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

1. Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun, Drama, and Struggle English I

2. Hansberry • May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965 • African American playwright • Also an author of political speeches, letters, and essays

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Themes to Look For • Dreams • Money • Family • Women’s Rights • Racial Tensions and Discrimination • Assimilation • Cultural Heritage • Self-Identity and Self-Expression

11. Symbols • Definition: Some reoccurring image that stands for an idea beyond itself • Be out on the lookout for symbols throughout the play!

12. 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?”

13. 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