What happens in Act 1 Scene 2 of A Raisin in the Sun?
Summary: Act I, scene ii. Once upon a time freedom used to be life—now it’s money. The next day, Saturday, the Youngers are cleaning their apartment and waiting for the insurance check to arrive. Walter receives a phone call from his friend Willy Harris, who is coordinating the potential liquor store venture.
What does A Raisin in the Sun symbolize in the play?
A Raisin in the Sun is essentially about dreams, as the main characters struggle to deal with the oppressive circumstances that rule their lives. The title of the play references a conjecture that Langston Hughes famously posed in a poem he wrote about dreams that were forgotten or put off.
What happens in Scene 2 of A Raisin in the Sun?
Beneatha and Mama are busy doing weekend housecleaning when Ruth comes in, announcing sadly that she is pregnant. Mama is upset when she realizes that Ruth is contemplating an abortion. Joseph Asagai brings Beneatha a gift of African records and some Nigerian robes.
Why should people read A Raisin in the Sun?
A Raisin in the Sun remains important as a cultural document of a crucial period in American history as well as for the continued debate over racial and gender issues that it has helped spark.
WHAT IS A Raisin in the Sun Act 1 Scene 1 about?
The Youngers are the main characters in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. In Scene 1, the family is obsessed with a $10,000 insurance check that is set to arrive any day. Each person in the family wants to escape poverty by using the money to fulfill their own dreams.
What does Mama’s old plant symbolize?
Mama’s Plant
Her care for her plant is similar to her care for her children, unconditional and unending despite a less-than-perfect environment for growth. The plant also symbolizes her dream to own a house and, more specifically, to have a garden and a yard.
What are 2 symbols in A Raisin in the Sun?
What are some symbols in A Raisin in the Sun? Some of the symbols are Mama’s plant, Beneatha’s hair, music, the phrase “eat your eggs,” the $10,000 insurance payment, and money more generally.
What is the significance of Mama’s plant in A Raisin in the Sun?
Her care for her plant is similar to her care for her children, unconditional and unending despite a less-than-perfect environment for growth. The plant also symbolizes her dream to own a house and, more specifically, to have a garden and a yard. With her plant, she practices her gardening skills.
Why was Mrs Johnson cut from a raisin in the sun?
In this scene, another character is introduced, a neighbor, Mrs. Johnson. This character, however, was cut from the original stage production in order to reduce production costs. The most recent editions (the complete version) of Raisin includes this character, as did the American Playhouse presentation of this play.
What does Mama’s plant symbolize?
The most overt symbol in the play, Mama’s plant represents both Mama’s care and her dream for her family. In her first appearance onstage, she moves directly toward the plant to take care of it.
What impact did A Raisin in the Sun have?
A Raisin in the Sun opened the eyes of many to the discrimination, racism, and struggles that black families faced. Everyone including white people could relate to the play because everyone has their own idea of freedom, and the dreams they wish to achieve.
What is the setting of Raisin in the Sun Act 1 Scene 1?
It’s in the South Side of Chicago, and it’s a three-room apartment – there’s a bedroom for Mama and Beneatha, a bedroom for Ruth and Walter Lee, and their son Travis sleeps on a couch in a living room. Ruth Younger is preparing for the day. She wakes up and feeds her son Travis and husband Walter.
Why is Mama unhappy in A Raisin in the Sun?
While Mama is patient, loving, and kind with her family, she often struggles to connect with her children because of her conservative, religious point of view. She worries about Walter’s obsession with money and initially refuses to give him the money for the liquor store because it goes against her religious beliefs.
Why is Mama’s plant important in the raisin in the sun?
What is the irony in a raisin in the sun?
In Raisin, it is ironic that Walter believes that graft and corruption dominate all successful business activities — even before he is asked to do so, he prepares himself to pay the graft that he thinks will be requested of him; however, when he gives the money to his “friend” (who runs off with it), it is not the …
What does 50 cents symbolize in a raisin in the sun?
Walter giving Travis an extra fifty cents which is a symbol of his pride and a symbol of how the family years for money.
What does Africa symbolize in a raisin in the sun?
Basically, Asagi is Africa. He represents one extreme of the American debate on assimilation. His presence in the play forces the audience (and Beneatha) to ask what it truly means to be an African American.
How did Raisin in the Sun end?
A Raisin in the Sun ends with the Younger family leaving their longtime apartment in Chicago’s South Side neighborhood in order to move into a house they’ve purchased in the otherwise all-white neighborhood of Clybourne Park.
What does the green hat symbolize in A Raisin in the Sun?
The person whom Walter Lee describes as having a “conked head” is a part of the entertainment world; he is a musician at the Green Hat, a bar that Walter Lee frequents. the best little combo in the world This phrase refers to the band of musicians that Walter admires in the Green Hat.
What does Mama sacrifice in A Raisin in the Sun?
Answer and Explanation: Mama sacrifices her independence and best interest. After receiving the insurance money, she outs a down payment on a house for her family.
What is Mama’s dream in A Raisin in the Sun?
Mama dreams of moving her family out of their cramped apartment and into a house with a yard where children can play and she can tend a garden. Her dream has been deferred since she and her husband moved into the apartment that the Youngers still inhabit.
WHY IS A Raisin in the Sun still important today?
A Raisin in the Sun is relevant today because a lot of the insights it makes about racism are still debated over today. One of the issues it tackles is racial violence. In the play, the family deals with the threat of racial violence from people who don’t want them to move into their new house.
What happens to Ruth at the end of Act 1 Scene 1 of a raisin in the sun?
Walter leaves for his chauffeur’s job, and Travis leaves for school. Ruth prepares for her job as a cleaning woman as Mama reprimands Beneatha about her fresh talk. At the end of the scene, Mama discovers that Ruth has fainted and fallen to the floor.
What is Mama’s plant a symbol of?
What is Mama’s plant a metaphor for?
Mama’s feeble plant represents her family’s deferred dreams for a better future, which have struggled to survive under the strain of life in Chicago’s South Side. Mama’s unending devotion to her small houseplant signifies her constant care for her family and her attention to its dreams.