A Raisin in the Sun [Mass Market Paperback]

Lorraine Hansberry (Author), Robert Nemiroff (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: November 29, 2004

This groundbreaking play starred Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeill, Ruby Dee and Diana Sands in the Broadway production which opened in 1959. Set on Chicago's South Side, the plot revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena, called Mama. When her deceased husband's insurance money comes through, Mama dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans, however: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school.

The tensions and prejudice they face form this seminal American drama. Sacrifice, trust and love among the Younger family and their heroic struggle to retain dignity in a harsh and changing world is a searing and timeless document of hope and inspiration. Winner of the NY Drama Critic's Award as Best Play of the Year, it has been hailed as a "pivotal play in the history of the American Black theatre." by Newsweek and "a milestone in the American Theatre." by Ebony.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A beautiful, lovable play. It is affectionately human, funny and touching. . . . A work of theatrical magic in which the usual barrier between audience and stage disappears.”
John Chapman, New York News

“An honest, intelligible, and moving experience.”
Walter Kerr, New York Herald Tribune

“Miss Hansberry has etched her characters with understanding, and told her story with dramatic impact. She has a keen sense of humor, an ear for accurate speech and compassion for people.”
Robert Coleman, New York Mirror

“A Raisin in the Sun has vigor as well as veracity.”
Brooks Atkinson, New York Times

“It is honest drama, catching up real people. . . . It will make you proud of human beings.”
Frank Aston, New York World-Telegram & Sun

“A wonderfully emotional evening.”
John McClain, New York Journal American



From the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

When it was first produced in 1959, A Raisin in the Sun was awarded the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for that season and hailed as a watershed in American drama. A pioneering work by an African-American playwright, the play was a radically new representation of black life. "A play that changed American theater forever."--The New York Times.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 151 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Bks Ed Aug 1994/ 7th Print edition (November 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679755330
• ISBN-13: 978-0679755333
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.4 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (180 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > African-American Studies
  • #25 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > United States
  • #53 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Classics

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 72 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book May 19, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Recently, in my eighth grade English class, we read To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. During our study of the 1930's in Alabama we were assigned to read another book by an African American author. I chose A Raisin the Sun because my mom recommended it. Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun written in 1959 is an intriguing, must read play. This play shows the strength of an African-American family's values and ability to stick together. They face many hard things that shock the reader and the audience including an accidental pregnancy. They battle against harsh prejudice and a system that attempts to keep them from having good opportunities to improve their life. Hansberry does a good job of intertwining family hardships with the individuality of each character. She develops each character personally and carries on his or her traits through out the entire book. The attitude she takes towards the great struggles of a Chicago family, Walter, Ruth, Mama, Beneatha and Travis Younger is convincing because of her tone and description. She shows that life for an African American person at this time is difficult and full of obstacles more challenging than the ones that white people faced. Although A Raisin in the Sun takes place 29 years after To Kill a Mockingbird, African American people are still treated with no respect and are limited in their rights. Both stories constantly demolish African-American families' dreams. Hansberry illustrates through her tone that the family life is rough and the Youngers' are eager for a big change. This action in the plot causes excitement and suspense. As a reader I constantly want the Younger family to over come their challenges and do well in the future. In the same way, In To Kill A Mockingbird I was always hoping that Tom Robinson would be freed. Although there are similarities in the way black people are treated in both books, Lorraine Hansberry as a black author develops her black characters more thoroughly than Harper Lee. Lorraine Hansberry leaves her white characters to roles that are minor. I like this play because it is realistic and shows how strong a family bond is no matter what comes between them. She really showed how the Youngers' were struggling financially but still managed to succeeded all of the obstacles in their way.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly moving play September 16, 2001

By Michael J. Mazza HALL OF FAME

Format:Mass Market Paperback

"A Raisin in the Sun," the play by Lorraine Hansberry, was produced in New York City in 1959. Hansberry creates the story of the Youngers, a struggling African-American family whose members deal with poverty, racism, and painful conflict among themselves as they reach for a better life. The Youngers are, in my opinion, one of the most unforgettable families in United States literature. Hansberry balances grim drama, comic moments, and redemptive love as the play unfolds.

Although a few of the characters may seem a bit stereotypical, the play strikes me as surprisingly fresh after all these decades. It is also fascinating to hear the voices of three generations of a single family in this play. Ultimately, "Raisin" is a celebration of struggle, pride, and hope, in addition to being a historically important indictment of mid-20th century racism. This is essential reading for anybody with a serious interest in United States drama or African-American literature.

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing May 18, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry was awonderful piece of writing. I'm a fourteen year old and I thinkthat the book is good for most ages but you need to be at least 12 to fully understand it. I read this book while reading To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. It was interesting to read those books at the same time to see the points of view of racism of both sides. I noticed something very similar in both books. The Black people are always very welcoming and polite to the white people. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson was always willing to help Mayella Ewell with chores. In A Raisin in the Sun, when the man came from the welcoming committee, they were very polite to him and invited him into their home. Little did they know that they would be rejected even though they were very courteous. That happened in both books. In A Raisin in the Sun, it seemed like their race was holding them back from accomplishing their dreams. When Mama bought the house for her family, they were all brutally rejected by the community. This upset the family very much. Walter says, "Maybe---maybe I'll just get down on my black knees,Captain Mistuh, Bossman. A-hee-hee-hee! Yasssuh! Great White Father, just gi' ussen de money, fo' God's sake, and we's ain't gwine come out deh and dirty up yo' white folks neighborhood..." When he says this it is a very dramatic part of the play. It shows how white people are controlling so much that goes on. They can't live in a house they want to live in. It seems like the white people are perceived as some kind of royalty in the book. Like queens and kings, they are not anything special but were just born into the "right" family. Unlike royalty, it's not the name they inherit but the color of their skin. I think this book was a great book to read. It showed me that in America you didn't always have a fair chance and social mobility used to be a lost cause for African-Americans. All of the people who lived in that crummy apartment had a dream but because of their skin color, their dreams were shattered. Either they wouldn't be taken seriously, or not welcomed, or given no choice but to take a low paying job doing unskilled things. I thought it was a great book because it was so realistic. There was suspense and most of all it was a book that really made me think.