A Raisin in the Sun and The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window [Paperback]

Lorraine Hansberry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 1995

By the time of her death thirty years ago, at the tragically young age of thirty-four, Lorraine Hansberry had created two electrifying masterpieces of the American theater. With A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry gave this country its most movingly authentic portrayal of black family life in the inner city. Barely five years later, with The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Hansberry gave us an unforgettable portrait of a man struggling with his individual fate in an age of racial and social injustice. These two plays remain milestones in the American theater, remarkable not only for their historical value but for their continued ability to engage the imagination and the heart.

With an Introduction by Robert Nemiroff

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Rich and warm and funny and varied ... beautifully written."-- Los Angeles Times, on The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window

"One of a handful of great American plays -- it belongs in the inner circle, along with Death of a Salesman, Long Day's Journey Into Night and The Glass Menagerie."--Washington Post, on A Raisin in the Sun

From the Inside Flap

By the time of her death thirty years ago, at the tragically young age of thirty-four, Lorraine Hansberry had created two electrifying masterpieces of the American theater. With A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry gave this country its most movingly authentic portrayal of black family life in the inner city. Barely five years later, with The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Hansberry gave us an unforgettable portrait of a man struggling with his individual fate in an age of racial and social injustice. These two plays remain milestones in the American theater, remarkable not only for their historical value but for their continued ability to engage the imagination and the heart.

With an Introduction by Robert Nemiroff

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (June 13, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679755314
• ISBN-13: 978-0679755319
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A literary nust-read., April 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Raisin in the Sun and The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (Paperback)

A Raisin in the sun was written to reflect one man's struggle to pull himself up from the slums to make a better life for his son and family. Walter was a weak man and had always had his father's coat-tails to ride on. When his father was alive he had a role model, someone who knew how to be a man and Walter never learned that it meant doing things the hard way. He and his friends were out looking for fast fortune and it never worked out. Walter had big dreams of owning big cars and living up where the rich white folks live.
Beneatha had dreams of being a doctor and she was head strong and determined not to let anything or anyone stand in her way. Least of all her pathetic brother, Walter. She wanted to be loved and appreciated for all of her struggles but she did not know how to earn that love and appreciation. Ruth was a woman who had seen many battles in life. She expected to live the good life with Walter and when that did not happen, she stood by his side anyway. They had one son that they could hardly take care of and when she found herself pregnant she became desperate looking for a solution. How were they going to take care of a child, they could hardly feed and clothe the one they had.
Ruth was strong and she was the backbone for her husband.
The matriarch in the Family though was Mama. She was the string that held all of her family together. An example of this was when she tied the sticks around the flower to hold it together for moving. This represented her pulling the family together to prepare for the hardships that would probably come their way in moving out to Clyborne Park. They knew that they would not be wanted in that area, but the family had seen and been through more than enough in their time. This story represents the struggle to be a family, to take care of what you love and do what you have to do to see that your family is taken care of. It also represents the struggle that many people go through in life to be someone within themselves.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Content, December 3, 2002

By 

Hannah (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Raisin in the Sun and The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (Paperback)

For those wanting to understand the influence of this great American author, I strongly recommend this edition of Raisin and Sign. The commentaries and introductions are priceless. Not to mention that the plays themselves are fascinating. Speaking as a white, Irish female, one would wonder why I'd have such a high opinion, well, doing Ms. Hansberry as a research subject for my entire junior year, I didn't have much interest at first. But reading these plays made me realize that Hansberry holds a great power for writing about universal concepts and ideas, whether the reader is black or not. Especially The Sign In Sidney Brustein's Window.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good play, January 28, 2003

By 

Mina Tadross (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Raisin in the Sun and The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (Paperback)

A raisin in the sun is a greaat book, that is about a man named Walter that wanted the best for his family and son. his father have always tought him how to stay strong in a very wild life, but Wlater was weak, he never learned that he must do stuff the hard way if he wanted to succed in life. he has always wanted to get money the easy way, but he never makes it to the end because its not easy to make money. even thought Walter wanted to be really rich and be like white men at the time, he stile didnt try hard to be rich like what his dad told him before he passed out.
Also in the play Beneatha was Walter's sister that also had dreams of being a doctor. she wanted all people to like her and love her but she didn't learn how to do that and which way to get them to like her. Ruth was a woman who had seen many battles in life. She expected to live the good life with Walter and when that did not happen, she stood by his side anyway. They had one son that they could hardly take care of and when she found herself pregnant she became desperate looking for a solution. How were they going to take care of a child, they could hardly feed and clothe the one they had.
The mother of this family was Ruth, she was a great mama that have always cared about her family and she always try to pull them together to form a great strong family.
This story showed how much problems African American families had at that time and how much they strugled.