1. Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry
1959

2. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Post WWII-”American Dream” in full swing.
Population Migration -More and more people moving from cities to suburbs.
SEGREGATION: Civil Rights has NOT been passed yet. Black people still have to pay to vote in some instances, use different doors, etc.
Typical family: Mom at home. Dad works. 2-3 kids & a dog
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3. LITERARY ELEMENTS OF A DRAMA
Parts of a drama/play
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
Character Development

4. LITERARY DEVICES Mood, tone, style Irony, humor, rhetorical questions
Mama: Oh—So now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life—now it’s money. I guess the world really do change . . .
Irony, humor, rhetorical questions
“Then isn’t there something wrong in a house—in a world—where all dreams, good or bad, must depend on the death of a man?
Metaphor (the title) & simile, imagery, Symbolism
foreshadowing

5. THEMES: Fighting racial discrimination Importance of family
Importance of family

6. “A Raisin in the Sun” poem by Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?