of the three Younger women (Mama, Beneatha, and Ruth) and how each represents different aspects of Black womanhood in 1950s America. How does Hansberry use these characters to explore themes of tradition versus progress, motherhood, education, and self-determination? Discuss how their individual struggles and aspirations reflect larger social tensions of the era.
Option 3: Space, Place, and Dignity
Analyze the significance of the apartment setting and the family's desire to move to Clybourne Park. How does Hansberry use physical space—both the cramped apartment and the dream of a house—as a metaphor for larger themes in the play? Consider how issues of territory, belonging, and dignity connect to the characters' psychological and emotional states throughout the play.
Sample Answer
The Irony of Achievement: Deferral and Dignity in Hansberry's American Dream
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun functions as a profound critique of the American Dream, exposing how its promise of upward mobility and success is perpetually deferred and often poisoned by racial and economic barriers. Through the contrasting desires of the Younger family members—specifically Mama, Walter, and Beneatha—Hansberry demonstrates that while the Dream is defined primarily by wealth and material possession, its true fulfillment for Black Americans must be rooted in dignity, self-respect, and territorial belonging. The play uses the differing definitions of success among its generations and genders to complicate the notion that hard work alone guarantees achievement in mid-20th century America.
The matriarch, Lena "Mama" Younger, represents the generation whose vision of the American Dream is deeply practical and centered on stability and spiritual integrity. Her $10,000 insurance money—the tangible core of the Dream—is intended to secure a foundational sense of decency. Mama's ultimate goal is not riches, but space: a house with a garden, a place where her family can breathe, and where Travis can play outside. This pursuit of property, specifically in the white neighborhood of Clybourne Park, is not purely economic; it is a quest for territorial dignity—a marker of citizenship previously denied by segregation. When she tells Walter, “I just—I just want us to be decent people. I want my children to be respectable citizens,” she conflates property ownership with moral righteousness and the basic right to belong. Her success is defined by providing a non-negotiable bedrock of safety and spiritual health, a vision shaped by the hard-won lessons of a class perpetually denied access to secure assets.The matriarch, Lena "Mama" Younger, represents the generation whose vision of the American Dream is deeply practical and centered on stability and spiritual integrity. Her $10,000 insurance money—the tangible core of the Dream—is intended to secure a foundational sense of decency. Mama's ultimate goal is not riches, but space: a house with a garden, a place where her family can breathe, and where Travis can play outside. This pursuit of property, specifically in the white neighborhood of Clybourne Park, is not purely economic; it is a quest for territorial dignity—a marker of citizenship previously denied by segregation. When she tells Walter, “I just—I just want us to be decent people. I want my children to be respectable citizens,” she conflates property ownership with moral righteousness and the basic right to belong. Her success is defined by providing a non-negotiable bedrock of safety and spiritual health, a vision shaped by the hard-won lessons of a class perpetually denied access to secure assets.