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A Raisin in the Sun: The Unfilmed Original Screenplay
Under the editorship of the late Robert Nemiroff, with a provocative and thoughtful introduction by preeminent African-American scholar Margaret B. Wilkerson and a commentary by Spike Lee, this completely restored screenplay is the accurate and authoritative edition of Lorraine Hansberry's script and a testament to her unparalled accomplishment as a Black artist.
The 1961 film version of A Raisin in the Sun , with a screenplay by the author, Lorraine Hansberry, won an award at the Cannes Film Festival even though one-third of the actual screenplay Hansberry had written had been cut out. The film did essentially bring Hansberry's extraordinary play to the screen, but it failed to fulfill her cinematic vision.
Now, with this landmark edition of Lorraine Hansberry's original script for the movie of A Raisin in the Sun that audiences never viewed, readers have at hand an epic, eloquent work capturing not only the life and dreams of a Black family, but the Chicago—and the society—that surround and shape them.
Important changes in dialogue and exterior shots, a stunning shift of focus to her male protagonist, and a dramatic rewriting of the final scene show us an artist who understood and used the cinematic medium to transform a stage play into a different art form—a profound and powerful film.
The 1961 film version of A Raisin in the Sun , with a screenplay by the author, Lorraine Hansberry, won an award at the Cannes Film Festival even though one-third of the actual screenplay Hansberry had written had been cut out. The film did essentially bring Hansberry's extraordinary play to the screen, but it failed to fulfill her cinematic vision.
Now, with this landmark edition of Lorraine Hansberry's original script for the movie of A Raisin in the Sun that audiences never viewed, readers have at hand an epic, eloquent work capturing not only the life and dreams of a Black family, but the Chicago—and the society—that surround and shape them.
Important changes in dialogue and exterior shots, a stunning shift of focus to her male protagonist, and a dramatic rewriting of the final scene show us an artist who understood and used the cinematic medium to transform a stage play into a different art form—a profound and powerful film.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
16 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
Lorraine Hansberry
49 books543 followersLorraine Vivian Hansberry was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights the lives of black Americans in Chicago living under racial segregation. The title of the play was taken from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes: "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" At the age of 29, she won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award – making her the first African-American dramatist, the fifth woman, and the youngest playwright to do so. Hansberry's family had struggled against segregation, challenging a restrictive covenant in the 1940 U.S. Supreme Court case Hansberry v. Lee.
After she moved to New York City, Hansberry worked at the Pan-Africanist newspaper Freedom, where she worked with other black intellectuals such as Paul Robeson and W. E. B. Du Bois. Much of her work during this time concerned the African struggles for liberation and their impact on the world. Hansberry also wrote about being a lesbian and the oppression of gay people. She died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 34 during the Broadway run of her play The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window in 1965. Hansberry inspired the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", whose title-line came from Hansberry's autobiographical play.
After she moved to New York City, Hansberry worked at the Pan-Africanist newspaper Freedom, where she worked with other black intellectuals such as Paul Robeson and W. E. B. Du Bois. Much of her work during this time concerned the African struggles for liberation and their impact on the world. Hansberry also wrote about being a lesbian and the oppression of gay people. She died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 34 during the Broadway run of her play The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window in 1965. Hansberry inspired the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", whose title-line came from Hansberry's autobiographical play.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
July 21, 2018
I recommend this book to everyone! Such a wonderful story and beautifully written. I couldn't say enough about it. A must read.
February 11, 2016
I read and performed this play as Mama/Lena Younger and won the EMACT Best Actress Award. It was the best acting experience I have ever had. I cannot say enough about the merits of an excellent playwright. Superb writing lends itself beautifully to superb acting.
Read
June 19, 2016So much depth in this short play. It captures family, social, and race dynamics. The scramble and fight for the American dream, the feeling of being trapped, and the struggle to define yourself are so powerfully described you feel it in your gut. Written over 50 years ago and still resonates. I highly recommend.
September 12, 2016
I listened to book on CD, which actually was the recording of a liver performance. I recommend listening to this version versus reading. The characters personalities are much more apparent this way.
In part, it's a sad story. On the other hand, it offers a glimpse into the everyday lives of what could be some realy life people - not just fictional ones.
It's short - I recommend it.
In part, it's a sad story. On the other hand, it offers a glimpse into the everyday lives of what could be some realy life people - not just fictional ones.
It's short - I recommend it.
December 28, 2013
*NOTE: This review is solely for my benefit, read at your own discretion.*
Question:
Why is Beneatha so intent on learning about Africa?
My Answer:
First, obviously Beneatha is searching for herself, as we all are. As all youths are, especially. She goes from hobby to hobby, possible career to possible career. In this sense, I think that Beneatha is so intent on learning more about the African culture because she believes that the more she learns about her heritage, it will help her find herself.
----
Analysis:
Mama’s dream of the world is much different from that of her children. At different parts of the first act, Mama’s views of the world conflict with that of Walter, Ruth, and Beneatha.
GEORGE: You read books -- to learn facts -- to get grades -- to pass the course -- to get a degree. That's all -- it has nothing to do with thoughts.
George and Beneatha have a major disagreement about the purpose of education.
I believe that both of them are right; however, I do not share the same views as George. It is partly true what George had said, "you read books -- to learn facts -- to get grades -- to pass the course -- to get a degree. -- That's all. It has nothing to do with thoughts." The part where he is wrong is his idea that you don't think about anything, that you simply retain what you are taught and never build on it with your own thoughts. That is being a very narrow minded person, and someone like that will always be working at the back of the train to progression in society. I personally take Beneatha's side in their argument because I believe that it is very important to have thought, planning, and heart in everything you do. Without thought you'll forever be stuck in a circle going around and around, but if you put hard work and contemplation into whatever you do, you will get somewhere in life and move forward. You will also find yourself waking up happier each day rather than those that stay in one place in life.
----
I do believe that there was much more to Mama's anger. In fact, I think that it wasn't as much the loss of the money that infuriated her to her breaking point but the very fact that the money was all that was left of her husband. That money was all that had been left to them from him and that money was all that was left of what he had slaved and wasted away for. Another factor would probably be that Walter had betrayed her trust and used the money that she wanted for Beneatha's tuition and then he lost it to a scam artist.
Beneatha's explanation to Asagai as to why she no longer wishes to become a doctor tells me that she was once a dreamer that wanted to fix broken people back up. That she had wanted to do what, despite what everyone wished for God to do, he didn't and will never do. Beneatha wanted to be a kind person, an admirable person, a hero so that nobody will go unsaved. But life has already began to jade her, and her brother giving away all that money was the last thread to her dreams.
She thinks now that healing people's bodies isn't enough to change the world. It isn't enough to cure them. It isn't close enough to the core. She sees that there will always be the kind and foolish that are taken advantage of- and the scheming terrible people that will take and destroy. Beneatha sees no end to this circle spinning.
She is still a youth.
Mama's speech about love really moved me. Everything in her speech I have learned this over the course of this year to be true, mostly this past summer. When measuring a person take into consideration what they've been through, what challenges they have faced, and if you know nothing of what they have been through you are still entitled to your own opinion of that person but you hold no right to persecute against them in any way. And if you love that person, don't stop loving them and don't be cruel to them when they've done everything wrong and are at their lowest, because when they're at the bottom, no matter what they've done, because you love them it is your own responsibility to love them the most at that time. No, not a responsibility. It is a privilege, a right. Your right to love them and console them, and their right to be held.
I believe that this speech fits well into the play because what the world really needs is to get over the giant mountain to equality is love.
----
1. What can you do in your own community to help battle prejudice?
2. Have times changed since the 1950's and 1960's? Has the American people evolved into the "colorblind" society Dr. King envisioned?
What I can do in my community to help battle against prejudice is simply be kind to all races, not judge them by their skin color by but who they are as a person. By doing this, I will be one of what will become many that do not stereotype against those with different skin colors and many more people may even follow my, and other people like me, example.
Times certainly have changed since the 1950's and 1960's. We have come a long way for such a short time but we still have a long ways to go if we can ever actually attain Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s envisionment of a colorblind society.
All that we have evolved into is a much more equal community, however, in quite a few places we are still off balance as to who is more in power. Sometimes it is the blacks, sometimes it is the whites. Even so, blacks are still at times persecuted against only because of their skin color and I do hope that one day we all will truly be able to stand on the same ground.
----
Questions:
What does Mama mean by her comment about catching up with dreams? How is this important to the overall theme of A Raisin in the Sun?
Has Walter Lee caught up with his dreams at the end of the play? Explain your answer carefully, by tracing his actions and his development throughout the play.
What kind of dreams do you have? How to plan to "catch up" with them?
My Answers:
I think what Mama was thinking when she said "yes, a fine man - just couldn't never catch up with his dreams, that's all," about her deceased husband was that he tried hard, he worked hard, he dreamed big of good dreams, but he died before he was able to accomplish any of them. He died, working himself to the bone before he could reach any of his dreams that were all set too high. I believe that this is crucial to the theme of the play because every character in it are trying to achieve their own dream. Mama's comment shows that sometimes there are still people that never do achieve their dreams, but they can still leave behind something to help those they had left behind achieve their dreams.
I believe that Walter Lee has indeed, at last, caught up with his dreams. But not all of them, and not the dream he had in the beginning of the play either. Walter struggled throughout the entire play, trying hard to achieve his goal, to open a liquor store and provide a wealthy lifestyle for his family.
He was tearing at the seams, trying so hard to obtain this goal while at the same time none of the important people in his life were supporting him, but rather, they were putting him down for his dream.
In the end he lost all the money he had to a scam artist that skipped town, and he broke. When he rose back up again, however, Walter saw what his deepest dream was and that was to spend the rest of his days with his beautiful family in the beautiful house that Mama had bought and raise his son, the sixth generation of their family in America. This was the dream that Walter had achieved, with the help of those around him.
What is a dream? If I already have my dream then what is a dream deferred? I do not know my dream or what a dream really is, but something that gives me pleasure and that I strongly want to do is to paint and draw freely and that if someone or many people saw my artwork that it would brighten their day if not open their mind. That it would make them feel, make them feel what I'm feeling. Allow me to share my happiness through these fingertips of mine.
It is not a career, because I can't make one out of it with pressure on me from a manager. I do not wish to become a professional artist. All I want is to make something of my own out of my soul and show and share it with many people. Perhaps that is what my dream is, or perhaps I have not yet found it. One day I shall see.
Question:
Why is Beneatha so intent on learning about Africa?
My Answer:
First, obviously Beneatha is searching for herself, as we all are. As all youths are, especially. She goes from hobby to hobby, possible career to possible career. In this sense, I think that Beneatha is so intent on learning more about the African culture because she believes that the more she learns about her heritage, it will help her find herself.
----
Analysis:
Mama’s dream of the world is much different from that of her children. At different parts of the first act, Mama’s views of the world conflict with that of Walter, Ruth, and Beneatha.
GEORGE: You read books -- to learn facts -- to get grades -- to pass the course -- to get a degree. That's all -- it has nothing to do with thoughts.
George and Beneatha have a major disagreement about the purpose of education.
I believe that both of them are right; however, I do not share the same views as George. It is partly true what George had said, "you read books -- to learn facts -- to get grades -- to pass the course -- to get a degree. -- That's all. It has nothing to do with thoughts." The part where he is wrong is his idea that you don't think about anything, that you simply retain what you are taught and never build on it with your own thoughts. That is being a very narrow minded person, and someone like that will always be working at the back of the train to progression in society. I personally take Beneatha's side in their argument because I believe that it is very important to have thought, planning, and heart in everything you do. Without thought you'll forever be stuck in a circle going around and around, but if you put hard work and contemplation into whatever you do, you will get somewhere in life and move forward. You will also find yourself waking up happier each day rather than those that stay in one place in life.
----
I do believe that there was much more to Mama's anger. In fact, I think that it wasn't as much the loss of the money that infuriated her to her breaking point but the very fact that the money was all that was left of her husband. That money was all that had been left to them from him and that money was all that was left of what he had slaved and wasted away for. Another factor would probably be that Walter had betrayed her trust and used the money that she wanted for Beneatha's tuition and then he lost it to a scam artist.
Beneatha's explanation to Asagai as to why she no longer wishes to become a doctor tells me that she was once a dreamer that wanted to fix broken people back up. That she had wanted to do what, despite what everyone wished for God to do, he didn't and will never do. Beneatha wanted to be a kind person, an admirable person, a hero so that nobody will go unsaved. But life has already began to jade her, and her brother giving away all that money was the last thread to her dreams.
She thinks now that healing people's bodies isn't enough to change the world. It isn't enough to cure them. It isn't close enough to the core. She sees that there will always be the kind and foolish that are taken advantage of- and the scheming terrible people that will take and destroy. Beneatha sees no end to this circle spinning.
She is still a youth.
Mama's speech about love really moved me. Everything in her speech I have learned this over the course of this year to be true, mostly this past summer. When measuring a person take into consideration what they've been through, what challenges they have faced, and if you know nothing of what they have been through you are still entitled to your own opinion of that person but you hold no right to persecute against them in any way. And if you love that person, don't stop loving them and don't be cruel to them when they've done everything wrong and are at their lowest, because when they're at the bottom, no matter what they've done, because you love them it is your own responsibility to love them the most at that time. No, not a responsibility. It is a privilege, a right. Your right to love them and console them, and their right to be held.
I believe that this speech fits well into the play because what the world really needs is to get over the giant mountain to equality is love.
----
1. What can you do in your own community to help battle prejudice?
2. Have times changed since the 1950's and 1960's? Has the American people evolved into the "colorblind" society Dr. King envisioned?
What I can do in my community to help battle against prejudice is simply be kind to all races, not judge them by their skin color by but who they are as a person. By doing this, I will be one of what will become many that do not stereotype against those with different skin colors and many more people may even follow my, and other people like me, example.
Times certainly have changed since the 1950's and 1960's. We have come a long way for such a short time but we still have a long ways to go if we can ever actually attain Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s envisionment of a colorblind society.
All that we have evolved into is a much more equal community, however, in quite a few places we are still off balance as to who is more in power. Sometimes it is the blacks, sometimes it is the whites. Even so, blacks are still at times persecuted against only because of their skin color and I do hope that one day we all will truly be able to stand on the same ground.
----
Questions:
What does Mama mean by her comment about catching up with dreams? How is this important to the overall theme of A Raisin in the Sun?
Has Walter Lee caught up with his dreams at the end of the play? Explain your answer carefully, by tracing his actions and his development throughout the play.
What kind of dreams do you have? How to plan to "catch up" with them?
My Answers:
I think what Mama was thinking when she said "yes, a fine man - just couldn't never catch up with his dreams, that's all," about her deceased husband was that he tried hard, he worked hard, he dreamed big of good dreams, but he died before he was able to accomplish any of them. He died, working himself to the bone before he could reach any of his dreams that were all set too high. I believe that this is crucial to the theme of the play because every character in it are trying to achieve their own dream. Mama's comment shows that sometimes there are still people that never do achieve their dreams, but they can still leave behind something to help those they had left behind achieve their dreams.
I believe that Walter Lee has indeed, at last, caught up with his dreams. But not all of them, and not the dream he had in the beginning of the play either. Walter struggled throughout the entire play, trying hard to achieve his goal, to open a liquor store and provide a wealthy lifestyle for his family.
He was tearing at the seams, trying so hard to obtain this goal while at the same time none of the important people in his life were supporting him, but rather, they were putting him down for his dream.
In the end he lost all the money he had to a scam artist that skipped town, and he broke. When he rose back up again, however, Walter saw what his deepest dream was and that was to spend the rest of his days with his beautiful family in the beautiful house that Mama had bought and raise his son, the sixth generation of their family in America. This was the dream that Walter had achieved, with the help of those around him.
What is a dream? If I already have my dream then what is a dream deferred? I do not know my dream or what a dream really is, but something that gives me pleasure and that I strongly want to do is to paint and draw freely and that if someone or many people saw my artwork that it would brighten their day if not open their mind. That it would make them feel, make them feel what I'm feeling. Allow me to share my happiness through these fingertips of mine.
It is not a career, because I can't make one out of it with pressure on me from a manager. I do not wish to become a professional artist. All I want is to make something of my own out of my soul and show and share it with many people. Perhaps that is what my dream is, or perhaps I have not yet found it. One day I shall see.
March 16, 2020
A Raisin in the Sun was written as a play about a black family, the Youngers, who are about to move into an all-white neighborhood in post-WWII southside Chicago. Despite being written as a script, it reads with a novel’s completeness and narrative continuity. The main characters are Mama, the matriarchal grandmother, her two children Walter Lee and Beneatha, Walter’s wife Ruth and their son Travis. Big Walter, the late grandfather, is also key in the development of the story. Each character’s personality, family role, and dreams are revealed in their conversations with one another. This dialogue sensitizes the reader to who each person wants to be and what conflicts their dreams have with segregation and the perspectives and dreams of their fellow family members. The family itself is relatable. The siblings get into silly fights, Mama does everything she can to support her children, and everyone is trying to make a way for themselves. The story is also rich in symbolism and metaphor, some of it obvious, but some subtle and requiring an understanding of the characters and their perspectives. Similarly, much of the superficially ragtag dialogue is rich with metaphor and symbolism. The Youngers’ daily conversations carry both a passion for life and a permeating sadness at its hardship. A Raisin in the Sun isn’t exactly new - it’s been out for six decades. Yet it is still read and analyzed as part of school curriculum. In a simple plot, Hansberry vividly captured setting, tangible emotions, characters that the reader can sympathize with if not empathize with, and an acute sense of the influence of segregation on the lives of black citizens when this story was published. A Raisin in the Sun is a dense, savorable read for middle grade all the way up to adult readers who enjoy rich historical fiction. Adults may be able to read much deeper into the story, particularly those with personal memories of this time in history, but it is a valuable story for any reader.
D. K. Nuray, age 13
D. K. Nuray, age 13
August 20, 2025
I love a book with dialogue that feels real. This feels real because it is real. Every interaction with the characters. A perfect slice of life.
But what a powerful story. From what I understood, this came out during a time where black characters were only used as a side character, the funny one that did not matter. But Hansberry showed the real struggles found in black homes and families. Something monumental, which Spike Lee mentions in his foreward that I read.
The family dynamics are real and raw and what a great perspective having it come from a matriarchy rather than a patriarchy.
Each character shines on their own but Walter shines the most. A strong character that represents manhood, pride and destiny (as Hansberry puts it).
A peak into a reality. The power of writing.
But what a powerful story. From what I understood, this came out during a time where black characters were only used as a side character, the funny one that did not matter. But Hansberry showed the real struggles found in black homes and families. Something monumental, which Spike Lee mentions in his foreward that I read.
The family dynamics are real and raw and what a great perspective having it come from a matriarchy rather than a patriarchy.
Each character shines on their own but Walter shines the most. A strong character that represents manhood, pride and destiny (as Hansberry puts it).
A peak into a reality. The power of writing.
February 9, 2021
“when you start measuring somebody, measure him right, child, measure him right. make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is.”
a great play about fighting for the american dream from a black family’s point of view. it shows a family emerging from the cruel shadows of race in a predominately white community and the issues that arise from it.
this poem is titled after langston hughes poem “harlem” — “what happens to a dream deferred? does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” and i think that pretty much sums it up. the younger family’s dream is dying because it hasn’t been realized yet.
also cannot stop singing raisin in the sun to the tune of “islands in the stream” HAHA
a great play about fighting for the american dream from a black family’s point of view. it shows a family emerging from the cruel shadows of race in a predominately white community and the issues that arise from it.
this poem is titled after langston hughes poem “harlem” — “what happens to a dream deferred? does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” and i think that pretty much sums it up. the younger family’s dream is dying because it hasn’t been realized yet.
also cannot stop singing raisin in the sun to the tune of “islands in the stream” HAHA
June 2, 2022
This book, I did have to read for school, and it was kind of challenging because I have never read a screenplay before, but if I'm being honest, this was an amazing read!
All of the characters where portrayed so well, and even though BROTHER's ideas about things where a bit off, I loved his dreams for how he would treat his family had he the money.
Lena was my favorite, because she was such a strong willed being and a lot of black moms are, I speak from the experience of having several women who mother me, including my own. She wanted so much and was willing to use the CHECK in the mail to make her dreams and her late husbands dreams a reality. She bent to nobody's will except Gods, and she inspired me to be and do the same.
For those of you about to read, prepare to be amazed.
All of the characters where portrayed so well, and even though BROTHER's ideas about things where a bit off, I loved his dreams for how he would treat his family had he the money.
Lena was my favorite, because she was such a strong willed being and a lot of black moms are, I speak from the experience of having several women who mother me, including my own. She wanted so much and was willing to use the CHECK in the mail to make her dreams and her late husbands dreams a reality. She bent to nobody's will except Gods, and she inspired me to be and do the same.
For those of you about to read, prepare to be amazed.
October 15, 2017
Everything that Salesman wasn't - this play was. HOLY SMOKES. I don't know how I have gone this long without reading this, especially since I have been teaching American Literature for all this time. Wow.
This play is incredibly written. The characters and family dynamics are so well developed, and the heartbreak is REAL. I stayed up late reading this, had an audible intake of breath at stupid Walter, and teared up at the last moment when the decision is made. I was so invested in what they were doing, and all of the dreams and hopes of the characters.
A beautiful, heartbreaking read about the American Dream, and about family. Ugh. So good.
This play is incredibly written. The characters and family dynamics are so well developed, and the heartbreak is REAL. I stayed up late reading this, had an audible intake of breath at stupid Walter, and teared up at the last moment when the decision is made. I was so invested in what they were doing, and all of the dreams and hopes of the characters.
A beautiful, heartbreaking read about the American Dream, and about family. Ugh. So good.
February 1, 2022
Incredibly well-crafted, the arc of the plot, dialogue as natural as any real-life conversation and scenes set with such vivid attention to detail, character, and emotion, that even though this is a screenplay it reads as satisfyingly as a novel.
There are some spoilers in the introduction/commentary section of the book so you might want to jump ahead to the screenplay first but make sure you go back afterwards as it is both informative and infuriating to read about why this superior screenplay wasn’t used, not that the Sidney Poitier movie wasn’t perfectly fine but when you read this version you realize it could have been even better.
There are some spoilers in the introduction/commentary section of the book so you might want to jump ahead to the screenplay first but make sure you go back afterwards as it is both informative and infuriating to read about why this superior screenplay wasn’t used, not that the Sidney Poitier movie wasn’t perfectly fine but when you read this version you realize it could have been even better.
July 3, 2023
The story of the Younger family a black family living in a too small apartment on the South side of Chicago in the 50's as they try and decide what to do with an insurance payout from the death of their grandfather/husband. Dealing with the topics of racism, assimilation, education, and feminism and how those things affected the characters and their views on the world around them and the choices that they and others made in the short play format. Reading plays isn't my favorite, and it's not the best way to experience them most of the time but A Raisin in the Sun was one that could be more easily read.
October 10, 2017
Great read on poverty, racism and classism. Walter's decision about midway through really emphasized how the poor get poorer. I really enjoyed the different viewpoints of the main characters based on the same struggle. I will likely read this play too. The symbolism of the plant moved me as well.
On a side note, this was the first screenplay I've read (I think) and I was at first very distracted by all the camera notes in between dialogue. However about halfway through, I realized I liked getting a full picture and was playing the movie in my mind.
On a side note, this was the first screenplay I've read (I think) and I was at first very distracted by all the camera notes in between dialogue. However about halfway through, I realized I liked getting a full picture and was playing the movie in my mind.
October 20, 2017
I just can't feel any sympathy or empathy for Walter Lee; he was so selfish and bitter and unappealing as a character. But thwn I think about how depressed he must've been, how defeated. So, in a way, he was a potent character that involved the reader. All the characters were real, sometimes too real making it difficult to get distance. A good read for sure
January 22, 2019
Really a masterpiece. I've never seen the movie (I will now), but the power in the family interactions and what they face is incredible. I should read more screenplays and drama in general. It really grabs you relentlessly.
March 26, 2021
A companion classic to the play, Hansberry transforms a timeless stage work into a timeless screenplay.
The contextualizing introductions can be skipped or scanned, but serve as a suitable mini-history of this fine writing.
The contextualizing introductions can be skipped or scanned, but serve as a suitable mini-history of this fine writing.
June 13, 2025
I’ve loved this screenplay for years ever since I read it for summer reading ten years ago. I decided to try and find this specific version of it and I loved it just as much this time as I did ten years ago
May 5, 2018
Glad I read this historic screenplay. Powerful and moving dialogue. Perspective.
May 18, 2019
As relevant today as when it was written.
November 2, 2019
Was great book! Walter made desiccation for their family to live in Cyproince Park in white neighborhoods at end book. You should read it very great book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2021
Would not have picked this story up on my own, but since my son in HS was reading it, I did. It was well worth the read!
August 2, 2021
It's been years since I read a play and I found it very interesting to read character and stage directions along with the dialogue.
February 20, 2022
Mama and Ruth = best characters.
March 7, 2022
This was a different reading experience because it’s a play. Excellent story. I wonder how it would end if it was written today.
August 6, 2023
I cant believe the amount of depth to such a short play. So much so that I can’t decide which characters I hate, pity, or love.
March 16, 2024
Mama was a great matriarch of the family and wanted her family strong. Great, but heartbreaking story of one family trying to rise up and achieve a better life in the face of terrible racism.
May 15, 2025
Wonderful to see how Hansberry envisioned her famous play as a film.
October 24, 2025
A fascinating, heartfelt look at Black American life in the last mid-century. The story was poignant and realistic. This is the first play I've read in over 20 years. I will be reading more.
August 9, 2020
Full review @ DegenerateReads - https://degeneratereads.wordpress.com...
Perfection.
I’ve spent about ten solid minutes trying to think of a way to begin this review. I’ve found myself struggling to think of a brief summary of my feelings for this play, but “perfection” seems to sum it up about as well as any word could.
This play is set in 1950’s Chicago and follows the Younger family as they await a check which forces each member to consider the future and what their dreams’ for it are.
The view we get of the Younger family is flawless in its totality. I don’t mean that we get every bit of information possible about each of these characters’ entire lives, but that the couple days of their lives we see in the play fully encompasses the essence of each character and gives a definitive image of who each of them are as individuals.
Each of these characters are people you could envision—people you may even know. And no matter your background, you will find something to relate to in, at least, one of these characters.
“Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most? When they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain’t through learning—because that ain’t the time at all. It’s when he’s at his lowest and can’t believe in hisself ’cause the world done whipped him so! When you starts measuring somebody, measure him right, child, measure him right. Make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is.”
This covers so many topics it’s almost hard to figure out where to start. Basically, if a theme exists, you will find it somewhere in here. This addresses poverty, race, familial discontent, Western beauty standards—specifically in regards to pressures put on Black women, feminism and women’s gender roles, marriage, African heritage and assimilation—this even touches briefly on abortion, among so many other things. And Hansberry manages to do all of this with humor and sass, while retaining the seriousness of each topic and the tragedy of each topic’s necessity in the play.
Perfection.
I’ve spent about ten solid minutes trying to think of a way to begin this review. I’ve found myself struggling to think of a brief summary of my feelings for this play, but “perfection” seems to sum it up about as well as any word could.
This play is set in 1950’s Chicago and follows the Younger family as they await a check which forces each member to consider the future and what their dreams’ for it are.
The view we get of the Younger family is flawless in its totality. I don’t mean that we get every bit of information possible about each of these characters’ entire lives, but that the couple days of their lives we see in the play fully encompasses the essence of each character and gives a definitive image of who each of them are as individuals.
Each of these characters are people you could envision—people you may even know. And no matter your background, you will find something to relate to in, at least, one of these characters.
“Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most? When they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain’t through learning—because that ain’t the time at all. It’s when he’s at his lowest and can’t believe in hisself ’cause the world done whipped him so! When you starts measuring somebody, measure him right, child, measure him right. Make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is.”
This covers so many topics it’s almost hard to figure out where to start. Basically, if a theme exists, you will find it somewhere in here. This addresses poverty, race, familial discontent, Western beauty standards—specifically in regards to pressures put on Black women, feminism and women’s gender roles, marriage, African heritage and assimilation—this even touches briefly on abortion, among so many other things. And Hansberry manages to do all of this with humor and sass, while retaining the seriousness of each topic and the tragedy of each topic’s necessity in the play.
December 2, 2024
“It isn't a circle. It is simply a long line-as in geometry, you know, one that reaches into infinity. And because we cannot see the end—we also cannot see how it changes. And it is very odd that those who see the changes are called "idealists," and those who cannot, or refuse to, think they are the "realists" —it is very strange, and amusing too, I think. But you—I never thought to see you in these ranks. Already—and after just one small defeat—you would worship despair?” (185)
The joy and despair bought by $10,000 in a Chicago apartment, crippled by the unreachable latter of upward mobility. I know that money is the route to happiness, the root of evil, and the recipe for disaster. A Raisin in the Sun is that recipe. Hard work, Afro-Centricity, greed, and disappointment define black neighborhoods across the nation.
Bad decisions and high hopes for the future can change people. Lead them to drink into a stupor or forget their people. But those defeats mean not in the face of white America. Just across the river where Black problems aren’t as big, aren’t as important. Getting a leg up, putting the money down, means nothing if not accompanied by changes in society. But… the changes do happen. It’s just that from the bottom of the hill, people forget that you have to hold your chin high and squint to see them.
The joy and despair bought by $10,000 in a Chicago apartment, crippled by the unreachable latter of upward mobility. I know that money is the route to happiness, the root of evil, and the recipe for disaster. A Raisin in the Sun is that recipe. Hard work, Afro-Centricity, greed, and disappointment define black neighborhoods across the nation.
Bad decisions and high hopes for the future can change people. Lead them to drink into a stupor or forget their people. But those defeats mean not in the face of white America. Just across the river where Black problems aren’t as big, aren’t as important. Getting a leg up, putting the money down, means nothing if not accompanied by changes in society. But… the changes do happen. It’s just that from the bottom of the hill, people forget that you have to hold your chin high and squint to see them.
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