In Search Of Dreams In The Sun

As one of the minority nationalities in multi-cultural America, African Americans have been the focus of attention for an increasing number of writers, artists and scholars. There are many famous Afro-American authors in contemporary literature cycles. Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) is one of the brightest in the 1950s'American theater. Unfortunately, at the age of 35, she died from cancer. Nevertheless, she made a great contribution to Afro-American literature: creating five plays and lots of articles, poems and speeches as well. As one of African Americans, she experienced the hardships the blacks suffer in the white-dominated America and witnessed their persistent pursuit of their dreams, freedom and equality. Meanwhile, she ardently glorified and carried forward the black racial culture and the black heritage.A Raisin in the Sun is the first and the most important drama of Lorraine Hansberry. Its title is derived from one poem by Langston Hughes:"What happens to a dream deferred? /Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? /..."After its appearance on Broadway in 1959, it took New York by storm, gaining wide recognition. Beating the promising contenders (Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet, Tennessee Williams'Sweet Bird of Youth, and Archibald Macleish's J.B.), A Raisin in the Sun won the prestigious New York Drama Critics Circle Award for the Best Play of the Year. In 1961, its film edition was produced with the successful award coming from the Cannes Festival.The drama A Raisin in the Sun centers around the life of the Youngers whose dreams are thwarted by the economic deprivation and racial discrimination on Chicago's Southside. The postponed dreams of the family are throbbed with never-having dynamics with the coming of the father's $ 10000 insurance check. For his or her own dream, everyone in the family has a plan on how to use the money. Finally, it ends with the whole family's moving into the new house despite the loss of Walter's money and the threat that would come from the white neighborhood. They have a great leap toward their dreams. The play touches upon many important contemporary issues such as the American dream, the black culture, the racial discrimination and inequality, the black women's position as well as the movement for independence in Africa. Among all these issues, the black American dream and the black culture are the heated ones in Afro-American literature. This thesis is an attempt to combine these two for the discussion of a way to the hopeful future for those black American dream pursuers.There are five chapters in this thesis.Chapter One is an introduction. It provides the general introduction to the life and literary career of Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun, a survey of the study of the drama and the gist and the structure of the thesis.Chapter Two is an analysis of the black American dream reflected in the drama. A review of the origin and development of the American dream is given first and then its distortion in modern America is discussed. After a brief introduction to the history and reality of the black people, there is a detailed analysis of the black American dream cherished by Walter Lee, the protagonist of the play. Due to the influence of the white culture and racial inequality, Walter's material dream inevitably ends in total failure and his disillusionment comes. Through the tragedy of this common man in his pursuit of the American dream, the author tells us something more important: Only sticking to and developing the black racial culture, can the blacks find a way out of the dilemma and take a leap forward in realizing their dreams.Following Chapter Two, Chapter Three is an analysis of the influence of the black culture which is taken as the source of the black people's dreams. Firstly, the discussion of the sense of the black community is to emphasize the importance of the community in the black people's life. Then, there is an analysis of the black culture embodied in the three black women characters who hold a hopeful attitude toward their dreams and its influence on Walter. Music, as an essential part of the heritage of the black culture, exerts a vital influence on the black people.Chapter Four is the reflections on the black American dream and the black culture.Chapter Five is the conclusion which functions, on the one hand, as an emphasis on Hansberry's intention in connecting the black culture with the American dream; on the other hand, it points out the author's humanistic concern which raises the drama to a new height.