A Raisin in the Sun-- Opinion

In "A Raisin in the Sun," Beneatha is a character that I believe deserves a major amount of recognition for her ambition. Out of anyone in the entire family, I think Beneatha is the most hard-working individual with the greatest amount of ambition. She is to be admired because she is the only legitimately one working toward attaining her dream. Mama and Ruth have been handed their dream because of "a great big old check" (pg 43). Subsequently, Walter acts as if he is entitled to being handed his dream on a silver platter. Travis is too young to have a true dream. Beneatha is working hard to get through college and not let anything or anyone stand in her way of her dream. She is young, independent, and full of motivation; this is something all readers should admire. Beneatha's ambition and motivation also make her a foil character to her brother Walter, who has a massive lack of desire to do anything. She is also a foil to Ruth regarding the men department; Ruth has married a man who has made her dependent and worn-out. Beneatha is the character who has the most potential and desire in the play, and therefore, I admire her character for this.

A Raisin in the Sun-- Question One

In Hansberry's play, she employs realistic conventions which strengthens the message. It makes it much easier for the audience to connect and feel the main points of the play. The realism forces the audience to empathize with a family struggling to attain the American dream. The bickering between Ruth and Walter (such as on pgs 26-29) is easily recognized as two people who have grown apart because of struggle. Those with an insatiable desire can easily identify with Bennie's incredible dream "to become a doctor" (pg 36). Individuals with a maternal instinct can feel Mama's deep love for her family. And still, others are able to identify with Travis' innocent, almost idolizing, belief in his family. Hansberry's characters reach across all levels of society to touch all people; this is what makes it so realistic. The entire play seems realistic; there aren't any breaks from realism. The actions, people, and speeches are realistic...even the 'time' that passes between events is realistic. The play is based on the ability to be realistic in its message.

A Raisin in the Sun-- Question Five

In "A Raisin in the Sun," there are three main themes presented. Author Lorraine Hansberry carefully crafts the portrait of a family fighting for three main things. These are: the gravity of dreams, the struggle of African-American society, and the value in a close-knit family. On page 94, Mama speaks to Walter & her lines wrap up these three themes into one address. She says, "I just seen my family fallin' apart today...just fallin' to pieces in front of my eyes...We couldn't of go on like we was today. We was goin' backwards instead of forwards...When it gets like that in life-you just gotta do something different, push on and do something bigger." Mama is the force behind holding the family together, fighting for their future, and attempting to reach their dreams.  These themes are responsible for the drama in the play; without them, there is no suspense or purpose to the plot. They strengthen the tones of heartache and courage in the play. There is no doubt that these are incredibly powerful themes that all individuals can associate with in some form or another (i.e. dreams, struggle, family, hope). I think that the play was dead on in presenting human concerns; it was sufficiently didactic.

The Glass Menagerie Opinion

Before I started reading "The Glass Menagerie," I was slightly excited when I found out it was written by Tennessee Williams. See, my great-aunt is a book critic, and Tennessee Williams is her favorite author (with the exception of her main man... Jack London of course). She always tries to make me read Williams' books, but I never really had the desire. However, with this assignment, I was forced into reading his work. I have to say, she was right; I like his writing style. Once I started reading, I found myself easily concentrating on the story at hand. Even though the play is a bit depressing, it is well-written. The dialogue between the characters is something I really enjoy; I really like how Amanda cuts off her children throughout the novel, such as on pg 1246. This is one aspect I think plays sometimes have difficulty with; in life, people cut one another off, especially in families, and plays often do not reflect this. For me, this was definitely one of the parts that kept my interest in reading and caused me to enjoy the story.

The Glass Menagerie--Question Two

"The Glass Menagerie" can be considered a tragedy. From the very beginning of the play when the characters are being described, the reader realizes the sad situation of the Wingfield family. As the play begins, the depressing situation is expanded upon in the description of the setting. We learn that the "audience is faced with the dark, grim rear wall of the Wngfield tenement" and on either side are "dark, narrow alleys" (scene one, pg 1235). The thorough description of the setting allows for the reader to perfectly imagine the dreary world in which the Wingfields live. As the play continues, we learn of the even more unhappiness because Mr. Wingfield abandoned the family long ago (pg 1237), Laura is crippled and lives in a make believe world with her glass figurines (pg 1240-1244), and Tom hates his job(pg 1247). The family is barely clinging to the real world; Amanda already lives in the past and cannot be bothered with the real problems of the present. The family draws the audience into their disappointment in life, causing the play to be classified as a tragedy.

The Glass Menagerie--Question One

Tennessee William's play, "The Glass Menagerie," seems to be more realistic than nonrealistic to me. In the play, the main events could happen in real life; there are overbearing mothers (like Amanda), men whom are unhappy in their jobs (like Tom), young women who have poor self-esteem (like Laura), and "players" (like Jim). The development of the characters is done in a realistic style. There are a few moments where the play can be seen as nonrealistic, such as the time in scene one on pg 1235: now and the past. Not only is this nonrealistic, but it is also impossible to be in two times at once. Even though there are a select number of moments such as this that can be considered nonrealistic, the play seems realistic to me. Therefore, I would place this play leaning more toward realism on a spectrum. Regarding breaking the norm established in the play, I believe that Williams does not do this. He writes the play so that Amanda is stuck in the past, and her children are somewhat stuck in this too; Williams sticks much to this norm he has created.