The concept of American Dream appeared in so many works in literature, including drama. Many playwrights tried to reflect that concept in their plays in order to give a clear picture of the American society. Lorrain Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun (1959) clearly portrays this concept. It reflects the life of the Youngers, a typical African-American family of the period between World War II and the radical 60s who lived in a ghetto in Chicago's Southside. It records the Younger's struggles to find their place and purpose in this world without destroying the delicate relationships within their family. The play clearly portrays the dilemma of an African American family accurately and realistically in which each member had a deferred dream, even little Travis although his dream was not directly stated. Their dreams become dried up like a raisin in the sun. Not just dreams are dried up though; Walter Lee and Ruth's marriage became dried up also. Their marriage was no longer of much importance, like a dream it was postponed and it became dry. Their struggle for happiness dried up because they had to concentrate all of their energies on surviving. The play shows how a family had to overcome and learn life's lessons the hard way. Through Walter, the play showed that sometimes dreams have to be let go and through Mama it showed that sometimes dreams have to be held on to. Through Beneatha, it was shown that things aren't always how they seem. The family was able to overcome a major obstacle once they united. This paper deals with Lorrain Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun .It consists of an abstract, an introduction, and one section that tackles the concept of American Dream in the play.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.