"A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry

5 of 5 stars!

The Basics: This play follows the Younger family during the mid 1900s (around 1950/1960). Three generations of the Younger family live in a small two-bedroom apartment on the south-side of Chicago. The matriarch of the family, Mama, is expecting a large insurance check from her deceased husband. Walter Lee Younger, her son, has big plans for the money which include investing in a liquor store with a man the family deems as unfavorable. As the play continues, we learn that Ruth has some unexpected news, Walter disappoints his family, and Beneatha is learning what it means to be a women with her own ideas and dreams. 

My Thoughts: Where has this book been all of my life? OMG! I feel like I've been missing out. This classic should have been something I read a long time ago. The plot is reminiscent of the true life of an African-American family during this time period. The characters have so much to give to the audience and can be analyzed so deeply that it makes a great novel study. My eighth-grade students read this as part of an interdisciplinary project. We did not get to analyze the book as much as I would like because it was during first quarter (the busiest and craziest time of the school year).

Throughout the book, I wanted to hate Walter, but I found that he was struggling with the weight of the world. He wanted to fight against stereotypes and be everything that the world told him he couldn't be. He just went about doing it the wrong way. I love that Hansberry allows us to grow with the characters and understand their perspective, though we may not agree with their approach.

~Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!