A Raisin in the Sun: Post #1

Since the sixth grade, I’ve always dreamed about living in a city, where I would be surrounded by skyscrapers and bump elbows with pedestrians on a daily basis. The “Big Apple” offers more to me than the steep hills of Connecticut, with its fancy restaurants and attractions. But, as I’ve grown older, I am realizing that city housing isn’t anything compared to where I currently live; a person pays a lot for a little. This might be manageable when one is single, but what if he/she has a family? The play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Loraine Hansberry, depicts this type of living.

The Younger family consists of five members: Ruth, Walter, Travis, Beneatha, and Mama. They all live in a “rat trap” of an apartment, where the furniture have “had to accommodate the living of too many people for too many years” (23, 44). They barely have any space for themselves; some of them even share rooms together due to the size accommodations. It explains the saying, “If you can live in New York, you can live anywhere” because if one can endure living as a family in a run-down home, then one can endure any kind of living arrangement. This aspect of the story almost makes me reconsider living in a city.

On top of the poor living arrangements, the Youngers are also dealing with financial difficulties. Walter, being the man in the house, wants to start a liquor store in the neighborhood with the insurance check Mama received for Papa’s death, but the family is disputing over its use. In addition, Walter and Ruth have no respect towards each other, arguing over the dollar Travis received for school and “some fruit today” while they don’t listen to each other (31). When Walter asks for his eggs to not be scrambled, Ruth scrambles them anyway. The family, the apartment, and the finances are causing havoc on the Youngers.