Ways in Which A Raisin In The Sun Applies To Our Current Political Moment
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Ways in Which A Raisin In The Sun Applies To Our Current Political Moment
A raising in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry. It is a drama that won an award, and it broadcasts the aspirations and hopes of a working-class family which is struggling in Chicago’s south side. The book’s title is lent from Langston Hughes’ line “Dream Deferred” in a poem “Harlem”, it cautions that “a deferred dream might dry up/like a raisin in the sun.” It talks about a family that eagerly awaits a life insurance cheque. Being that their breadwinner died, the cheque is their next plan to a better life. For mama, this is a means of replacing the man she had stayed with for many years, while for other people in the family, it is a means of fulfilling their dreams. A Raisin in the Sun demonstrates the motivations of all members of the Younger family in a relatable and empathetic way (Wilkerson, 441). In this article, we will discuss how it applies to our current political moment.
This play is so classic; as till now, it is still relevant and very relatable. There are some political aspects of the game that relate to our current political and social moments—for instance, racism. As much as discrimination has reduced today, there are still cases of it worldwide. When this play was written, the blacks were employed to do only the so unskilled and low jobs compared to the white people; this still applies to date. They were not welcomed into the white’s neighbourhood, and this was just because they were black. The play’s social and political meanings were misinterpreted in every way. Both its critics and praises were projected into the play’s own wants and desires. Many middle-class white people encouraged it because it seemed to provide evidence that the American Dream had a meaning, was worth waiting for and that it was then available to everyone. The play, for some people, was a racism story defeated through the integration of racism and ownership of homes. Some of the critics were that it was a play that was female-centred and denied real value politically. Some said that some characters were too sacrificial and had no enough feminism, “Something always told me I wasn’t no rich white woman” hence less heroic. Another way in which the play relates to our current political moment is house segregation. Look at it from this angle; Younger family plans to move to a neighbourhood that is mostly occupied by whites. They face a great deal of rejection from the white community to the point that they are willing to pay the Younger family off so that they don’t move into their neighbourhood. It is still common in the modern world, and we can relate. Even though there are white neighbourhoods that are occupied by black people, they are very few. Black people are still not welcomed in some white areas.
Hansberry also mentions economic exploitation as a political factor in her play. In addition to black people being given the most unskilled and unsafe jobs, they were made to work longer hours with less pay, the beneficiaries being their employers (the whites). This kind of treatment is what is referred to as economic exploitation. It applied during the time the play was written, but it is still an issue up to now. Black people go to international countries with the hope of getting better jobs to improve their standards of living and those of their loved ones left at home, but instead what they get is mistreatment with meagre salaries. Another theme we can pick from the play is violence. In the olden days, there was a lot of mistreatments towards blacks. They were seen and treated like slaves. Even though this has reduced, it has not ended. Black people were being killed years ago for no apparent reason, which is the same today (Rose 1.1). Police keep killing the blacks with the excuse that they fear for their lives, but if you look at things closely, most cases always reveal that the dead suspect did not have any weapon. Is this not massive violence towards blacks.
Hansberry also mentions the inaccessibility to educational opportunities. Let us take, for instance, Walter, one of the Younger’s son, uses the money left by his father for his sister’s school to open a liquor shop, hoping for a better tomorrow. Sadly he is duped and loses the money. His sister is left with no hope for education. It shows that the blacks in the olden days would instead use the education money to do business and hope for more money to cater for education, if their plans do not go well, the beneficiary is left with no hope of going to school. It is also challenging for black people to access scholarships as compared to white people; hence they would have opted for it. It is relevant to today’s lives. There is a lot of corruption among our political leaders to the extent that even getting a scholarship from them; you have to pay them or know someone that knows them. It affects our education system as many children are left with no option but to not go to school. There is also this issue of oppression. According to Hansberry, the blacks were being oppressed. They had minimal access to resources. Be it jobs, food, education, freedom “How we get to the place where we scared to talk softness to each other”, healthcare; you name it. Most of the resources and facilities were put aside for the whites. Yes, they could complain about their unfair treatment, but to who? Who was going to put away their ‘important work’ aside to listen to the grievances of the black? No one. They were on their own; they were left to either work with what they had or keep quiet about it. It has been said that oppression still exists even in the modern world (Lipari 81-102). Blacks are being oppressed all over the world. They try so hard to fight for their rights. They came up with the slogan “Black Lives Matter”, and it is famous all over the world. Quality time that would be used by them to work, bring meaning to their lives, to change their lives, to raise their standards of living, is being used on the streets to protests against blacks being killed, unfair treatments and so on.
Where did racism come from? Why is it still here after all these years? Nobody knows. We were born and found it here. Blacks work so hard to be accepted by the other races, and they have to work twice harder to prove that they are also capable human beings. “Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most? When he’s done good and made things easy for everybody?” Hansberry pointed out the problems that black people faced during her time, which we can still relate to now. They are relevant to today’s political moment as what was being experienced then, though gradually reduced, are even shared by black people living outside their continent. The Younger family depended on a mere life insurance cheque hoping that it will bring change in their lives and that it would better their tomorrow in the quest of fulfilling their dreams. That is how miserable some blacks are.
References
Lipari, Lisbeth. “Fearful of the written word”: white fear, black writing, and lorraine hansberry’s a raisin in the sun screenplay.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 90.1 (2004): 81-102.
Rose, Tricia. “Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and the “Illegible” Politics of (Inter) personal Justice.” Kalfou 1.1 (2014).
Wilkerson, Margaret B. “” A Raisin in the Sun”: Anniversary of an American Classic.” Theatre Journal 38.4 (1986): 441-452.