Читать книгу A Raisin in the Sun. Textanalyse und Interpretation. Königs Erläuterungen Spezial - Lorraine Hansberry - Страница 4

1.	Das Wichtigste auf einen Blick – Schnellübersicht

This study guide to Lorraine Hansberry’s drama A Raisin in the Sun is designed to provide an easy-to-use overview of the structure, context, themes and characters of the play.

Part 2 takes a brief look at Lorraine Hansberry and her career.

 Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1930. Her parents both worked and were both active in pushing back against racism and discrimination.

 A Raisin in the Sun was first performed on stage in 1959, the first play written by an African-American woman to ever be performed on Broadway, and was an instant success.

Part 3 provides analyses and interpretations of the play.

A Raisin in the Sun – Origins and Sources:

Hansberry’s play was influenced by her own experiences and her parents’ activism, by the Harlem Renaissance and the poet Langston Hughes, and the reality of life for African-Americans living in a big city like Chicago in the 1950s.

Summaries:

A Raisin in the Sun is about the Younger family – “Mama” Lena, her son Walter, his wife Ruth, and their son Travis, and Lena’s other child, her daughter Beneatha. They share an apartment in a poor district in Chicago. The family is about to receive a $10,000 pay-out from Mama’s dead husband’s life insurance, and the money causes trouble. Walter wants to invest in a liquor store with a shady friend, Willie Harris: Ruth and Mama want to invest in a nice house in a better part of town. A representative of the white residents of the area the Younger family wishes to move to tries to buy them off, not wanting black families to move into their neighbourhood. When the cheque arrives, Mama allows Walter to look after the majority of the money to help him fight off depression and a sense of being a failure. But he loses all of the money she gives him when Willie steals it. Luckily, Mama has saved the rest and made a down payment on the house in Clybourne Park. The family gets ready to move, deciding to defy the white residents and fight for their unity and happiness.

Structure:

Raisin is a three-act play. The dramatic structure follows the classic development of build-up, climax and resolution.

Characters:

The play is about the Younger family and a few important characters around them.

 “Mama” Lena Younger is a widow. She is a strong, caring, loving figure who holds the family together.

 Ruth Younger is a weary, prematurely aged housewife. She works non-stop and is showing signs of breaking under the pressure of her work, her difficult husband, and the fact that she is pregnant.

 Walter Lee Younger is a bitter and frustrated young man in his 30s. He is intense and his sister describes him as an “elaborate neurotic”.

 Beneatha Younger is Walter’s sister. She is an educated, interesting woman who is determined to explore her potential and express herself.

 Travis Willard Younger is the 10-year old son of Ruth and Walter. He is a lively, charming boy.

 Joseph Asagai is a sophisticated Nigerian student who is friends with Beneatha. He has a strong influence on her interest in Africa and her African heritage.

 George Murchison is a wealthy, middle-class young black man who is courting Beneatha. She finds him shallow.

 Karl Lindner is the representative of the white residents’ association of Clybourne Park. He has been sent to the Younger family to persuade them not to buy the house there: the residents don’t want black people living there.

Other characters like Bobo, Mrs. Johnson or Willie Harris.

Themes:

The major themes we will look at in this study guide are racial identity (including white-black racism and African/African-American issues): family relationships and gender equality; social issues like poverty and ghettoes; and the important theme of dreams, faith and hope.

Style and Language:

We have to deal with two distinct categories of language: the stage directions and the lines.

Interpretation:

We will look at the film in this chapter and at the continuing story of the Younger family by other authors.