 Hello and welcome to our video summarizing all you need to know about the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lauren Hansberry. My name is Barbara and in this video we'll examine this play in detail. We'll begin by a little bit about the author herself Lauren Hansberry before examining the play's summary, what happens in each act as well as important themes. So let's get started. To begin with let's look at Lorraine Hansberry herself. So she was born in Chicago on 19th May 1930 and she was the youngest of four children. Her parents were well-educated successful African-American citizens who publicly fought discrimination against other African-Americans in USA society at the time. When Hansberry was a child she and her family lived in an African-American neighborhood on Chicago's south side and during this era segregation which was then forced separations of whites and blacks was still legal and widespread throughout the southern part of America. Northern states including Hansberry's own Illinois had no official policy of segregation however they were generally self-segregated along racial and economic lines in other words African Americans didn't really mix with white Americans and vice versa. Chicago was a striking example of a city that carved into strictly divided African-Americans and white American neighborhoods. In other words they really adhered to this strict idea of segregation and Hansberry's family became one of the first to move into an all-white neighborhood however she attended a segregated public school for African-Americans. Now when neighbors in the white community that they lived in struck with them with threats of violence and legal actions the Hansberries did defend themselves and her father successfully brought his case all the way to the Supreme Court. Hansberry herself always wrote that she felt the inclination to record her experiences. At times her writing including A Raisin in the Sun can be recognizably autobiographical. She was one of the first playwrights to create realistic portraits of African-American life. When A Raisin in the Sun opened in March 1959 it was met with great praise from both white American as well as African-American audience members. It was arguably the first play to portray African-American characters, themes and conflicts in a very natural and realistic way and the Raisin in the Sun had received lots of critical acclaim including the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for the best play of the year at the time. Hansberry became the youngest playwright and the fifth woman and the only African-American writer at that point to win the award and she used her newfound fame to bring attention to the American civil rights movement as well as African-American struggles for independence from colonialism as well as of course Africans themselves their struggle for independence from colonial masters in the continent itself and her promising career was cut short when she died from cancer in 1965 at just 34 years old. Now A Raisin in the Sun can be considered an important turning point in American art because it addresses so many issues that were important and pertinent during the 1950s in the US. The 1950s were widely marked in modern times as an age of complacency, conformism and symbolised by the growth of suburbs and commercial culture that began that decade and such a view however is seen as superficial at best beneath the economic prosperity that characterised America in the years following the Second World War there was growing domestic and racial tension. The stereotype of 1950s America was a land of happy housewives and African-Americans who were content with their inferior status which resulted in an upswell of social resentment that would publicly find a voice and finally find a voice in the civil rights movements as well as the feminist movements of the 1960s. The player Raisin in the Sun was first performed in the conservative 1950s and it became really popular especially in the 60s as it explores all of these vital issues and it was seen as a really important and revolutionary work for itself and Hansberry really was at the centre of creating this as it explores not only the tension between African-American and white society but also the strain within the African-American community over how to react to a really oppressive white American community. Also Hansberry herself has addressed feminist questions far ahead of the time because it's through the character of Benita that Hansberry proposes that marriage is not necessarily for women and men women can and should have ambitious career goals and of course even in this place she approaches a abortion debate and this was seen as something that was far ahead of its time. So there's a lot of important themes and issues that are characterised within this play and this play remains really important as a cultural document of a crucial period in American history. So let's examine the play in a nutshell. Now this play tells the story of a lower-class black family struggle to gain middle-class acceptance. When the play opens Mamma the 60-year-old mother of the family is waiting for a $10,000 insurance check from the death of her husband and the drama focuses primarily on how the $10,000 should be spent. The son Walter Lee Younger is so desperate to be a better provider for his growing family that he wants to invest the entire sum in a liquor store with two of his friends. His mother objects mainly for ethical reasons. She's vehemently opposed to the idea of selling liquor in other words the idea of selling alcohol and minor conflicts erupt over this disagreement. Now when Mamma decides to use part of the money as a down payment on a house in a white neighbourhood her conflict with her son Walter escalates and causes her deep anguish. In an attempt to make things right between herself and her son Mamma entrusts Walter Lee with the rest of the money which he immediately invests secretly in the liquor store scheme believing that he'll quadruple his initial investment. One of Walter Lee's prospective business partners however runs off with this money a loss which tests the spiritual and psychological metal of each family member and after much wavering and facilitating the youngest decide to continue with the plans to move in spite of their financial reversals and in spite of having been warmed by a weak representative of the white neighborhood that African Americans are not welcome there. Now to go into some depth on the play So in Act 1 scene 1 it's morning at the youngest apartment they live in a small dwelling on the south side of Chicago which has two bedrooms one for Mamma and Benita and one for Ruth and Walter Lee. Travis sleeps on the couch in the living room the only window is a small kitchen and the share a bathroom in the hall with the neighbours. The stage directions indicate that the furniture though apparently once chosen with care is now worn and faded. Ruth gets up first and after some noticeable difficulty rouses Travis and water as she makes breakfast and while Travis gets ready in the communal bathroom Ruth and water talk in the kitchen. They don't seem happy yet they engage in light humor and they keep mentioning a check. Walter scans the front page of the newspaper and reads that another bomb was set off and Ruth responds with indifference. Travis then asks them for money he's supposed to bring 50 cents to school and of course Travis is water and Ruth's first child and Ruth tells him that they don't have it. His persistent nagging quickly irritates her. Walter however gives Travis an entire dollar while staring at his wife Ruth essentially undermining her then Travis leaves for school and water tells Ruth that he wants to use the check to invest in a liquor store with a few of his friends. Walter and Ruth continue to argue about their unhappy lives a dialogue that Ruth cuts short by telling her husband and to quote from the play eat your eggs they're going to be cold. Beneatha gets up next and after discovering that the bathroom is occupied by someone from another family engages in a verbal joust with Walter. He thinks that she should be doing something more womanly than studying for medicine especially since her tuition will cut into the check money which is the insurance payment for their father's death. Beneatha argues that the money belongs to Mama and that Mama has the right to decide how it's spent and Walter then leaves for his job as a chauffeur and he has to ask Ruth for money to get to work because the money he gave to Travis was for his car fare. Mama then enters and goes directly to a small plant that she keeps us outside the kitchen window. She expresses sympathy for grandson Travis while she questions Ruth's inability or rather ability to care for him properly. She asks Ruth what she would do with the money which amounts to $10,000 and for once Ruth seems to be on Walter's side. She thinks that if Mama gives him some of the money he might regain his happiness and confidence which are two things Ruth feels she can no longer provide for her husband. Mama though feels morally repulsed with the idea of getting into the alcohol business instead she wants to move to her house with a lawn on which Travis can play. Owning her house has always been a dream she shared with her husband and now that her husband is gone she nurtures the stream even more powerfully. Mama and Ruth then begin to tease Beneatha about the many activities that she tries and quits including her latest attempt to learn how to play the guitar and Beneatha claims that she's trying to express herself an idea that Ruth and Mama have a laugh about. They discuss the man that Beneatha has been dating called George Merchanson. Beneatha gets angry as appraised George because she thinks he's shallow. Mama and Ruth don't understand her ambivalence towards George arguing that she should like him simply because he's rich. Beneatha contends that it's for that very reason any further relationship is actually pointless as George's family wouldn't really approve of her anyway they're not from the same social class. Beneatha then makes a mistake of using the Lord's name in vain in front of Mama who's quite religious which sparks another conversation about the extent of God's providence. Beneatha argues that God doesn't really seem to be helping her or her family and Mama outraged at such a pronouncement asserts that she's the head of the household and there will be no such thoughts expressed in her home. Beneatha recants her statement and leaves for school and Mama goes to the window to tend to her plant and Ruth and Mama talk about Walter and Beneatha and Ruth suddenly faints. Now in Act 1 scene 2 the next day which is Saturday the youngers are cleaning their apartment and waiting for the insurance check to arrive. Walter receives a phone call from his friend Willie Harris who is coordinating the potential liquor store venture. It appears that the plan is moving forward smoothly the insurance check is all Walter needs to pursue this venture and he promises to bring the money to Willie when he receives it. Meanwhile Beneatha is spraying the apartment with insecticide in an attempt to rid it of cockroaches and Beneatha and Travis start fighting and Beneatha threatens him with a spray gun. The phone rings and Beneatha answers she invites the person on the phone over to the small dirty apartment much to her mother Mama's char grin. After hanging up Beneatha explains to Mama that the man she's spoken to is called Joseph Assagai an African intellectual whom Beneatha has met at school. She and Mama discuss Beneatha's worry about her family's ignorance on Africa the continent as well as African people. Mama believes that Africans need religious salvation from what she calls heathenism while Beneatha believes that they are in greater need of political and civil salvation from French and British colonialism. Ruth returns from seeing a doctor who's told her that she's two months pregnant. She reveals this information to Mama and Beneatha and Ruth and Beneatha are worried and uncertain while Mama simply expresses her hope that the baby will be a girl. Ruth calls a doctor she which arouses Mama's suspicion because their family doctor is a man. Ruth feels ill and anxious about her pregnancy however Mama tries to help her relax. Assagai then visits Beneatha and they spend some time together. He brings her some Nigerian clothing and music as gifts and as Beneatha tries one of the robes Assagai asks about her straightened hair. He implies that her hairstyle is just too American and unnatural and he wonders how it got that way. Beneatha said that her hair was once like his but she finds it too and to quote raw in that way. In other words in an afro she sees it as too raw. Assagai teases her a bit about it however he also teases her about finding her identity where he becomes really serious especially with regards to her African identity and maybe discovering this through him. Assagai obviously cares for Beneatha. He wonders why Beneatha doesn't have the same feeling towards him and she explains that she's looking for more than a story book love. She wants to become an independent and liberated woman and Assagai scorns her wish much to her disappointment. Mama comes into the room and Beneatha introduces her to Assagai. Mama then recites Beneatha's views on Africa and African people as best as she can. When Assagai says goodbye he calls Beneatha by a nickname Alaio. He explains that it's a word from his African tribal language roughly translated to mean one for whom bread food is not enough. He leaves having charmed both women and finally the ten thousand dollar check arrives. Water returns home and wants to talk about his liquor store plans. Ruth wants to discuss her pregnancy with him and becomes upset that she won't listen. He won't listen and she shuts herself into their bedroom. Mama sits down with water who's upset by and ashamed of his poverty his job as a chauffeur as well as his lack of upward mobility. Finally Mama tells him that Ruth is pregnant and she fears that Ruth is considering having an abortion. Water doesn't believe that Ruth should do such a thing until Ruth comes out of the bedroom to confirm that she's made a bay down payment on this abortion service. Now in Act 2 Scene 1 later on the same day Beneatha emerges from her room cloaked in Nigerian attire that Assagai has bought from her. She dances around in the apartment claiming to be performing a tribal dance and she shouts and sings. Ruth finds Beneatha's pageantry silly and questions her about it. Meanwhile, water returns home drunk. He sees Beneatha all dressed up and acts out some made up tribal rituals with her at one point standing on a table and pronouncing himself flaming spear and Ruth looks unwarily. Of course both Beneatha and water are playing on what some could call very racist African stereotypes in this scene. George Merchantson arrives to pick up Beneatha. This is the other man that Beneatha is seeing. Beneatha removes her headdress to reveal that she's cut off most of her hair leaving only an unstraightened afro. Everyone's shocked and amazed and also slightly disappointed with Beneatha prompting a fierce discussion between Beneatha and George about the importance of their African heritage. Beneatha goes to change for the theatre and water talks to George about his business plans. George doesn't really seem to be interested. Water then becomes really belligerent and makes fun of George's white shoes. Embarrassed Ruth explains that the white shoes are part of the college star so of course do note the distinct class difference even if George is African-American he comes from a far more established middle-class African-American family and of course water who just works simply as a chauffeur comes from a very working class African-American background. George obviously looks down on water calling him Prometheus and water gets even angrier at him. George and Beneatha finally leave and Ruth and water then begin to fight about water going out spending money and interacting with very unsavory characters like Willie Harris. They then make up though by acknowledging that a great distance has grown between them. Now Mama comes home and announces that she's put a down payment on the house with some of the insurance money. Ruth is elated to hear this news because she too dreams of moving out of their tiny current apartment and into a more respectable home. Meanwhile water is noticeably upset because he wants to put all of the money into the liquor store venture. They all become worried when they hear that the house is in Clybourne Park which is an entirely white neighborhood. Mama asks for their understanding it's the only house that they can afford. She feels they need to buy a house to hold the family together. Ruth regains her pleasure and rejoices but water feels betrayed his dream is swept under the table and water makes Mama feel guilty saying that she's basically crushed his dream and he goes quickly to his bedroom and Mama remains sitting and worrying. Now in Act 2 Scene 2 on a Friday night a few weeks later Beneatha and George return from a date. The youngest apartment is full of moving boxes. George wants to kiss Beneatha but she doesn't want to kiss rather she wants to engage George in a more intellectual conversation about the plight of African Americans. It seems that George wants to marry a nice simple sophisticated girl according to her. Mama comes in as Beneatha kicks George out and she asks if she had a good time with George and Beneatha tells her that she thinks these are full. Mama replies I guess you better not waste your time with no faults and Beneatha appreciates her mother's support. Mrs Johnson who's the youngest neighbor then visits. Mama and Ruth offer her food and drink and she gladly accepts. She's come to visit to tell them about an African American family who have been bombed out of their home in a white neighborhood. She's generally insensitive when talking about this and unable to speak in a civil manner. She predicts that the youngest will also be scared out of the all-white neighborhood that they plan to move into and insults much of the family by calling them a into quote proud acting bunch of colored folks. She then quotes Booker T Washington a famous African American thinker and assimilationist. A frustrated and angered mama retaliates by calling him a fool and Mrs Johnson then leaves the apartment. Water's boss calls telling Ruth that water has not been to work in three days. Water explains that he's been wandering all day off and way into the country and drinking all night at a bar with the jazz duo that he loves. He says that he feels depressed, despondent and useless as a man of the family and he feels that it's his job to do better than what he sees as a slave's job as a chauffeur. Mama who cares about this feels really guilty for his unhappiness and tells him that she's never done anything to hurt her children and she gives water the remaining $6,500 of the insurance money asking him to deposit $3,000 for beneath his education and keep the last $3,500. With this money mama says water should become and act like he's become the head of the family. Water then suddenly becomes more confident and energizing. He talks to Travis, his son, about his plans saying that he's going to make a transaction that's going to make them rich. Water's excitement builds up as he describes his dream house and the future cars as well as Travis's potential college education. On Act Two, Scene Three, on Saturday a week later it's moving day. Beneatha and rather Ruth shows Beneatha the curtains that she's bought for their new house and tells her the first thing she's going to do in the new house is take a long bath in their own bathroom. Ruth comments on the change mood around the household noting that even she and water went out to the movies and held hands the previous evening. Water comes in and dances with Ruth and Beneatha teases them about acting in a stereotypical fashion but doesn't mean much harm by this. Ruth and water understand her and join in in lighthearted teasing and water claims that Beneatha talks about nothing but race. Now in Act Two, Scene Three, a middle-aged white man named Carl Linder appears at the door. He's a representative from Clybourne Park Improvement Association and he tells the younger family that problems arise when different kinds of people do not sit down and talk to each other. The youngest agree and he reveals that he and the neighborhood coalition believe that their presence in Clybourne Park would destroy the community there. The current residents are all white working-class people who don't want anything to threaten the dream that they have for their community which is to stay segregated and separate from African Americans. Mr. Linder tells the youngest that the association is prepared to offer them money than what they are going to pay for the house in exchange for their agreement not to move to Clybourne Park. Ruth, Beneatha and water all become really upset at this information but they manage to control their anger. Water then firmly tells Mr. Linder that they won't accept the offer and urges him to leave immediately. When Mama comes home, water Ruth and Beneatha tell her about Mr. Linder's visit and it shocks and worries her but she supports their decision to refuse the buyout offer. Then, as she's making sure that her plant is well packed for the trip, the rest of the family surprises her with gifts of gardening tools and a huge gardening hat. Mama has never received presents other than at Christmas and she's touched by their generosity. Just as the whole family begins to celebrate, Bobo, one of water's friends arrives. After some stumbling about, he announces that Willie Harris has run off with all the money that water invested in the liquor store deal. It turns out the water has invested not only his own $3,500 but also the $3,000 intended for Beneatha's college education. Mama is livid and begins to beat water in the face. Beneatha breaks them up. Weakness overcomes Mama and she thinks about the hard labor her husband endured for years on end to earn the money for them. She then prays ardently for strength. An hour later, on moving day in Act 3, everyone is melancholy. The stage directions indicate that even the light in their apartment looks grey. Water sits alone and thinks. Essar Guy comes to help them pack and finds Beneatha, questioning her choice of becoming a doctor. She no longer believes that she can help people. Instead of feeling idealistic about demanding equality for African Americans and freeing Africans from French and English colonizers, she now broods about basic human misery. Never ending human misery demoralizes her and Beneatha no longer sees a reason to fight against it. Essar Guy reprimands her for her lack of idealism and her attachment to the money from her father's death. He tells Beneatha about his dream to return to Africa and help bring about positive changes. He gets her excited about reform again and asks her to go home with him to Africa, saying that eventually it would be as if she had only been away for a day. He leaves her alone to think about this proposition. Water then rushes in from the bedroom and out the door amid a sarcastic monologue from Beneatha. Mama enters and announces that they're not going to move but through the protests. Water returns having called Mr. Linnah and inviting him back to the apartment. He intends to take his offer for money in exchange for not moving to Clybourne Park. Everyone, however, objects to this plan, arguing they have too much pride to be to accept not being able to live in somewhere because of their race. Water, who's now very agitated, puts on an act, imitating the stereotype of a black male servant and when he finally exits, Mama declares that he's died inside. Beneatha decides that he's no longer her brother but Mama reminds her to love him, especially when he's so downtrodden. The move is a Mr. Linnah, then arrive and Mama tells Water to deal with Mr. Linnah, who's laying out contracts for him to sign. Water starts hesitantly but soon we see that he's changed his mind about taking Mr. Linnah's money. His speech builds in power and he tells him that the youngers are proud and hard-working and intend to move into the new house. Mr. Linnah tries to appeal to Mama, who defends Water's statement and ultimately, he leaves with the papers unsigned. Everyone finishes packing up as the movers come to take the furniture. Mama tells Ruth that she thinks Water has finally become a man by standing up to Mr. Linnah. Ruth agrees and is noticeably proud of her husband. Mama, who's the last to leave, looks for a moment at the empty apartment, then leaves bringing her plant with her. Now, when it comes to the themes in this play, the first is the value and purpose of dreams. So A Raising the Sun is really about dreams and the main characters struggle to build with oppressive circumstances that rule their lives. The title of a play references a conjecture that Langston, who's famously proposed in a poem, who wrote about dreams that were forgotten or put off, he wonders in this poem whether those dreams shrivel up and to quote from the poem, like A Raising in the Sun. So of course, this simile is what influenced Hansberry's decision to call the play A Raising in the Sun. Every member of the younger family has a separate individual dream. Beneath her wants to become a doctor, for instance, and Water wants to have money so that he can afford things for his family. The youngers struggle to attain these dreams throughout the play and much of the happiness and depression is directly related to the attainment of or failure to attain these dreams and by the end of the play, they learn that the dream of the house is the most important dream because it unites their family. The next important theme is that of racial discrimination and the need to fight it. So the character of Miss Linnah makes a theme of racial discrimination prominent in the plot as an issue that the youngers can't avoid. The governing body of the younger's new neighborhood, the Clyburn Park Improvement Association, sends him to persuade them not to move into the all-white Clyburn Park neighborhood. Miss Linnah and the people he represents can only see color when it comes to the younger family's skin and his offer to bribe them to keep them from moving threatens to tear apart the younger family and the value on which they stand. Ultimately, the youngers respond to this discrimination with defiance and strength and the play powerfully demonstrates that the way to deal with discrimination is to stand up to it and reassert one's dignity in the face of it rather than allow it to pass unchecked. Another theme is the importance of family. So the youngers struggle socially and economically throughout the play but unite in the need to realize the dream of buying a house. Mama strongly believes in the importance of family and she tries to teach this value to her family as she struggles to keep them together and functioning. Water and Beneatha learn this lesson about family by the end of the play when water must deal with the loss of the stolen insurance money and Beneatha decide denies water as a brother. Even whilst facing such trauma, they come together to reject Mr. Linner's racist overtures. They're still strong individuals but they're now individuals who function as part of the family. When they begin to put the family and its wishes before their own, they merge their individual dreams with the family's overarching dreams. So that's all for this summary. If you found this video useful and you enjoyed it, please do give it a thumbs up. But also, don't forget to visit www.firstreadtutors.com. There you will find lots of useful revision materials and revision summaries to guide you when you are studying and preparing for either your coursework or exams. Thank you so much for listening.