A Raisin in the Sun

by Lorraine Hansberry

*Pester* Packet*Not quite a test, not really a paper*

Name: __________________________

Date: ________________________

Period: _____

PESTER INSTRUCTIONS:

This packet contains questions, writing responses, and other tasks to complete throughout our study of Raisin. Don’t fret: class time will be given to you to work on this packet, but what you do not finish will be homework.

When we are done reading the play, you will turn in this completed packet. Keep up with the work, and this packet will be an easy way to bring up your grade.

But, whatever you do…

DO NOT LOSE IT!!

“Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.”  Lorraine Hansberry

Biographical InformationLorraine Hansberry (1930-1965)

Born and raised during great depression in Chicago

mom was educated, dad was attorney for NAACP education valued in her family—Hansberry got to meet Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois, Duke Ellington

family moved to an all-white neighborhood when she was 8, after Dad won a big civil rights case studied writing and art at University of Wisconsin

1953—married a Jewish songwriter and moved to New York

Raisin in the Sun first produced in 1959—brings up issues of race and women’s rights that have yet to be tackled in the mainstream

first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway

took a long time to raise the money, then to find a theater, but big success

New York Drama Critics Circle Award, named “The Best American Play” in 1959—Hansberry is youngest and first African American woman to receive this award

Play is set in Chicago’s South Side

Died of cancer at age 34

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

Well, son, I'll tell you:Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.It's had tacks in it,And splinters,And boards torn up,And places with no carpet on the floor—Bare.But all the time I'se been a-climbin' on,And reachin' landin's,And turnin' corners,And sometimes goin' in the darkWhere there ain't been no light.So, boy, don't you turn back.Don't you set down on the steps.'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.Don't you fall now—For I'se still goin', honey,I'se still climbin',And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

1920-1940, mainly in New York City; used to be called the “New Negro Movement” named after an anthology of notable African-American works entitled The New Negro and published by philosopher Alain LeRoy Locke in 1925.

Instead of using direct political means, African-American artists, writers, and musicians employed culture to work for goals of civil rights and equality. For the first time, African-American paintings, writings, and jazz became absorbed into mainstream culture and crossed racial lines, creating a lasting legacy.

Writers include Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Claude McKay, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and many others. Later writers who were inspired by this period include Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison.

Musicians include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, to name a few.

Dream Deferredby Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry upLike a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore—And then run?Does it stink like rotten meatOr crust and sugar over—Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sagsLike a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Instructions : 1) Underline the line you feel is most important. Why did you choose this line?

2) Answer the following two questions:

a. What do you think this poem has to do with dreams?

b. What do you think this poem has to do with A Raisin in the Sun?

Act I, Scene I

The Younger ApartmentTime: Sometime between 1945 and 1958

Place: Southside Chicago

A Raisin in the Sun takes place entirely in the Younger home. Although people come and go, the audience only sees what goes on inside their apartment.

Directions: Read the introduction, and draw a layout of the Younger apartment. You must include: Living Room, Kitchen area (include the one small window), bedroom on left,

bedroom on right, and the shared bathroom. Additional details (such the furnishings and who is in what room, etc.) should also be included.

Bio Poem Activity Act I, Scene II

“The most ordinary human being has within him elements of profundity—of profound anguish…Every human being is in enormous conflict about something.”

--Lorraine Hansberry

INSTRUCTIONS: Hansberry’s dynamic characterization is one of the most striking elements in her play. Choose a character (Walter Lee, Ruth, Mama, or Beneatha), and write a 10-line Bio Poem that aptly captures his or her role in the play. Go beyond the obvious—what does your character dream about? Does he or she work for personal benefit or the good of the family? In 10 lines, try to describe clearly your character to someone who has not read the play.

Bio Poem Outline:Line 1: First Name

Line 2: Four descriptive traits (adjectives)Line 3: Sibling, Husband, Wife, Mother, etc. of...

Line 4: Lover of … 3 thingsLine 5: Who feels… 3 thingsLine 6: Who needs... 3 thingsLine 7: Who fears... 3 things

Line 8: Who would like to ... 3 thingsLine 9: Resident of... City, State

Line 10: Last NameExample:

WalterQuiet, Timid, Imaginative, Inscrutable to the last Husband of Mrs. Mitty

Lover of action, adventure, freedomWho feels trapped, aimless, like a child.

Who needs independence, a place to daydream, not to have his temperature taken Who fears authority, embarrassment, the wrath of his wife

Who would someday like to be a surgeon, a naval commander, or anything other than himself Resident of Waterbury, Connecticut

Mitty

Your Poem:

End of Act I Questions1. In Scene One, what does the setting of the Younger's apartment convey about them and their situation?

 

2. How are Walter and Beneatha alike in their ambitions? How are they different?

  3. In Scene Two, what does Africa seem to represent to Beneatha? Why do you think she objects to being called an assimilationist?

 

4. Mama observes to Walter, "once upon a time freedom used to be life-now it's money." What do you think she means by this statement? Do you agree with her?

  5. At the end of Act One, why is Mama so disgusted with Walter?

6. What is your favorite quote from the play thus far? (Include speaker and page number.)

Character LetterInstructions:Choose any character from the play to write a letter to another character.

Requirements: Use at least 10 of our vocabulary words correctly in the letter (use more for extra credit

)/ Please underline each word you use. Address an issue of importance, such as racial prejudice, money issues, family

problems, etc. Include at least one instance of PARALLEL STRUCTURE. If you’ve forgotten what this

is, refer to the handout I gave you. Please also underline this sentence, as well.

Example:

Dear Dad,I know about you and Mama always fightin’. Gallee, Dad, I ain’t stupid; I hear the

patronizing tone of your voice when you two are in the same room. Why is it that you are either drunk or gone? Don’t be thinking you’re vindicated from parenthood just because you may not get money. That money belongs to Grandmamma and she has the right to be tentative with her decision.

You know, I’m also kinda upset about the whole “bus driver” thing. You and Grandmamma is always tellin’ me to follow my dreams. So what if my dream is to be a bus driver? You drive a car all day, and boy, is it a sweet ride. I want some wheels of my very own someday. I picture sinuous roads and my autonomous control over that autobus. Imagine the pandemonium the boys downstairs would make if they saw me behind the wheel of a bright yellow bus!

I’m sorry to tell you this stuff, I’m sorry to tell you in a letter, and I’m sorry to sound so contemptible, but I wanted to be as discreet as possible. I wish you would be less implacable and more disarming.

Your son, Travis

A Raisin in the Sun Poster Project

Instructions: You are a Broadway Agent promoting P. Diddy’s revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin In The Sun. Working with your partner(s), make a large poster that advertises the play. The best poster will be plastered all over “New York City” (i.e., the class bulletin board).

Your Poster Should Include:

The name of the play (3-4 inches tall) The playwright’s name A brief, memorable quotation from the play Bold graphics and colors The name of the theater Dates of the performance

In addition to the components above, your grade will be based on participation, creativity, and neatness.

Here are some examples of previous posters:

A Raisin in the SunMovie Viewing Questions

Act I, Scene One1. The movie opens with Walter Lee asleep in bed, a close-up of his face. What might this wordless beginning tell us?

2. Think back to your apartment layout. Is this how you envisioned the apartment? Is it nicer than you thought it would be, or is it a “beat up hole”?

3. “I’m choking to death, and all you say is ‘eat these eggs.’”

How does Walter feel in this moment?

What is Ruth thinking at this moment?

Walter as the Chauffer4. This scene does not occur the play. Do you think the film director made a wise choice adding this scene in? Why or why not?

Act I, Scene Two5. The check arrives. What is the effect of the close-up on Mama’s face as she repeats unhappily “10,000 dollars”?

6. Are you more sympathetic to Walter now after seeing this scene played out?

7. What effect does the music have in this important exchange between Mama and Walter?

8. Notice how Mama is in between Ruth and Walter in the camera shot when Ruth reveals her plan to abort the child. Do you think Mama has anything to do with Ruth and Walter’s deteriorating relationship?

End of Act II Questions

1. In Act II, Scene 1, why do you think Walter and Beneatha both become caught up in their African masquerade?

  2. Do you think George Murchison is a snob? Why or why not?

  3. In Scene Two, what do you think of Mrs. Johnson’s character? How does her visit intensify the drama?

  4. Examine our protagonist, Walter. How does he act before Mama gives him the money? How does the money change him?

 

5. Do you think Lindner is a racist? Why or why not?

6. What is your favorite quote from Act II? (Include speaker and page number.)

Mama’s Plant

A symbol is an object (usually something physical) that stands for something else (usually intangible).

Instructions: 1. Read pages: 39, 52-3, 121, 139, and 151. What do these scenes have in common?

What words are used to describe Mama?

2. Do you think Mama’s plant serves as a symbol for something else? Why or why not?

3. How does Mama’s plant relate to the idea of an American Dream?

4. Read Alice Walker’s short poem above. What does she mean by “hunger”? How might this poem explain Mama’s love for her plant?

Despitethe hungerwe cannotpossessmorethanthis:Peacein a gardenofour own.

Alice Walker

End of Act III Questions1. How did you feel when the family lost the money? Did you see it coming, or did it take you by surprise?

2. How does the loss of the money affect Walter? Beneatha? Mama?

  2. Do you think Beneatha should accept Asagai’s proposal of marriage and move to Africa? Why or why not?

  3. Why does Walter decide to accept Lindner's offer? How does Walter's decision affect Mama?

 

4. What causes Walter to finally reject Lindner's offer?

  5. At the play's end, how have the Youngers changed? What remains the same?

Character Map, Act I – Act III

Among many things, Raisin is a play about relationships. Show how each character relates to one another using the map on the next page.

Instructions: In each box, write at least 2 adjectives that describe your character. On each line, write out the relationship between the characters, and also indicate the following:

$: if you think this relationship is affected by money : If you think this relationship is affected by racial issues.

Example:

Mother/Son$

Travis-Young

-Unaware

Ruth Younger-Tired

-Unsatisifed

Walter Lee YoungerRuth Younger

Travis

Willie HarrisBobo

Joseph Asagai

George Murchison

Beneatha Younger

Mama (Lena) Younger

Mr. Linder