Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun, Drama, and Struggle

Hansberry

May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965

African American playwright Also an author of

political speeches, letters, and essays

Early Life

Youngest of four children of Carl Augustus Hansberry (a prominent real estate broker) and Nannie Louise Perry

She grew up on the south side of Chicago in the Woodlawn neighborhood.

Controversial Move

The family then moved into an all-white neighborhood, where they faced racial

discrimination Segregation in Chicago was not forced; but racial tensions naturally divided the city

Supreme Court case of Hansberry versus Lee

Hansberry's father engaged in a legal battle against a racially restrictive covenant that attempted to prohibit African-American families from buying homes in the area.

Though victors in the Supreme Court, Hansberry's family was subjected to what Hansberry would later describe as a "hellishly hostile white neighborhood."

This experience later inspired her to write her most famous work, A Raisin in the Sun.

Later Hansberry

Finding college to be uninspiring, Hansberry left in 1950 to pursue her career as a writer in New York City.

She worked on the staff of a Black newspaper called Freedom. It was at this time she wrote A Raisin in the Sun.

Basics of the Play

The story is based upon her family's own experiences growing up in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood.

A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway, as well as the first play with a black director (Lloyd Richards) on Broadway

Importance of the Play

A Raisin in the Sun can be considered a turning point in American art and drama because it addresses so many issues important during the 1950s in the United States

Hansberry creates in the Younger family one of the first honest depictions of a black family on an American stage

Importance of Play, cont.

She uses black vernacular throughout the play Broaches important issues and conflicts, such as poverty, discrimination, and the construction of African-American racial identity

Subjects to Look For

DreamsMoneyFamilyWomen’s RightsRacial Tensions and DiscriminationAssimilationCultural HeritageSelf-Identity and Self-Expression

Symbols

Definition: Some reoccurring image that stands for an idea beyond itself

Be out on the lookout for symbols throughout the play!

Big Questions

To what extent do our dreams define who were are? When is it OK or right to “defer” our dreams?

How and where did racism occur after slavery and segregation? Where does it exist today?

What about sexism?What does one need in order to find self-

identity? To “know thyself?”

Unit Literary Objectives

To trace two themes throughout the play, from a) introduction to b) development to c) ending statement

To recognize how Hansberry successfully uses the vernacular in a powerful and poetic manner