A Raisin in the Sun

Description

In a cramped apartment on Chicago's South Side, three generations of the Younger family wait for an insurance payment following the death of the family patriarch. The money gives each person a different vision of escape. Walter Lee wants to invest in a liquor store and claim financial independence; Mama hopes to buy a home in a better neighborhood; Beneatha plans for a medical career while questioning assimilation and her connection to African heritage. Ruth struggles with the immediate pressures of poverty and family life. When Mama chooses a house in a white neighborhood, organized resistance confronts the family with another price for advancement. The play turns competing dreams into a close examination of dignity, race, money, and belonging.

Themes