Work Review Form for "A Raisin in the Sun" by Larraine Hansberry*

 

EVALUATION:  10 points if on time and at least C work; 5 points if up to one week late;  2 points if more than one week late

 

HOW TO SUBMIT:  Copy the questions below into your word processor and fill in your answers (preferably in a different font or in boldface).  Save your work in a word-processing document.  Open Oncourse:InTouch and upload your work to the DropBox for "A Raisin in the Sun."

 

ASSIGNMENT:  Read "A Raisin in the Sun" in NILshorter8, pp. 1473-1542. 

You may also find interesting the Related Links page provided by the Norton Litweb site at http://www.wwnorton.com/introlit/drama_hansberry4.htm  (including audio excerpts from the play)

 

To earn points, answer ALL of the following questions about the play:

 

Your name:

  1. Which characters do you find the most and least sympathetic? Read FAQ2 which explains why different people can have reasonable but conflicting views of the same literary work.  Then, for your most AND least sympathetic character, explain what in the play makes you feel this way. 
  2. The editors of NIL distinguish between plot time[hjs1] , authorial time [hjs2] and reader time[hjs3] .  Explain the three "times" of "Raisin" and give an example of how your response might differ from those of a person like you who saw the play in 1959.  (For your reference, the Civil Rights movement (voter registration, integration) started in the mid-1960's.) 
  3. Our text quotes Langston Hughes' poem "What happens to a dream deferred?"  Describe the dreams of Lena, Walter Lee:  what forces, internal and external, defer, modify, or block each one? How do the dreams conflict?
  4. A foil is a character in a similar situation to a main character but whose actions contrast to that of a main character and thus help us make up our mind about the main character.  The suitors of Beneatha (Joseph Asagai and George Murchison) and Willy Harris are all the about the same age as Walter Lee (similar situation).  For two of these men, show how their path in life differs from Walter Lee's and what you conclude from the contrast.
  5. Go to the Iowa State University online database for A Raisin in the Sun and search for references to sunlight, gardening, and Mama's plant. What does the plant represent for Mama? For the rest of the Younger family?
  6. Why does Mama decide to give Walter Lee money despite her disapproval of a liquor store? 
  7. What is Karl Lindner's offer? when and why does Walter Lee change his mind about rejecting the offer?
  8. Does Mama Younger's dream of a house of their own address all of their dreams? Will it be enough? Which dreams have been fulfilled by the end?  Which have not been fulfilled?  Argue whether you think hope has won out over despair. 

 

 

*adapted from Reading and Re-Reading Questions at Norton's LitWeb at http://www.wwnorton.com/introlit/drama_sophocles2.htm.

 [hjs1]plot time = the time in which the action takes place 

 [hjs2]authorial time = the time when the author was writing.  The conditions and assumptiopns of that time may find their way into the conception and style of the text. 

 [hjs3]reader time = the time frame of the reader or audience.  The conditions and assumptions of the time may differ from the plot time and authorial time and affect the reader's response.