a raisin in the sun
...f the average black person’s hardships, but she also shows us the dreams of a typical African American born and raised throughout those oppressive times. One of the underlying themes of A Raisin in the Sun is dreams. The title of the play refers to a poem by Langston Hughes about dreams that are forgotten or even put off. Hughes speculates about what happens to those dreams, do they wither and dry up like raisins in the sun? Throughout this essay I have chosen to highlight the dreams and what they might symbolize of four main characters. Mama (Lena), Walter Lee, Beneatha, and Ruth have separate dreams and goals that each believes is the key to their future happiness. The play opens with a conversation between Walter Lee and Ruth. The audience keeps hearing about a check. Walter Lee informs Ruth that he plans on using the money to open a liquor store with a small number of his friends. A...