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A Raisin in the Sun. Textanalyse und Interpretation. Königs Erläuterungen Spezial
KÖNIGS ERLÄUTERUNGEN SPEZIAL
3140
Textanalyse und Interpretation zu
Lorraine Hansberry
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
Patrick Charles
Analyse | Interpretation in englischer Sprache
Zitierte Ausgaben: Hansberry, Lorraine: A Raisin in the Sun. Stuttgart: Klett Sprachen / Vintage: New York, 2017.
Über den Autor dieser Erläuterung: Patrick Charles wurde 1973 in Bournemouth, Südengland, geboren und studierte englische Literatur an der Universität von Newcastle. 1993 zog er nach Berlin, wo er eine Ausbildung zum Buchhändler machte und zehn Jahre lang als Buchhändler arbeitete. Seit 2004 ist er als freiberuflicher Autor von Schulbüchern und Lernhilfen und als Übersetzer im Kulturbereich tätig. Er lebt mit seiner Familie in Berlin.
1. Auflage 2019
ISBN 978-3-8044-4140-8
© 2019 by C. Bange Verlag, 96142 Hollfeld
Alle Rechte vorbehalten!
Titelabbildung: Sidney Poitier in der Verfilmung des Romans (1961).
© picture alliance / Mary Evans Picture Library
Hinweise zur Bedienung
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INHALT
1. AT A GLANCE
2. Lorraine Hansberry: LIFE & WORKS
2.1 Biography
2.2 Contemporary Background
The USA after World War II
The Harlem Renaissance
Society and politics
Pan-Africanism: African-Americans and Africa
Culture
Broadway
Music
2.3 Notes on Other Important Works
1961 The screenplay of A Raisin in the Sun
1964 The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
1969 To Be Young, Gifted and Black
1970 Les Blancs
3. ANALYSES AND INTERPRETATIONS
3.1 Origins and Sources
Politically active parents
Hansberry v. Lee
Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance
Cultural references
3.2 Summaries
Act I
Scene 1 (p. 23)
Scene 2 (p. 54)
Act II
Scene 1 (p. 76)
Scene 2 (p. 96)
Scene 3 (p. 110)
Act III (p. 131)
3.3 Structure
Scenes
Acts
Transitions within scenes
A breakdown of transitions within a scene
3.4 Characters
The Younger family
“Mama” Lena (p. 39)
Ruth (p. 24)
Walter Lee (p. 25)
Beneatha “Bennie” (p. 35)
Travis Willard (p. 25)
The other characters
Joseph Asagai (p. 60)
George Murchison (p. 79)
Karl Lindner (p. 113)
Mrs. Johnson (p. 98)
Bobo (p. 125)
“Big” Walter Younger (deceased)
Willie (Willy) Harris
Constellation of the characters
3.5 Notes on themes
Poverty and money
Family relationships and gender issues
Dreams, hopes, ambitions – the future
Race and identity
The philosophy of A Raisin in the Sun
3.6 Style and language
The language of plays, scripts and screenplays
Stage directions
The actors’ lines
Creative use of language in A Raisin in the Sun
Yoruba
3.7 Interpretations
Background
Adaptations
The ”Raisin Cycle”
Macklemore’s mistake
4. RECEPTION
Success
Ambiguous responses
5. MATERIALS
Lorraine Hansberry and Bobby Kennedy (1963)
Hansberry and the Town Hall forum (1964)
6. SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Task 1 **
Task 2 **
Task 3 **
Literatur
Edition used for this study guide
About the author
About A Raisin in the Sun
Film A Raisin in the Sun
Pan-Africanism
Other references
A note on Wikipedia as a research tool
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.
Lorraine Hansberry (1930–1965)
© picture alliance/Everett Collection
2.1 Biografie YEAR PLACE EVENT AGE