A Raisin in the Sun Group

Question:

deshon
deshon
Student
College - Junior

What would be the theme of "A Raisin in the Sun" and the poem "Harlem?"

Explain the literary device of "A Raisin in the Sun" and the poem "Harlem."

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Posted by deshon on Tuesday April 21, 2009 at 8:16 AM.

Answers:

  1. parkerlee
    parkerlee Teacher

    eNotes Editor

    The poem "A Dream Deferred" by American black author Langston Hughes and the Lorraine Hansberry's play "A Raisin in the Sun" both deal with thwarted dreams and the consequence thereof. Long term disappointment is destructive in one of two ways: either it erupts into violence or shrivels up and dies unnoticed. Unstated but clear is the message that ambition and striving are wasted in a society blighted by prejudice since there is no real possibility for success in such a closed mind frame.

    The poem "A Dream Deferred" compares this frustration to a raisin drying up in the sun or a festering blister; the literary device is called a simile, since the word "like" is used to establish the metaphorical comparison.

    In Hansberry's play, the title is both an implicit metaphor (not directly stated) and an allusion to Hughes's poem, which evidently was her source of inspiration.

    As to the second work you mentioned, I will leave that to another answerer. Anyway, only one question at a time!

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/raisin-sun/summary
    http://www.enotes.com/raisin-sun/themes
    http://www.enotes.com/raisin-sun/thoughts-raisin-sun

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    Posted by parkerlee on Sunday April 5, 2009 at 11:13 AM