Per Alidz O:
In class, Professor Schaub talked about cultural mixing and diverse knowledge. Schaub described Beneatha as a college student who brings new ideas into her family. However, when she dresses up as a Nigerian woman and begins to dance to "African" music, we see that Beneatha has only limited knowledge about what it means to have a Nigerian identity. I wonder, why would Hansberry do this? To have her cutting-edge figure appear ignorant is an unusual choice.
Per Jack J:
I believe Walter and Bigger Thomas are similar in that they both offer typical persepctives through the eyes of an
African-American male during the middle of the twentieth century. He and Bigger both struggle with feeling responsible for their
families, and because of this pressure, both characters come to an unfortunate conclusion; to make quick riches in order to be
happy. What is it about Walter, that gives him the strength to venture away from illegal activities? Does he have a stronger
family? Is he loved in ways Bigger is not? I believe the level of desperation in Bigger exceeds that of Walter's, and I also think
the fire raging inside of Bigger is an emotion Walter does not feel.
There are many similarities between Native Son and A Raisin in the Sun. One of these is a large conflict between the Blacks in the south side of Chicago and the white community. In both of these books some force is restraining the blacks to living in the designated area of the south side. In Native Son this force is the real estate companies along with Mr. Dalton and in A Raisin in the Sun it is the Clybourne Park Improvement Association with Mr. Linder. Why do you think both authors used this as a large source of conflict, and why do you think they gave a face (Mr. Dalton and Mr. Linder) to the problem? Also, do you think that this would still be a source of conflict if the author's had set the book in another major city such as New York?
The title of this play obviously invokes the thought of a person being trapped under pressure. Just like a raisin in the sun, this person will dry out and will eventually become only a shadow of what they once were. The question is this: up to this point in the play, who do you think is "the raisin in the sun"? Is Mama the raisin due to all the pressure put on her due to the $10,000? Is Walter the raisin due to his enormous amount of frustration? Or is this whole family the raisin? In my opinion, the family as a whole unit is the raisin because they are all being put under pressure (with the decisions involving the money and the move to an all-white neighborhood). So, who do you think the raisin is, and what is the "sun" that is drying them out?
In the first act of A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry brings up many issues that are still debated today. In the first scene, Beneatha, Ruth, and Mama get into their debate about Beneatha not wanting to marry George even though he's wealthy and then that Beneatha wants to be a doctor. When Mama mentions God during all of this, Beneath responds with "God hasn't got a thing to do with it" and sets off a big fight about her beliefs. In the end, Ruth says Beneatha thinks she's a woman, but is actually just a child. Was Beneatha being childish for believing that it is by her hard work that she'll become a doctor and that God has nothing to do with it? Or was she being childish for saying she doesn't believe in God in front of Mama, a woman with strong faith? Is it possible that in fact, Beneatha was speaking beyond her years when she speaks passionately about being a female doctor and doing it on her own?
Both in The Native Son and now The Raisin in the Sun it seems that the environment in which each character lives has a profound effect on there actions and behavior in society. The environmental pressures seems to steer how they should perceive themselves in public. From Bigger's act of inferiority around whites and then his subsequent murder of Mary. He behaves in a stereotypical manor that plays into the image that white people have set upon blacks. To the people trying to make Beneatha act and behave like a women of that time. They try to convince her to give up her independent ways and become the typical image of women at this time in history. Even though today we pride ourselves on being independent and focus on uniqueness of the individual; are we still guided and effected by the environment in which we live? When we make a claim of being an original individual, are we really being original or just placing ourselves in another stereotypical group?
'The Sound and the Fury' by William Faulkner, 'Native Son' by Richard Wright, and 'A Raisin in the Sun' by Lorraine Hansberry are all modernist books dealing with many social questions, including religion. In each case, it seems the younger generations tend to reject the religious--primarily Christian--beliefs of their parents. Caddy acts promiscuously while Jason wallows in greed, Bigger outright refuses God and kills without conscious, and Beneatha declares God a false and unnecessary concept that shifts credit for good away from men and women. There is also a certain mold for the "religious" parents: Mrs. Compson is a self-pitying busy-body, Mrs. Thomas is out of touch with her children, and Lena is almost being phased out. What does this suggest about Modernism? Is religion used to widen the gap between the parents and children? Is there a reason the individuals that claim to be Christian are all women? Are the children rejecting God as a part of rejecting their parents or is it part of some new philosophy?
