A Raisin in the Sun (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Lorraine Hansberry
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Problem play
- Time of Work: Between the 1940’s and the 1950’s
- Setting: South Side of Chicago
- Principal Characters: Mama (Lena Younger), Walter Lee Younger, Beneatha Younger (Bennie), Ruth Younger
- Genres: Social realism, Family literature, Drama
- Subjects: 1950’s, African Americans, Discrimination, Segregation or integration, Family or family life, 1940’s, Yards or backyards, Chicago, Poverty or poor people, Inner cities or inner-city life, Success or failure
- Locales: Chicago, IL
The Play
According to Lorraine Hansberry’s stage directions at the beginning of the play, the action occurs sometime between the end of World War II and the 1950’s. The play is set in an urban ghetto and deals with the problems encountered by a poor black family as it tries to cope with the realities of life on Chicago’s South Side. It reveals the devastating effects of poverty and oppression on the African American family. Even before the play begins, Hansberry’s stage directions, both in tone and substance, suggest the extent of that devastation. The furnishings in...
[The entire page is 2799 words long]
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