Raisin in the Sun Essay: A Dream Deferred -- Raisin Sun essays

Dream Deferred in A Raisin in the Sun What happens to a dream deferred? (l. 1) Langston Hughes asks in his 1959 poem Dream Deferred. He suggests that it might dry up exchangeable a raisin in the solarise (ll. 2-3) or stink like rotten meat (l. 6) however, at the demise of the poem, Hughes offers another(prenominal) alternative by asking, Or does it explode? (l. 11). This is the view Lorraine Hansberry supports in her 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun. The drama opens with Walter reading, Set off another bomb yesterday (1831), from the front page of the morning newspaper however, he is unaw are that bombs will soon detonate inner(a) his own house. These bombs are explosions of emotion caused by frustration among members of Walters family who are unable to realize their dreams. Although they alone have a common dream of having a better life, they mustiness compete with each other for the insurance money from the untimely shoemakers last of Walters take. Walter wants to get rich q uickly by investing the money in a liquor store, but his sister, Beneatha, would rather use it to finish medical examination school. Mama and Walters wife, Ruth, both want to leave their worn house in the ghetto for a nicer one where Walters son, Travis, can have his own bedroom and a yard in which to play. The dreams of these characters, however, are deferred for so long that frustration grows inside them and eventually bursts out. Each day Walter has to continue working as a servant, his internal frustration and anger build, and he eventually releases his anger against Beneatha, Ruth, and Mama. Who the nether region told you you had to be a doctor? (1838) he demands of Beneatha. If you so crazy bout messing round with ditch people&emdashthen go be a nurse like other women&emdashor just ... ... all-white neighborhood. The opposition of Mr. Lindner (who offers a substantial inwardness of money to buy the house from them) unites the family in their mutual goal, and Walter last comes into his human race (1896) he declines Lindners money and declares, we have decided to move into our house because my father&emdashmy father&emdashhe earned it for us brick by brick (1894). When cooperation replaces competition, the family can finally realize its dreams. Works Cited Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Literature and Its Writers An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. capital of Massachusetts Bedford Books, 1997. 1829-96. Hughes, Langston. Dream Deferred. Literature and Its Writers An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston Bedford Books, 1997. 1138.