(blank)

"An end to misery! To stupidity! Don't you see there isn't any real progress, Asagai, there is only one large circle that we march in, around and around, each of us with our little picture in front of us--our own little mirage of what we think is the future."

This is the best book I've read this year, one of the best I've ever read. It did everything I think a great story should and did it exceptionally well, that is deposit the reader at the end more illuminated, stirred with a better understanding.

The play is centered around the Younger family, a Black family living in Chicago post World War II. With the main characters representing three generations: Lena/Mama, the matriarch of the family representing the older generation, Lena's son Walter, his wife Ruth and sister Beneatha representing the new generation and Travis, the grandchild representing the future generation. The title of the play itself is from Langston Hughes' poem Harlem:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Told in brilliant storytelling, the dreams of all these characters are presented, weighed, scoffed at, some humbler than others but all generations keeping and trying to maintain a dream that the system they're living under not only refuses to recognize, but actively works to ruin.

I'll be thinking about this story for a while, going through the incredible characterization, all the wonderful scenes and there are several that I will pick up and look at still marveling, and that superb ending. ( )

[11th Grade]

Out of all of the books I had to read this year for school, this one was the least boring. ( )

(Read for school) I think that in the writing it is clear that this Hansberry's first piece of work as the characters felt underdeveloped and the writing felt awkward at times. That being said, this was still a very powerful play and there some great moments in it. ( )

Walter Younger is a man who cannot accept the place society forced on him: as a chauffeur to a wealthy white man, he is constantly thinking about his plan to starting his own business. As _A Raisin in the Sun_ unfolds, you cannot help but think that Walter is a tragic figure, his flaw being his willingness to sacrifice his family's happiness on the altar of his own ambition. Walter's sister, Bennie, is torn between two men - the wealthy George and the Nigerian scholar Asagai. Walter's mother must decide how to spend the insurance money that she receives from her husband's death. The play does not have a typically tragic ending , but you get the sense that the Younger family's struggles are just beginning. ( )

Classic American play that everyone should read at some point in their life. I have been blessed to read it multiple times and will be seeing the video versions very soon. Sidney Poitier is always my favorite Walter! ( )

I loved this story, my first play book that I read. So much humanity in this book, the good, the ugly, and how to keep dreaming despite the hardships and awful truth of reality, at times. The characters were great and became a part of me. Looking forward to seeing this as a real life play someday. ( )

Though I knew it, until reading [b:A Raisin in the Sun|5517|A Raisin in the Sun|Lorraine Hansberry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1165522672s/5517.jpg|3154525] I had never contemplated the idea that nearly every African American lives with the identity of slaves as their ancestors. They live on this quarter of the world because someone wanted to own their family generations ago. I can do no more than imagine it yet I assume that's an incredibly disquieting reality.

[b:A Raisin in the Sun|5517|A Raisin in the Sun|Lorraine Hansberry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1165522672s/5517.jpg|3154525] presents a different kind of disquieting reality, full of identity and history and dreams and squandered ambitions and open future and hope. It's distinctly black, distinctly Chicago, and distinctly poor, yet the dreams and hopes are universal and the characters ubiquitous (read, human). After the Younger family is given $10,000 (about $82,000 in 2016 dollars), they have to decide the best way to use it to build a better life. As a black family living at the cusp of civil rights, where can they go and what can they do yet still be accepted? Does that matter? Do they live as blacks unapologetically and with dignity? Or do they sacrifice dreams and dignity in the face of a culture that refuses them their humanity?

I loved this play. I read it but I'd also love to see it performed. [a:Lorraine Hansberry|3732|Lorraine Hansberry|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1234149147p2/3732.jpg] was but 29 when she wrote this; a young gifted black woman in a culture that had continually rejected her for at least those three reasons. Yet, in her own dignity, she overcame. Her battles continue to be fought daily. The best end I can give here is her words on artistry and the cultural impact that artistry has:

I am a writer. I suppose I think that the highest gift that man has is art, and I am audacious enough to think of myself as an artist - that there is both joy and beauty and illumination and communion between people to be achieved through the dissection of personality. That's what I want to do. I want to reach a little closer to the world, which is to say people, and see if we can share some illuminations together about each other.

Lines I liked from the play:

- "You never understood that there is more than one kind of feeling which can exist between a man and a woman - or at least - there should be."
"No - between a man and a woman there need be only one kind of feeling. I have that for you - Now even - right this moment -"
"I know - and by itself - it won't do. I can find that anywhere."
"For a woman it should be enough."
"I know - because that's what it says in all the novels that men write. But it isn't."
- "I want so many things... I want so many things that they are driving me crazy. Sometimes it's like I can see the future stretched out in front of me - just plain as day. The future, Mama. Hanging over there at the edge of my days. Just waiting for me - a big, looming blank space - full of nothing. Just waiting for me. But it don't have to be."
- Then isn't there something wrong in a house - in a world - where all dreams, good or bad, must depend on the death of a man?"
- "Just sit a while and think - Never be afraid to sit a while and think."
- "There is always something left to love. If you ain't learned that you ain't learned nothing. [...] Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most - when they when they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well, that ain't the time at all. It's when he's at his lowest and can't believe in hisself 'cause the world done whipped him so… When you starts measuring somebody - measure him right, child. Measure him right. Make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is."
- ...above all [Negros] have among our miserable and downtrodden ranks people who are the very essence of human dignity.
- …I think that the human race does not command its own destiny and that that destiny can eventually embrace the stars…
- I have treated Mr. Lindner as a human merely because he is one; that does not make the meaning of his call less malignant, less sick.
- ...attention must be paid in equal and careful measure to the frequent triumph of man, if not nature, over the absurd. Perhaps it is here that certain of the modern existentialists have erred. They have seemed to me to be overwhelmed by the mere fact of the absurd and become incapable of imagining its frailty. ( )

We’ll written play. My sons freshman class had this for their summer reading list. Curious how they all thought of it. ( )

Every bit as relevant now as when it was first performed in 1959. ( )

No wonder this is seen as great writing! Read it for the summer series in the Progressive Class at FUMC-Evanston. Marcie is to lead the class.

As part of my Directing class in school, I've had to some plays in preparation for the scene work that's to come later in the semester. One of those plays was Lorraine Hansberry's classic A Raisin in the Sun.

First, I want to talk about the positives. A Raisin in the Sun truly is a moving play. It's honestly one of the best examples of how good American theatre can be. It's expertly paced, each act ending with a crescendo that begs the audience to come back after the intermission. The characters are well-written, if frequently unlikable - though that's sort of the point. These are all flawed characters and I appreciate just how well developed each of them is. It's interesting how even though this play was written and set in the 1960s, its subject matter is still so relevant and applicable to today's society. If you didn't know any better, this play could've been written and been placed in 2017. This play has won countless awards over the years, and it definitely deserves it. It truly is an amazing play, regardless of the issues with the script I'm about to talk about.

I have a feeling that this play is one that's much better seen than read. Like I said, it's truly a good play, but the actual script itself leaves something to be desired. There's something so daunting and annoying about a script that has to spell every action out in its stage directions. At no point do I as a reader of plays, or a theatrical artist, need to know every little movement the characters do (and have their reasoning spelled out for me) or have every minute detail of the set told to me. Some of that should be left for the production team of every production to decide (as is the case anyway since frequently, directors ignore stage directions in scripts even if there are barely any, to begin with). I recognize that this may just be a personal preference of mine as a Theatre artist and playwright, but it's just a pet peeve of mine when it comes to some scripts. This seems to be a thing that many modern plays have moved away from doing, thankfully. As a result, the scripts of many a classic play are bogged down with unnessecary stage direction.

For me, if the stage directions were just edited down to the bare necessities for a reader to understand the action instead of the endless, constant interruptions describing the minute details of the set and the meaning behind every action - as though the reader, actor, and director can't make those inferences without it being spelled out for them, then this script would be a lot better. I think it's probably unfair to judge this play by its script. If this were a novel, the amount of detail in the descriptions would be great. As a script, it detracts from the experience of reading it. Watching it, however, probably rectifies those problems since the action doesn't stop to explain the set or detail the actions that a viewer can plainly see. My issues with the script boil down to how the detailed stage directions take away from the momentum of the story since the dialogue is what thrusts the story forward and every time you have to stop to read a paragraph of stage directions kills that momentum. But watching a play is different since the stage directions are just acted out. The momentum is there because all the action is happening while the lines are being said instead of having to be read in between lines.

All in all, it's a brilliant play with a script that's a drag to read but, most likely, a true delight to actually see performed. I won't know for sure until I see the production of it that is happening here in Greensboro later this spring, but I suspect seeing the play will highlight all the truly good aspects of it. Such is the case for many a play with a script full of too much stage direction. As a result of my displeasure with the script itself, I'd recommend seeing a performance of A Raisin in the Sun rather than reading the script, but if you have no choice, the script will do. It's a good, enjoyable, and important story that's worth experiencing in whatever way you can experience it in.

(3.5 out of 5 stars) ( )

Reading a play is never as good as going to see a play. My rating is what I anticipate my reaction would be to a decent production of it. I can see the intensity, desperation, and inspiration in the script even if I didn't feel it as much as I would have with a fleshed-out novel or with actors sharing that emotion with me as an audience member. It is deservedly a classic and still far too accurate. ( )

Although I've read a bit of 20th-century drama, I had managed never to read this pillar of the genre. It's quite good -- funny, joyful, solemn, and sorrowful -- and certainly remains relevant. ( )

hated the book. The play I watched of it was decent though, so I would just go watch that if you can. ( )

The book starts out with introducing the characters. Ruth is Walter Lee’s wife, Travis is his son Beneatha is his sister, and Lena (Mama) is his mother. The beginning of the story says that Lena inherited ten thousand dollars from her husband, Beneatha wants to be a doctor and Walter wants to invest in liquor. It is revealed in the story that Ruth is pregnant. Beneatha is trying to find her ancestry with the help of someone named Asagai. In the book, Lena buys a house, Linder tries to buy it from her so they wouldn’t live in that neighborhood. Wily, who Walter invested in, runs off with the leftover money, some of which was supposed to go to Beneatha’s doctor education. In the book, Asagai asks her to move to Africa with him and be a doctor there. Although Walter plans to sell the house to pay everyone back, he instead stands his ground when Linder comes and doesn’t sell their house. The book ends with the moving crew loading their stuff to bring to their new house.

My opinion: I did get confused in some parts because of the way they spoke, but it did add to the story because thats how people spoke back then. I really like how the story reflects the poem, as in Walter's dream in running his business starts to defer. I like how Ruth loves Walter through the whole book even though some parts weren’t the greatest showing him. Travis is one of the best characters I think because he isn’t worrying about money or complaining about their living space, he's just sorta cool with where he is. The details for the set is effective, helps to put setting in my mind. I also loved the description of the characters, it didn't really paint them physically but it said things like "beautiful" expecting the reader to picture their version of it. I found the story a bit boring though, with sudden exciting bring-ups. Toward the end, when Walter is going to sell their new house, you could just hear him changing his mind (probably because of Travis's presence) and when you read that Wily ran away with the money is where I started to actually captivated by it. ( )

Well, I can honestly say that I enjoyed the book tremendously!

My favorite version of the play was with Sidney Poitier, so, while reading, that's the cast I kept picturing (as I could best remember them all).

Throughout the play, and the book, the one person that really agitated me most, was Walter Lee. In the first two acts, Walter Lee was bothersome, annoying, just plain disrespectful and stupid. But by act three, he totally redeemed himself and proved that he is the wonderful, father, son, and brother you had hoped him to be.

My favorite character of the whole book and play has always been Mama. Her wisdom, her love and her working so hard to keep the family together and happy. I adore that about her.

I liked Ruth because she stuck by Walter Lee through everything..even when he was being the jerk. She loved him and you knew it, even in her disappointment.

I liked Beneatha, she was smart and always thinking. She could be a bit preachy sometimes but I think many times, she meant well. She stood up to her brother and was just as stubborn and bullheaded as he was. And I liked that she thought for herself during a time that it was thought that women should just get married, have babies and do "woman's work"..She tried to step outside that box and do her own thing!

This will be a book that will be bought and put on my bookshelf as soon as possible and one classic that I will always love!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I was typing my initial review, and got to my last few words, my Kindle shuts down...It was so much better written than what I can do now because I was going by how I felt then and once it was done, I had forgotten a lot of what I said...Sigh
( )

I enjoyed Raisin in the Sun to an extent, the story was good and it had an okay ending, but the characters had the same dimensions, Hansberry could of took the story further and made the characters more complex. It was well written and makes good points about that time era and how blacks were treated and how they worked with it so it's worth reading. ( )

The Younger family can’t seem to catch a break. For years, maybe even decades, they’ve lived in a two-bedroom apartment on the south side of Chicago. The head of the family has recently died, and the insurance money is coming: $10,000, more than any of them have ever had. Will Walter get the business opportunity he’s been hoping for? Will it put Beneatha through college and medical school? Maybe get the little house in the suburbs that Ruth dreams of for her children? Or will it slip away somehow, as so many of their dreams have done?

I’d love to see a live performance of this show someday. It’s powerfully written, but I can only imagine the impact it must have when staged. In any event, I’m glad I finally took the time to read it. ( )

A very strong play: the characters are exquisitely defined; they all have dreams that have been deferred for too long. The play is written with utter conviction; perhaps the model August Wilson followed. Ruth, the mother, trying to understand her husband, raise her child Travis, trying to get by; Beneatha, politically aware and ambitious; Mama, the moral center; and Walter, wanting to live, to live, thinking money will raise him up. Somehow, some way, they will get their house. What is dignity? Sooo well-written. ( )

A play about the hope of the American Dream, race relations, and family, A Raisin in the Sun is a touching tribute to the African-American working class experience. The Youngers are faced with a difficult situation after the passing of the family patriarch and the insurance money he has left behind. Walter, Ruth, Beneatha, Mama and the other characters are well developed and incredibly memorable. You feel for their struggle but have hope for their future. Absolute classic. ( )

Classics deserve to be read. Classic African-American literature deserves to be read outside of February. ( )

A powerful play about, among other things, the struggle of the oppressed to dream dreams and realize those dreams without losing hope or the self of self. ( )

While some aspects of this play are dated (it was written and first performed in the 1950s), the characters and their relationships still ring true. I have seen the film version with Sidney Poitier a few times and this is one play where the movie is better than the text. I did find the stage directions describing the setting informative and I am glad that I read this but I do feel that I didn't gain much by reading it after having seen the film. That is often the case with plays which are of course meant to be seen rather than read! ( )

so glad I finally got around to reading this. ( )