Introduction
As an eighth grade teacher in the Chicago Public School system my main goal is to empower students academically through knowledge of historical issues and events. Examining conflicts and themes that arise from these events provides students with opportunities to make personal connections, to form a sense of identity and better understand the world around them. Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" sets the stage for this type of academic infusion to take place. Almost fifty years ago a young African American woman wrote the play "Raisin in the Sun" describing some of the conflicts faced by a family struggling to achieve the American Dream.
Have the Dreams of African American's dried up like a Raisin in the Sun? The poet Langston Hughes asks this very compelling question: "what happens to a dream deferred?" As a writer Lorraine Hansberry uses the plot of her play to explore the overarching theme of fulfilling one's dreams which reverberates in each of her characters. The character Walter Lee poses the question to mama: "why did you leave the South? Why did you move here to Chicago forty years ago?" Mama's response was, "I guess I came here to make a better life for me and my family."1 Forty years prior to Lorraine Hansberry writing this poignant play, "Raisin in the Sun" (1959), the Great Black Migration of blacks moving from the south to northern cities such as Chicago looking for jobs, housing and quality education will be examined. Collectively, students will work to identify the goals and aspirations of African American families during the Great Black Migration. The Younger Family: Walter Lee, Mama, Ruth, Beneatha and Travis will be used as an instructional symbol of this hope and as a catalyst for this analytical journey and hopefully each destination will lead my students to uncovering their own dreams.
"Does a play or film reflect society's cultural, social or political views or visa-versa?" In this unit students will examine, identify, interpret, and constructively critique recurring themes throughout the play and film. As a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in the field of Middle Childhood Generalist, I have the richness of integrating curriculum across content areas. This current unit provides me with the opportunity to introduce film analysis in the classroom in a powerful and creative way.
However, in order for students to grasp the overarching theme—getting the "Big Idea"— particular analytical skills have to be acquired. Excerpts from the play and poetry will be used to emphasize various themes that will help students make real life connections. Before we are able to make connections and answer these questions I feel it important to dig into the psychological mindset of the playwright as well as the social and political climate that literally set the stage for such a compelling drama. It is also imperative that you get a glimpse of life from my students' perspective so that you will better understand the significance of the format and structure of this unit.
The Plot for "Raisin in the Sun" originates in Lorraine Hansberry's backyard as a child growing up in the 1930s. Her father's personal quest to own property on Chicago's South Side was unfortunately in defiance of the "restrictive covenants"2 that confined blacks to the ghetto, and so her family moved into a hostile white neighborhood. Whites surrounded their house and as they cursed and spat; someone threw a huge chunk of concrete through their window which nearly struck Lorraine as an eight year old. Their family was eventually evicted by the Illinois courts. Hansberry vs. Lee was her father's response to this decision which was taken all the way to the Supreme Court. Although the Supreme Court outlawed the restricted covenant legislation, enforcement did not follow. Her father eventually gave up and emigrated to Mexico where he died in 1946.
Here we can pause to ask students how far are you willing to go to accomplish your dreams? Mr. Hansberry went all the way to the Supreme Court and we can infer that this case deferred his American Dream of home ownership. In the play Mama says, "Walter Lee, it makes a difference in a man when he can walk on floors that belong to him." Mr. Hansberry watched his dreams of walking on floors that belonged to him dry up like a raisin in the sun. In Act two: scene one Walter Lee asks George the question: "Don't you see no stars gleaming that you can't reach out and grab? I'm a volcano erupting in bitterness."
Today throughout the South Side of Chicago within the Englewood community where my students live, volcanoes erupt daily leaving debris of bitterness in their lives. They cannot see the stars gleaming and this short-sightedness echoes throughout inner cities across America. The vast majority of the students in my class and throughout the Englewood community of Chicago are inundated with negative images of black culture and life in general. Walking to school from single parent homes, students pass vacant lots where job opportunities were once vibrant. Many of the housing developments that tied family lineage have been demolished for condominiums and unaffordable upscale housing. The West African Proverb says "It takes a village to raise a child"; well, the village has been replaced with camera surveillances on each corner. They see classmates and peers shot down on the streets while playing. Being immersed psychologically and emotionally in films and video games that promote violence and degradation of a people desensitizes them from the hope of achieving success or daring to dream in America.
Guiding students to hold up the mirror of hope and view themselves through the challenges and sacrifices of their grand parents and great grand parents helps them to make personal and relevant connections. Using the script from "Raisin in the Sun" to explore the morals and values used to overcome or endure these historical, political, economic, and social challenges is essential to students' personal and academic development as human beings.
Mama says:
"I come from five generations of people who was slaves and share croppers, ain't nobody every took nothing from nobody telling us we weren't fit to walk this earth. We ain't never been that poor. We ain't never been that dead inside."
Walter's response:
"What the matter with everyone! I didn't make this world! Hell yes I want some yachts some day! Yes, I want to hang some real pearls around my wife's neck! Ain't she suppose to wear pearls? I am a MAN so somebody tell me who is it decides which woman is suppose to wear pearls in this world?" (Raisin, Act III, Scene 1 pg. 143)
Analyzing and comparing the point of view of both Walter and Mama can help students understand how values change from generation to generation. Does Walter's position make him dead inside because he desires material wealth? Is mama's view old fashioned and outdated because she would rather be poor with pride than wealthy with a spiritless soul? Whose point of view can students identify with and whose point of view would their grand parents endorse?
Does a student's individual goal conflict with the goals of their family? Walter Lee's goal of owning a liquor store conflicted with Mama's goal of owning a house and Beneatha's goal of becoming a doctor. What compromises and sacrifices were needed and accomplished once the decision was made to move into the house in the all white neighborhood of Clyborne Park?
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