Post Raisin in the Sun Post

Reflecting on your experience today, and our readings/watchings from Trimester II, what does the poem below tell us? (500-1000 words)

Harlem
by Langston Hughes


What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

The total performance was very good and how i would think it would be. All the performers really got into the right mood for each and every one of their characters and did the appropriated things that their people would do and say. The way that they could just go into a different mind set and live in the shoes of the people they are acting is really amazing and it takes real talent and practice to be able to do that sort of performance then did. The performers were able to duplicate the same emotions that the play writer wanted them to have. I feel like going to plays like this is really good for everyone in school because you are able to see the end production of all the hard work and thinking that is put into making suspenseful plays like that one was. All the work that goes into the play rarely ever gets noticed, practicing for mounts and making sure you know all the movements and the words that people need do. Every play is different with the ways the people in the crowd react to different things and how the performers react to it. Having the skill in improvisation is very important in school and being able to see that in live action is important for all young students to see so we can get used and learn how to do it. Because once we get out of school and start a life in the real world we will never know what is going to happen so we need to be on our toes and be prepared to handle any situation that comes our way. The poem below really shows how Walters problem must have felt for him in the line "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore—" That really shows what happens to him when he cant get the money but its right in his face. The pain of not being able to get his dream and the fact that people all around the house are doing other things with the money and not letting him try his dream really kills him on the inside and he start to no be able to take it anymore and he explodes a few times in the play. The other things we watch and read this trimester have had the same issues with money and personal pride but everyone is a little different in the ways that they react and try to get around the problems they have. Having people do it live in front of you really changes the play because you can relate to it; see and here the little things that you may not have herd the first time through reading it. It really beings out all the prospective of every character in the plays. I think that when school are able to go out of there school building and go into a public place and have other schools reacting differently shows the students all the ways of taking in the info that the play gives out.

I think this poem sums up a very good part of our readings and watchings from this trimester. This trimester we read, and watched the PlayMakers production of A Raisin In The Sun. In A Raisin In The Sun its about people’s dreams, and having them be taken away, and having to get through that. The Poem by Langston Hughes, called “Harlem” it is also about people's dreams, and also asks the question “What happens to a deferred dream.” And, I feel like A Raisin In The Sun answers that in a family setting. While also asking the same question. The dreams that are lost and also gained in this play are Walter’s dream of investing in a liquor store, Bernetha's dream of becoming a doctor, and then the one dream Mama had that she finally received in the end, a two story house for her and her family to live in. In the play you never get a straight answer as to what happened to Walter and Bernetha’s dreams. What I personally think happens is that they get over it and move on, finding new dreams to follow. However, in the poem there is no resolve. The poem goes on to ask more questions about what really does happen to that dream. The questions it has have heavy loads. None of the questions it asks are light hearted about the dream. This shows that although people do get over their dreams, and do move on, they will always be left to ponder what could have been. I feel like the play also asks and answers another question, what happens to the dreams that are once lost, but then an opportunity to have them dreamed again appears, the ones that were once left on the “counter” to fester and run, like in the poem. The play, besides showing that people soon recover from their dreams, also shows that they never go away. A great example of this is Mama, it was always her dream to have a two story house to live in, but she made do in an apartment with her family. Happy that she had even that. But when she was presented with the option to expand, from her late husbands insurance money, the dream came back. The blister healed. She dusted it off and bought her a new house. Bringing her family hope and happiness for the future. That is why the play is also an answer to the poem. It shows what happens to people's dreams, and also what happens to the people who dream them. To combine it all, as an answer to the poem, taking answers I get from the play, a dream will fester, and will stink of rotten milk. But people are able to ignore that, even if it hurts. But I think, if someone is ever presented with the option to have their dream come true they will take it by the hand. You can only bear the smell of rotten meat for so long.

This was also in the beginning of Betsey Brown. I believe that Lorraine Hansberry deliberately took the one line in this poem and used it for a purpose. Alone, and by itself, A Raisin in the Sun sounds odd, but when put in the sentence, the raisin is supposed to resemble the dream in Hughes poem, a dream that probable is everyone’s dream in Raisin in the Sun. Beneatha want’s to be a doctor, Walter want’s to own a liquor store, Mama wants a garden to plant in, and Ruth want’s love from her husband and a home for her baby.

I do have a problem about this poem though. For the past two odd years, this poem has followed me. Since black history month of 8th grade, where my class learned about the civil rights movements, to now, where we have read Betsey Brown and Raisin in the Sun. Because of it’s consistency in my life, I have had some time to figure out what it means. For poems, I prefer to be optimistic, but on several occasions, my english teacher will dissect a poem or a piece of literature until it is boring and I despise the thought of it. So to put it in text, I believe that what Langston Hughes is trying to say is this: When a dream is ignored, what happens to it. Does it kill it’s owner, or does it go away, does it make a knot in the owners stomach and make them feel bad, or does it in one way, shape or form, deliver itself to the owner. I want to conclude this post now, but I am forced by the powerful rules of the teacher to write at the minimum 500 words, and I am about 60% or so away from from the minimum goal. To revive the post from my frustration, and for the sake of a good grade, I believe that the poem could have another meaning. It has probably BILLIONS of answers, all up to the reader to decide an answer, and you can argue and agree with whatever opinion you want.

Here is my second answer: Langston Hughes wonder what happens to people’s dreams when they do not come true. Do they live in misery, depressed about the way their life has turned out, and wishing they have made different choices in their life so they don’t have to live in the misery that they do now. Or they live with what they have and make the best of life. Do they end up chasing after their dreams, to live for something, or does the dream come back to them.

As I said, you don’t have to disagree with me, or agree with me. And you still have the poem in tact, and not carved up on a surgery table, just chunks of what it used to be. But I am giving you the option to create what you want in your head about what this poem means, or how you can interpret it.

A Raisin in the Sun
Peter Baroff
Post Play Post
English I
2/28/13

Reflecting on your experience today, and our readings/watchings from Trimester II, what does the poem below tell us?

My response to A Raisin in the Sun is that it was much better and moved me much more than watching the movie and reading the play in the book. I felt that while watching the play in the theater, I could get into the story and felt much closer to the play. The play was performed very well and helped me understand the play better than I could have by just watching the movie or reading the book. During the 2nd trimester I felt that reading and attempting to act out Fences, I didn't get close to the characters and their problems and did not get enough out of the story. I feel that if I was given the chance to see the play from that book it might help me understand the situation for that Troy and Cory found themselves in. I felt the same with the other books and things that we learned about.
The poem might tell us that a person who is under a huge amount of pressure or loss of a life goal can go one of three ways, become stink like rotten meat, become crusted over with sugar, or explode. It might be stink like rotten meat means that the person under pressure could complain or be a great pain to the people around him. Becoming sugar coated might make them really sweat and accept the problems and pressure. Exploding is where the person broke under the pressure and stopped doing everything. I believe that Walter Lee managed his loss in a combination of the three directions. He was distraught and in anguish when he found out that his mother spent the money on buying a house for the family, but when his mother gave him some of the money back, he became a different person. Then he was told that one of his partners ran off with all of the money, and this killed him on the inside. Metaphorically he smelled like rotten meat. His dream had been killed, brought back to life, then killed once again.

During the second trimester, although our topic of blacks and civil rights was a heavy thing to discuss, I felt like in English class we dealt with it in such a way that the color of the characters skin was not the main topic of discussion. It was always lingering in the back of our head, and it allowed us to think of things from the point of view from these people who lived in a segregated society. Our focus was the idea of the main protagonists’ coming of age. In our first book Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange, the main protagonist was Betsey and in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, it was Walter Lee. By incorporating the idea of blacks in the South during the time of the civil rights movement, the books generated a unique twist of thought. This allowed for much deeper discussion on topics that could be sensitive to some and also allowed for each person to think more deeply within their own mind about each situation. Which, in the end, definitely helped to figure the books out at a higher level.
It was such a unique experience to be able to read A Raisin in the Sun, as well as see the movie, and on top of that watch the play. It gave so many different ways of looking at the same moment, like looking at the same thing happening within three different people’s eyes. Some moments were different, many were the same, but overall each way of learning what the book was about left an impression on me. The movie was probably my favorite because every way I pictured things happening in the book, came to life in the movie. Although the play was exciting and different, some of the choices they made to change the original book, I didn’t like very much. For example, in the movie I loved the ending when Mama walked out of the house with her plant, and in the play she walked out with a picture of her husband. Although, the meaning behind the change was interesting, in the book and the movie he wasn’t part of the story line other than being the reason for the money. So I would have much rather seen Mama walk out with the plant in her hand. All in all, being able to experience A Raisin in the Sun in three different ways was something I haven’t done before and it allowed me to see things in three different ways.
As for the poem, I believe it has one specific meaning. In A Raisin in the Sun a large part of the story centered around this idea of following your dreams. Whether to follow them or not, whether to dream big or just at an achievable level. This was a big meaning in the story. This poem is describing the ways a dream that is shot down weighs on a person. “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.” I see a lot of resemblance between the poem and A Raisin in the Sun and both can teach us to dream big and never give up.
Kathy M. Nowak

My initial reaction to the performance today was kind of dull and bland. because we have already read part of the book and also have seen the motion picture. I think that if I had not done one or the other, my reaction to the play would have been polar opposite of my reaction I had today.
Even though My experience was a bittersweet one, I did pay attention and I did take out a lot about what the play was all about. One of the best moments from the play that I think will stick with me is when Walter says "Is anybody gonna listen to me today?" that line will stick with me for a very long time if not forever because I can relate to it personally because I feel like no matter how loud or how fast or slow I say what I need to say, no one will ever listen and even if they do, they wouldn't care.I also think that Walter feels the same way even though it may not be everything he says, a lot of it just gets ignored or passed by without someone else's consideration or thought. Some similarities from the book and the movie are that the book is in it's original form and was not, will not, ever be changed. Whereas the movie made multiple changes in the scenery and the producers moved some of the dialogue to different parts of different scenes. I think that the play, compared to the book, was almost completely revised but with little parts kept in. The play added in extra dialogue and even extra scenes like when Mama gave Walter the money, Walter was supposed to be at the bar, but instead was at the apartment. I think that this was because they didn't have the props and the other was that they didn't have the time to change the scene. I think that the scenes that they made, including the one where mama gave Walter the money, was better than the movie and the book because they didn't have the props and the other was that they didn't have the time to change the scene. I think that the scenes that they made, including the one where mama gave Walter the money, was better than the movie and the book because I feel like the apartment was one of if not the most important element in the story and the play really revolved around it. I especially like that at the end, mama took a good look around the apartment and looked at the plant and looked at the carpet, and as she was walking out, she took the picture of Walter's father. I think that shows that even in death, Big Walter was very much alive. I also think that if the actors played the part that they usually did, it would have had a different effect on me because, I think, they are more emotionally invested in the part that they have been playing. All in all, I thought the play was good but, I think that watching the entire movie before the play was too much. 529 words by Evan Savage

I think today was a great experience. It was good to read the play, see the movie and see it live. Seeing the play in different forms helped me better understand what was going on and what the bigger themes of the play are. It was also nice to not only see stage directions but also read them and know what was going to happen. I took a lot from this play and seeing the actor’s perspectives about it afterwards. If I had just read the play I wouldn’t have known how people besides the people in my class feel about this play and what they take away from it. It is good knowing that the actors think about the play after they perform it and they think about specific lines in their personal life. This specific version of the play was amazing because the actors really acted as a family because of the way the director changed it slightly. I wish this director hadn’t made the play quite as short. I feel like it would have been better if it had been longer. There are small details that could have really added to the play and made it even better. No matter how the director changed the play it still illustrated the life of an african american family at that time and how something so simple as money can change everything. Before the check came in the mail the family had a few problems but their problems significantly increased after they got the check. They all argued over what to do with it and who was more entitled to it, but in the end the family came out stronger than they ever were, which is all that matters in the end. Harlem by Langston Hughes relates to A Raisin In The Sun because Walter Lee had a dream to own a liquor store and Beneatha had a dream to be a doctor but their dreams were denied because someone stole the money they needed to make these dreams come true. At first the weight of Beneatha’s crushed dream “sagged like a heavy load” on her shoulders. Then after a while she focused on moving to Africa with Asagui so the heavy load of her dream “crusted over, like sugary sweet” and she was happy being with him, if her mother ended up letting her marry him. When Walter Lee’s dream of opening a liquor store was made impossible he felt defeated, like it had exploded in front of his face. Someone he trusted with his money and was planning on going into business with just took the money from Walter’s deceased father without even thinking about what that would do to his family. The dreams the family had dried up like Raisins in the Sun when the money was stolen. The check changed the family’s lives forever. First they got greedy and turned on each other, but then Mama found something that would benefit everyone and they were all happy in the end.

In my opinion today was a great experience. Especially having time to talk to the actors themselves after the performance. It helped to better understand the reactions of the people they were playing, and what this play meant to them. It helped us to also understand what they had to go through to get into the mindset of the people they acted out. In this poem one line states “What happens to a dream deferred?”. This line reminds me of what Walter kept saying throughout the book. Walter kept talking about this dream he had and how he wanted to be rich and have a yacht and how that would make things so much easier, and sure they wouldn't have money problems, but it is not about the money. It is about the people you are with that makes the difference.” Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—” This line kind of reminds me of Ruth and Walters relationship. Things keep piling up tearing them apart but once they buy the house the things “crust and sugar over” It isn’t a healthy relationship and at one point they began to talk about how they didn’t have to live like this and how they use to go on dates and stuff but they didn’t any more. Walter was about to respond right as Mama walked in. Although it did help them. The next day they went on a date to the movies. Ruth was very happy. As she mentioned in the play the heald hands the whole time. “Does it dry up?” I think Ruth thought there relationship was gonna be over in the beginning of the movie, book, play because they didn’t have anything they talked about. Everything each other said just annoyed the other one. In the play Ruth suggests they just talk more and after they began talking more they began to get along better and have a better relationship with one another. “Or does it explode?” It never gets so that they really explode. I mean sure they get in fights and sure in the beginning Walter leaves the house several times. One of the main points was when Walter finds out that Ruth is pregnant with another child. Walter and Ruth are both very surprised and don’t really know what to do because they barely have enough room for their son they have now, and they are still living with Walters mom. When Mama gets the check it causes lots of commotion amongst the family because everyone has there own way they want to spend the money, but nobody ever thought to ask Mama what she wanted to do with the money and after all it was her money. I am glad Mama bought the house she wanted because she deserves to have at least one thing she wants, and I am glad Walter did not take that away from her. In the end where Walter loses 6,500 dollars Banetha gets really mad Walter lost the money because she assumed her mom would contribute part of that towards her college fund but she shouldn't have assumed anything or gotten that mad.
In the end though everyone was happy with each other.

First off, we have to think about something that all of the books we've read over the trimester and determine what they have in common that is shared with this poem. Even though they all were about blacks and civil rights to a degree, that doesn't work as something they would have in common with the subject of the poem. The poems is basically all about dreams and what happens to a dream deferred, which means a dream that has been put off for a later time. In each of the books, even the honors one, the dreams and aspirations of the characters always play a major part in the story. In Betsey Brown she identified herself as a dreamer but she knew she had to remain grounded and live life the way it came. In Fences Cory has a dream of becoming a football player but that was shot down by his dad, while his dad hoped that putting up a fence would protect those he knew from death until it came to him. The main character of Black Boy(the honors book) dreamed of becoming a writer and escaping the south where he was so badly treated, he had to put off his dream for a while but in the end he actually fulfilled his dream. Then, in A Raisin in the Sun, each of the family members has a dream that they want to fulfill but when the story ends you don't know if that happened for all of the characters.
In a lot of these stories the dreams and aspirations of the main characters have to be put off or in some cases they have to realize that that dream will never happen. One story that really looks into this is A Raisin in the Sun. At one point in the story Mama talks about how Big Walter would say "Seem like God didn't see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams - but He did give us children to make them dreams seem worth while." In his own way that is deferring his dream, he is putting off his dreams in the hopes that his children will be able to live better and maybe fulfill their own dreams later as an extension of himself. At the end of the story none of the characters fates are made evident, even though Mama got herself the house she wanted they don't have money for the other dreams now and they are living in a potentially hostile neighborhood.
I think the poem tells us that you have to always try and fulfill your dreams because if you try to put it off you will find that it was too late. Sometimes you can't help not being able to follow your dream and in those cases it can really affect you mentally. When the poem talks about drying up like a raisin in the sun it represents the dream itself drying up and in its own way "dying" so that it is no longer a dream, this probably happens in the story A Raisin in the Sun later on past where it stops. Festering like a sore is symbolistic of the dream constantly tearing at someone and just decaying away at them. That and stinking like rotten meat could refer to depression someone would get from knowing they will never be able to fulfill their dreams. Crusting over like a syrupy sweet is a bit harder for me to think about, maybe it is what would happen if a person willingly ignores their dream and are blissfully ignorant of it? Sagging like a heavy load also seems like it would be depression in one way, without being able to follow their dream someone might feel like it drags them down and that they have to carry it with them. The last line asking whether the dream explodes is also a confusing one as I don't know what it would refer to, maybe just a violent crazed reaction to having off put a dream until it could not be a reality.
I feel that the parts that would apply the most to the end of A Raisin in the Sun would be about the dreams drying up and fading away or at the very end when they seem to chose to ignore their future problems would correlate to crusting over like a syrupy sweet.

The experience of watching "A Raisin in the Sun" live was interesting. It was enjoyable in the way that I could see and admire the actors in real time. The actors who were part of the play were absolutely brilliant and captured the feeling of the characters perfectly. Even after the great experience of the play, we had a chance to speak to a few of the actors after the play. It was great and interesting knowing how they dealt with the problems of being an actor and just how much effort someone has to put in to be an actor. Who interested me the most out of all of them had to be Victor, who played Travis in the play. I found it very interesting how he could keep up with homework from homeschooling, and still manage to act in a play.
About all of the readings from Trimester II, I really enjoyed all of the books or plays that we read. My favorite of all had to be Fences, even though we did not see a play, or watch a video about it, I still felt like it was a great play. It engulfed me in the plot of the story with the slightly abusive father and the family that had to deal with him, and his decisions. Strangely enough this can also somewhat be used to explain A Raisin in the Sun, except in A Raisin in the Sun Walter does not make as rash decisions as Troy. Betsey Brown, though enjoyable, had to be my least favorite of the few. I did not enjoy how we were seemingly following Betsey everywhere. The amount of detail disgusted me at points, I did not need to know about how Her and her friends were counting their pubic hairs, or how she was drenched with sweat. There were a few points in that book that really didn’t have to be mentioned and didn’t do anything for the book. Again don’t get me wrong, i very much enjoyed the book, and how the family struggled through various different problems such as keeping hold of the kids. The general background of all of the books did not interest me instantly. In the past i have learned about African american struggles during these times, but in such a dull manner. I feel that reading these books gave me a deeper insight on how the society worked, and just how hard their life could be at some points. This was generally a very good experience.
The poem in my opinion connects to all of our reading in one way or another. First of all, A Raisin in the Sun. There are many people in this book who have dreams. They were not necessarily deferred, but they were challenged by certain obstacles. For Ruth, it was to get her new child a place to sleep, for Lena it was to continue on her husband’s legacy and buy a new house, for Beneatha it was to become a doctor. All of these dreams were challenged, and i cannot say if any of them were denied, because the play ended before i knew. For Fences the only prominent dream was Cory’s to become a football player, which was denied at first by Troy that didn't want to be look at as a failure. Finally for Betsey Brown the dreams were so very general. For Jane it was to have a working family, for Betsey it was to fall in love. So really in these books none of the dreams were deferred, nor completely stopped. Yes the poem relates, but not completely. Not enough at least.

As the play started, the lights began to dim. I felt transported back in time and able to connect with all of the actors personalities and the roles they meant to show. Each of the actors, lived their part as if they themselves were meant to be the family in the play. Personally, I thought I could connect best with Walter Lee, he has a short fuse and wants certain things to go his way and when no one listens he gets mad. But at the same time, he is kind and wants the best for his son and the rest of his family. At times, the play was very moving, especially the part where Walter gets down on his knees and yells out to the audience. I however did not like how in turn the audience snickered at the most important and uncomfortable parts in the play. If they were unsure to laugh or not then they should have kept quiet because I felt like it was very disrespectful to the actors. I also noticed that the producer, made sure to create humor in this play. When it was solely created by Lorraine Hansberry, it was a little too much on that one subject and not enough humor. They did a great job on making those 'rude' noises and smirks towards one and another. Also, at the same time they made it in general very funny and overall, easy to understand. When I read the book, it seemed impossible to know the time, but in the play they clearly dictated when it was day and night. This gave me a better understanding of everything in general. Usually, for me, whenever I go and see a play rather than on-screen or in a book, it is more meaningful to me and it sticks longer. I also remember it more clearly, because it was fun. During the play, I saw many examples of economic crisis and betrayal of the family. For example, when Walter’s mother gave him $6,500 and told him to put half of that into Beneatha’s medical school, he instead gave it away towards his Liquor store. Walter screwed up the family many times during the book, it was as if no one would appreciate him for him and tell him that all will be well. Instead, they just ignore Walter and talk about him behind his back. In my own opinion, I feel like some major themes of this play are betrayal and mistrust. Beneatha watches Walter's every move inside the household, it is as if his very presence causes unwanted trouble. The family, especially Walter, Ruth, Momma, and Beneatha all ‘betray’ one another at a certain point. For example, Walter had everything planned out for the Liquor Store but yet, Momma went out and bought a house without telling anyone and at the same time ruining his dreams. He used her wishes of her children to dream big and change the world to make her feel guilty to give him what remained of the family’s money. The play is a big triangle, all the women in the corners and attacking Walter in the center with his son on the outside, vunerable.

“What happens to a dream deferred?” Everybody has a dream. Walter want to be the head of his house, he wants authority in his household. As far as we are aware, Ruth wants her family to be happy and comfortable. Mama’s dream was her little two story house. Beneatha’s dream was to cure. What happens when a dream is ignored, or pushed away, or criticized?
“Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” It is a feeling that can’t be controlled or destroyed. So, no, a dream can’t dry up. This might have been the hope of society, that the dreams of the poor, black people would just dry up and life would stay the same, segregated. They beat their dreams down and make them feel impossible but one never gets over a dream.
“Or fester like a sore – and then run?” To “fester like a sore, is that the feeling, when you know in your stomach, or your heart… whichever one is more poetic, that you just can’t keep on with what you are doing? Then this “and then run”, I think that this is exactly what is happening here in this play with Walter especially. This “run” this is his speech in the beginning. “A man tells a woman that he has a dream, and a woman says eat your eggs and go to work.” The “fester like a sore” is how he and Ruth have been having trouble, the “run” is his telling her about his dream and how he feels held back. Or maybe this is Beneatha’s dream. With Walter I took “run” to mean something more along the lines of explode. What if it means run away? Maybe for Beneatha, the “fester like a sore” is being told over and over and over that a woman doctor is unheard of. The “run” is when she finally breaks, she gives up after Willie runs off with the money. Maybe “run” means to run away or give up like it did in Betsey Brown where the mom and Betsey ran away from their problems. She knows that Willie ran off with the money for her school and in doing so ran off with her dream. Asagai’s words of comfort are really good though about how sad it is that her dream is supposedly made possible by the death of her father.
“Does it stink like rotten meat?” Wow. I don’t like this line I don’t think that a dream could ever stink like rotten meat. I mean if you use stink in terms of the way that it is used in language today as in “I have lots of homework tonight.” “Oh that stinks for you.” Than it makes no sense whatsoever. When I think of “stink like rotten” meat I get a really unpleasant feeling in my stomach. Maybe that is what it means, maybe it is the same feeling I described with “fester like a sore” but it doesn’t “run” like the other, it just stays that way forever. If this is what it means then I think that it is safe to say that this didn’t happen to anyone in the play, because in the end all of their dreams were made possible.
“Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet?” I think this describes Mama’s dream. All her life she lived in this little house, and all her life she wanted more. This crust and sugar over, I’m thinking of a burnt marshmallow, when you bite the black bunt part it isn’t very good, but then you taste the gooey sugary inside and you smile. The fact that Mama is still waiting for her dream is the black burnt part, but when she talks about it, it always brings a smile to her face which is the sugary inside.
“Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.” This reminds me of the general feeling of the family before the insurance check. The specific image that I get is of Mama coming up the stairs and saying something along the line of “Nothing like stairs at the end of a long day”. It is that weariness that old tired feeling that they all had until the check, they were all getting tired of each other and it was the source of the conflict. They were all tired of their dreams being deferred.
“Or does it explode?” This describes A Raisin in the Sun the best. The check is the thing that triggered the explosion, but the play is the explosion. Had it not been for the check, their dreams would have continued to sag “like a heavy load” and eventually it would have torn the family apart, but this explosion made them all take action to try to pursue their dreams and try to rebuild their family.
This poem explores all the things that can happen to a dream that society has made hard to achieve. I think that the play does the same thing, at some point or another all of these possibilities are expressed and this exploration is the heart of the play. Sure, the conflict is interesting but the moving part of the play is how they work through their problems to be stronger in the end. Their love for their family also makes it so that they can all reach their dreams. This is what is so moving about the play, is these various struggles that are described in the poem, but in the end it all works out.

I thought that watching the play live was very interesting especially after we read the book and watched the movie. It was cool being able to compare the way everything was different. Like what parts were changed, what parts were added, what parts were taken away, and what parts were just switched around. I thought that the play itself was okay, although I feel like Beneatha was the only one who put emotion into her acting. In the Poem the line, “What happens to a deferred dream.”I feel like A Raisin In The Sun answers that in a way because it seems like all of their dreams at some point or another were deferred. When mama buys the house Walter Lee feels like his dream to open a liquor store has been destroyed because he won’t have the money. When Walter Lee gives the money that Mama gave him, and Willie Harris runs off with it, Beneatha's dream to become a doctor has been crushed because Walter Lee never put in the money for her. The line "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" I think connects to the play because It seems like the dreams of this family are all eventually gone except for Mama's which is to get the house. But Walter Lee doesn't have the liquor store he wanted and Beneatha can't be a doctor. I think this poem is describing the ways a dream that is crushed affects someone. “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.” there was a lot of dream crushing in this play I think. In the line “does it dry up like a raisin in the sun or fester like a sore” I feel like that line fits especially with Walter. Because when Mama buys the house you wonder if Walter will give up on his dream to open the liquor store. Will he let it “dry up” or will he let it “fester” meaning will he forget about it it or will he keep thinking about it. There was a lot of tension in this play and at times it made me jittery. For example when Walter Lee finds out that Willy ran off with all the money it made me think that it was actually kind of dumb for Mama to give Walter Lee all that money because I knew his heart was set on his liquor store. I think this was a very good experience and I enjoyed it alot. It was cool seeing the differences and similarities in the play, book, and movie. It was fun trying to see if the characters acted the same as those in the movie.

After reading this poem written by Langston Hughes, suddenly for me, everything, especially the title of the book “A Raisin in the Sun” all began to make since. The beginning of the poem is a question and the rest is the answer to the question it asks, which is “what happens to a dream deferred?”. And if you think about it, that is what the book “A Raisin in the Sun” is about. This is because in a way their dreams were created by the prophet, or the check (going back to the earlier analogy), and then when Walter loses all of his money when he thought he was investing in a liquor store, many of their dreams were deferred, especially Beneatha’s dream of going farther in college to become a female doctor. So basically, one of the answers to the questions, and the first answer i might add is “Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?” So by this first line, which is also the title of the book, play and movie we have been watching, reading, and discussing all trimester, it shows what happens to a dream when it gets deferred. It gets dried up like a raisin in the sun. This is also what happens to the family in the book when their dreams have to be deferred. However, one of the main differences between what the poem says in the movie, is that even though they temporarily get dried up like a raisin, they bounce back and realize what is truly important to them, which is family.
On another note, i am very happy that we went to see the play “a Raisin in the Sun” loved the way that the story came alive, and that you no longer were a spectator but now apart of the play itself. Because of this, certain moments stood out to me, and the emotions came across as real and heartfelt. One specific moment that stood out to me was one that also stood out to me during the book and the movie. It was towards the beginning of the book where Ruth tell Walter to eat his eggs and go to work. This moment made me realize how many times Rose had heard Walter say all these things to her and how by that point in their lives she didn't even bother listening to what he had to say at all because she had heard it all before from him. One thing that i really liked about the play was the they acted like a family. They weren't the “typical” listen to each other speak and have perfect grammar family, but they reminded me of average families. Not the cookie cutter ones. This was the one thing that made the play itself seem more like something that occurred in real life, than just another play.
In the future, I highly recommend to show this play with other classes because i thoroughly enjoyed t and i believe it would be impactful on other classes as well.

Reflecting on all the things the play today taught us, I realize that the poem has a lot more to offer than just mere words. It can relate with everyone in the audience, no matter what their race or beliefs, because we have all been through similar situations. When Walter and Ruth argue, it relates to all the married couples out there, and although no relationship is perfect, the find a way. When Elena gets her husbands life insurance money in the mail, it relates to all the families and individuals who have ever had any financial trouble. The poem also shows that dreams can change and shift. The Younger family all want different things with the insurance money that Leena got, but in time, their dreams shift into one dream, and that is to have a better life for themselves and their future generations. The same goes for Fences. Troy's son Cory dreamed of being a professional football player, but his father wouldn't let him. after getting kicked out, he went and joined the United States Marines. while he could not be a professional football player, he did his best, and that's what counts. I used to dream about being a pilot when I was a little kid, but now, I dream about being a professional computer programmer. the difference being, i started to grow up, and being a pilot lost its interest for me. I realize I loved working with computers, and my dream changed. Another example is Beneatha's dream of being a doctor. after Walter drunkenly spent what was left of the insurance money, some of which was supposed to go to her schooling, she gave up on her dream, thinking there was no way to follow it through without the insurance money. thankfully, her boyfriend Joseph Asagai asked her to marry him, and become a doctor in his homeland of Nigeria, Africa. this makes her dream possible again, and, after thinking about it for a bit, she says yes. This shows that even though her dream seemed hopeless in terms of the insurance money, she found another way to follow it. Unfortunately, not all dreams have a happy ending. Walter Lee's dream was to use his mothers insurance money to invest in a liquor store. However, his mother disagreed, and wouldn't let him use it at first. After falling into a deep depression, Leena used the leftover money from buying the house to give to him. She told him to put half in the bank for Beneatha's medical schooling, and use the other half for whatever he wanted. Sadly, he was drunk, and put all the money into nesting in the liquor store. Unfortunately, one of his friends ran off with all the money, crushing his dream. However, this dream changed when he saw how happy his family was about the house. this, in turn reveals that while not all dreams come true, it is possible to find a new dream. In Walters case, it was moving into the new house, and seeing his family happy. as the lay and the poem show, dreams can change, be lost, or be fulfilled, but the important thing, is to have one.

This poem tells us that dreams deferred can be like a raisin in the sun. Dried up and forgotten. That a dream deferred can run off. Far away from us even though a moment before we were about to follow it. That a dream deferred can fall because it is too weighty or heavy to hold onto. That a dream deferred can explode because you let it slip through your hands and run away and die. This poem is saying you should not put your dream off or else it will disappear and it will be hard to get it back. A Raisin in the Sun demonstrates the message this poem is expressing because Walter has a dream. He wants to buy a liquor store and loses that dream when his mom buys them a house with his father’s money from his death. Mama has a dream. To be able to raise her family in a safe and wonderful environment. To have a house that fits everyone and where she can grow some flowers. Ruth has a dream. She wants her husband to love her, Travis to have his own room, no more cockroaches in their house, no more misery. Beneatha has a dream. She wants to be a doctor. She wants it more than anything. All of these dreams are deferred when Walter gives all of the money that his mother had left over from his father’s death insurance to Willy Harris who was supposed to take the money to go buy a liquor store but instead betrays Walter and Bobo and takes the money and disappears. Everyone’s dreams are destroyed and they race away as soon as they had appeared.
Betsey Brown represents the idea that when dreams defer they are metaphorical to a raisin in the sun because Betsey has the dream of marrying someone rich and working at a wonderful place and going to college. Her dream is deferred when her parents send her to an integrated school which changes her life forever. She has to leave her colored friends and go to a school where she knows no one. She feels like no one understands her and she runs away to find another dream.
Fences is another play that expresses the idea that dreams deferred can be coated over by something else that is hard and sticky and will never peel off. Troy has a dream. He wants to drive the truck for a job, he wants to build a fence that keeps everything he doesn’t want out (like the devil) and his life and everything he still cares for inside. He wants his sons to grow up to have a happy life and learn to work hard for what you want. His dreams are covered with a black sheet that is not translucent. They are hidden by all the troubles he is having in life. With Cory wanting to play football, Gabriel who is mentally ill from World War II, Rose who wants to have a husband who loves her, Lyons who thinks money grows on trees, and his past that lingers over him because his father was the most evil and demon-like father a child could have.

One thing that really stuck with me from the live performance of A Raisin in the Sun from Thursday the 28th was near the beginning of the play. It was before they received the $10,000 check. Walter was talking about all of his dreams and Ruth kept trying to tell him that he never said anything new. The one line that sticks with me is when Walter Lee says “Nobody cares about you, Ruth.” It was the most vicious, deceitful, rude, cruel, mean, terrible, most horrendous and atrocious thing I have ever heard any man say to his wife. The actor who played Walter said that line with such force and impulsive desire to say it out loud that it almost made me cry. I wanted to jump out of my seat and tackle Walter. That line was so powerful and stood out to me. It is stuck in my brain and I won’t forget it.
I thought that the actors and actresses did a fantastic job with the play. They all understood each other and worked together to put on a terrific show. I liked how they said that whenever they cried because their role was supposed to cry their tears were actually real and full of the emotion. It was as if these were actually their lives and they would have done all the same things. I enjoyed seeing the actress who played Beneatha the most because she was fantastic at acting and not being afraid to be who her actress was supposed to be. If I had been Beneatha I would have burst out laughing at myself during the Nigerian dance scene that happened. The actors got up there on the stage with so much courage and passion for what they were doing that it made the play so much more realistic and enjoyable to watch.

This entire experience, watching the movie and then getting to see a live play, was very fun for me and I enjoyed seeing the similarities and differences between the two. Both the movie and the play really spoke to me and kept me hooked throughout the entire thing. I am looking forward to more exciting events like this and digging deeper into important details.

Seeing A Raisin in the Sun as a play was much better than as a movie for a number of reasons. First of all, I saw the whole story at once, as opposed to the movie which we saw in fragments at a time. Seeing it all at once helped the story to flow much better. Also, we were in the same room as the actors and the scenery, so I felt more engaged when watching the play. Another thing that made it feel easier to engage myself was that there were funny parts in the play, which always make me pay attention more. I think that the fact that the actors really felt like their characters added to the excellence of the presentation.
The poem at the beginning of the book states the possibilities of what could happen to a “dream deferred.” The characters Walter, Ruth, and Beneatha each represent one of these possibilities when they lose most of the money they inherited from their father when he passed away. Ruth crusts and sugars over like a syrupy sweet, because since the money that wasn’t lost has already been spent on a new house. This way, Walter and Ruth can raise their new child and have a place for him or her to sleep. Overall, Ruth maintains a positive attitude
Beneatha festers like a sore and runs. When the family loses the money, Beneatha can no longer pay for the education she needs to fulfill her dreams of becoming a doctor. At first, Beneatha starts falling apart and yelling about Walter because it is his fault that they lost the money. She also yells about her mother, Lena Younger, because she gave $6,500 to Walter while he was drunk. However, she then decides to run away to Nigeria with Joseph Asagai.
Walter, when he sees his disappearing dream of opening a liquor store to make lots of money, explodes. First, when he hears the news from his friend Bobo, he begins to attack him and yell at him, even though Bobo had nothing to do with the problem. Then, later, Walter gets on his knees and yells about all the grief that his family has given him about losing the money.
However, in the end, everyone’s dreams sag over and fall to the bottom of their priorities and they realize that what matters most is each other. Even Walter makes the decision to support his family by moving them into the house instead of selling it for lots of money that he could have used for his own selfish desires and opened a liquor store. He displays it in front of his son Travis, his sister Beneatha, his wife Ruth, and his mother Lena when he clearly tells the buyer that he has made his decision and want to buy the new house, even though it’s in an all-white neighborhood. I think this story teaches that sometimes what you want for yourself isn’t the only thing that matters.

Seeing the play today could have been a very cliche experience, but it wasn’t like any other play I have seen. Although I have only seen maybe three plays in my life time, it had a very different feeling. It was more powerful and I could relate to it a lot easier because A Raisin in the Sun in very largely about dreams and being a high school student I also have dreams about my future. Viewing the play was also slightly irritating because I always want people to appreciate everything we do and I know not everyone does. So, it was annoying to see people just see this as a play we’ve read than a story you could relate to. I wanted people to take something away from it and remember it for awhile. It is so compelling and insightful. I enjoyed reading, and watching this play, I think everyone should read or at least see this play and hopefully take something away from it. I’m familiar with this poem and I actually like it a lot. How its so short and blunt just moves me, I don’t know why. If you think about it, this poem is very depressing. It’s about dreams being broken or given up and that is just very sad. Everyone should have a dream that they hold on to till the very end and loosing a dream is not easy. As I have said before A Raisin in the Sun is a lot about dreams as is this poem and not to mention the title is directly mentioned…Though everyone will say that. Lena Younger’s dream was to buy a house and provide her family with a proper home. She wanted to leave something behind for her son and grandson so they didn’t have to worry like she did. While Walter Lee wanted to invest and to me, prove to the world that an African American man can make his mark on the world coming from nothing. I also think he wanted to prove to his family that his ideas and wants were valid and he wanted them to understand him and listen to him. Ruth seemed to want the same thing as Lena but I also feel like she just wanted Lena to go and enjoy life. She didn’t seem like she wanted to get in between the drama that was trying to figure out what to do with the money. Benetha wanted to make her dreams come true and finish medical school. At the beginning she said how it was Lena’s money and it didn't matter what she did with it but when Walter lost it she took it very hard which was very interesting to me. Her attitude towards the money changed a lot.

Watching the play was a better experience for me than either the movie or the written version. When I read I often don't absorb many important pieces. For instance, although I read the play three times, I never noticed the scene where Walter told Travis his dreams for Travis’s future. This is an important scene and one of the few that shows Walter wants to be rich not just for his own sake, but for the sake of his family. On the other hand, the movie seemed cluttered, and people tend to become part of the crowded background. The music overdid the scenes and the play lost the delicacy it should have had. The play used music sparingly and knowing you were seeing an angle of the play other people didn't have made it more interesting.
The play, though it was more free from the lines than the movie, did a much better job of exploring what Lorraine Hansberry was trying to say, and what Langston Hughes was writing about in his poem Harlem. The play and the poem had such similar themes that Hansberry titled her play after the line ‘like a raisin in the sun” although she put her title in the form of a statement while Hughes asked a question. Hughes is asking what happens when dreams are constricted and stomped on, and A Raisin in the Sun explores an answer. Each of these characters reacts a different way, and the actors each interpret these reactions a different way and each of the members of the audience react to the actors reaction a different way. Two people in the same theater can have completely different experiences, and could have been struck by different things. Those who saw different productions, perhaps years and states apart would have even more different views.
I found the answer to Hughes’s question to be that even when constrained, dreams don't ever really go away, and when something provokes they rise up. However, sometimes a person has to give his or her dreams up, and when they do, they give up in different ways and different pieces of the dreams are left behind. For instance when Walter loses his dream of having a liquor store, he could have been consumed by bitterness and spend the rest of his life in a corner muttering about being betrayed, but instead he chooses to remember only the lesson he learned and was able to let the rest of the dream go. When Beneatha loses her dream of using the money to pay school she is bitter and cruel until she learns to accept it.
In another way, all throughout the book these peoples dreams have been hanging just outside of their reach. Lena's dream of having a house did “dry up like a raisin in the sun” and stayed forgotten until it suddenly came to life again when she had the money to take her dreams seriously. All of the dreams that their culture had suppressed in them came back to life with their money.

The poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes tells us many things about what we experienced today. This poem, ironically enough, is about dreams, as is "A Raisin in the Sun", and in this poem, it talks about poems "drying up like raisins in the sun". This poem seems to be something that
may have inspired this play, or it may be the other way around, as these two things are almost directly connected. In the play "A Raisin in the Sun", one of the main things brought up is the dreams of the Younger family, whether it be the dreams of Big Walter and Lena, or Walter Lee and Beneatha's dreams. There are many dreams of the family that are crushed throughout the course of the play, from Big Walter and Lena's dream the apartment being a transitional place to live while they got the money to move into a two story house, or the dream of Walter Lee's to invest in a liquor store that was first crushed by his mom, and then later crushed by Willie, who ran off with the money Walter invested with. I feel like the end of the play was a very happy moment, because the Younger family stood up to the man that tried to talk them out of moving out of the neighborhood and Walter recognized that Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor was going to come true, and that Big Walter was going to get the house that he had dreamed about and worked so hard for regardless of it being in his memory. I think that the ending scene did a good job of showing Lena realizing this, especially in the play we saw at Playmakers, where Lena looked around the apartment and then picked up the picture of Big Walter. To me it seemed almost like a sudden realization that the things that the family had been dreaming of finally seemed to be within distance. It seems like Walter’s dreams are deferred often, and you can see why he is a “volcano” as what he wants is in plain sight, yet it’s figuratively glassed in, with little “don’t touch” signs taped to the glass. The play makes me wonder what would have happened if Lena had never trusted Walter with that $6500. I feel like things turned out for the better even though Willie made off with the money, because Walter eventually found his way and fully became what I see as his father’s son when he stood up to the chairman of the neighborhood committee. I think if Lena did not give Walter the money that he would have never changed, and would not have ever been able to look at his mom the same way ever again. Through all the struggles and deferred dreams, the Younger family persevered, and their dreams dried up like raisins in the sun, because whether or not the family got exactly what they wanted out of their dreams, they got what they got, and what they got turned out to be for the best in the end.

This poem, by Langston Hughes is definitely relatable to A “Raisin in the Sun”, because every character in “A Raisin in the Sun” has a dream or ideal of what they would like their life to be like. I think think that their dreams changed a little bit and that they had to let go of some of their dreams, even if it was difficult for them. Some of them changed what they wanted in a way. Mama, who has always really wanted to have a house for her family to live in and call their own. In the movie version of “A Raisin in the Sun”, mama said something about a man being a lot happier when he could walk on floors that were his own. I don’t think Mama’s dream to have a real house changed at all, and I think that she got what she wanted. Walter really wants his son and family to have a reason to be proud of him, so he wants to start a liquor store so that he can get money and give his family things. In the movie, Walter was talking to his son, Travis, about wanting him to be able to proud of him. I believe that Walter’s dream did in fact change, but he did end up with something he was happy with, the house. I think that his dream turned into his wife and son being happy, because he realized that his family would be proud of him as long as he did the right thing. In this case getting a liquor licence and owning a liquor store was not the right thing to do, especially when you can’t completely trust the people you go into business with. I am referring to how one of his partners said he was going to get the liquor licence but ended up running away with everyones money. Doing the right thing was trusting Mama and getting the house so that the family could live more comfortably. Travis wouldn’t have to sleep on the the couch, Ruth would have a real kitchen, and Mama would have a patch of dirt to grow her flowers in. Ruth’s dream, for me, was a little bit harder to decipher because it seems like she just goes along with what everyone else wanted to do. Sort of like when she tells Walter that she would have an abortion if he wanted her to. She looked like she didn’t want to do it, but she also wanted the best for the family, and since they didn’t really have room in the old house for another baby, she wanted him to know that she considered it. So when he didn’t say anything, she knew that he was considering it too. This says to me that she just wants the best for her family and would do almost anything for them. In the end, Walter was really the only one with “a dream deferred”, because he had to give up his dream of owning a liquor store.

The poem below relates to our readings and the things we watched about A Raisin in the Sun in so many ways. So many ways, it almost seems like one was based off of the other. There are a lot of dreams in the household, some come true, some are crushed and some we are never really sure about. All of these different people dreams relate to this poem in many ways.
A good one to start with would be Lenas dream I suppose.. Since she first got married and perhaps, even before then, she has dreamed of owning a lovely two story house with a backyard and a garden. When she got married she ended up moving into the small apartment type place they all live in now, back then it was supposed to be temporary but she ended up in there near all her life, raising her children there and then watching her children raise one of their own. Just as it seems she will never get that house she wants, she comes across the money for it, unfortunately it came with he cost of her husbands life. Able to, she buys the house and partially fulfills it, not quite how she imagined as the house is in an all white nieghborhood and it is really a house for the younger portion of her family. This is one of the few if not the only dream to really come true in A Raisin in the Sun.
Ruth also had some hopes of moving out of the small house that they were in. Though it may not have been what she was originally thinking about all the time, she sure snatched up the hope when it was offered. It made for a huge positive change in her when they did move, she was very excited to leave the tiny house she had been confined to for so long. She now also has room to give birth to and raise the child she is expecting, rather than aborting it due to lack of funds and space. She also wanted a more exciting and overall pleasant life, this is partially fulfilled with the move to the new house. Financially they will be strained and they will all have to work a lot but coming home will be more rewarding than ever.
Beneatha had many hopes and dreams, some bigger than others. Some are also more realistic than others. Her biggest is to complete medical school and become a doctor. This hope goes all the way back to a childhood experience that stick with her for her entire life and inspired her career choice. When Walter Lee goes out and loses all of her college funds, it is almost sure that she will have to drop out of college to help the family stay afloat. However, Asagai has offered to marry her and take her back to Nigeria with him. This could get her out of her poor household as well as get her the freedom she wants and maybe even the sense of identity she has been searching for. At the point the play ends, it is up in the air whether she chooses to do this or not.
Walter Lee, the main character, is clearly the biggest dreamer of them all. He wants to live a very high life, fancy and full of riches, fully revealed when he is talking to his son. He talks of yachts and other things commonly associated with wealthy people and above all, the money to allow his son to succeed in life and go to a prestigious college. This dream rides on the back of another, being in on the liquor store deal. This is a risky thing, trusting another man with a ten thousand dollar initial investment. He hoped to get the full ten thousand from Lena. Unfortunately she did not support the cause, not wanting god punishing them for selling liquor. In the end, he does end up with 6500 dollars in his possession, all of which he gives to Willy Harris to invest in the store. It all gets stolen and brings his dreams crashing down as well as most all the others in the household.
I believe each character and their dreams find one or more places in this poem almost perfectly, it is just a matter of who goes where and I find that to be very debatable, probably varying from person to person.

_{this is my life}

Alexandria Blake
English
Period 6
Jester
3-7-13

We have had many different experiences during this trimester. We have not only watched a movie but we have also read many different novels and even went to see a play. From last weeks play of A Raisin in the Sun I took away a great and wonderful experience. It was magnificent to see the story brought to life. I really enjoyed that we did not only read the play but we also saw the movie and watched the play performed live. Having seen the play in three different ways helped me see the play more clearly. Also seeing three different ways to present one play, I liked, because each version of A Raisin in the Sun my class experienced we got to exam how people made different chooses and how it impacted the play so drastically. For example, in the movie specific scenes were taken away from the preformed version of the play. Since this was done the movie was a lot more shell shocking and you never had enough time to comprehend the events while the play gave scene allowing the audience time to let the event settle in.
This play was so well written that it can be linked to almost everything else we have done during the trimester. This play was very important to all of the books we have read up to this point during trimester two since each book has a way it could be connected to the other reads. Betsey Brown was a book we have read during this trimester, this specific book can be linked to the play because both have a family with many members compacted into one home. Also they are similar by having a romantic love story adding into the writing. In the story of Betsey Brown, Betsey was falling in love with Eugene(One of her cousin, Charles, friend) while in the play, A Raisin in the Sun, Walter’s sister is falling for a man from Africa, who at one point in the play even asks Walters sister to marry him and for the two of them to move back to Africa together. Even though both the play and Betsey Brown are love stories they also have in common that they both end the same way, which is open ended. Betsey Browns ending was open ended because the stories says that she will just follow her feelings for Eugene and see where it will lead their relationship while Walter’s sisters love story ends with her never giving an answer to the man, therefore the audience never finds out what comes of the two later on in life.
Even poems can be linked to the play, A Raisin in the Sun. For example, the poem written by Langston Hughes can be linked to the play. This is because the poem ask what would happen to a dream if it was put off. “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? or fester like a sore.” The reason I feel this has a relation to the play is because the poem talks about how if a dream if deferred then it can dry up and be put aside never to be achieved. This is exactly what happened in the play, the family put Walters dream of having a liquor store and Walters sister dream of being a doctor aside and neither was never able to be accomplished. We have been lucky enough to have seen A Raisin in the Sun in three different versions, which can each be seen differently depending on what the directors decisions were. It is a great play both written and preformed, that can be linked though out many different pieces of literature.

My initial interpretation of this poem is that it represents the realization of the value of time well spent and taking as many opportunities as possible while time allows. In particular this relates to Walter who is in a stage of life where he feels as if his age and the monotony of his job are finally starting to take a tole on his moral standards and tolerance for their poor financial situation. The tension of this situation is perfectly reflected by the lines questioning whether the raisin will sag and run or explode after the time spent in the sun which represents the families problems. The sagging or running raisin can be seen as emotions in Mama who is obviously tired and in need of a break from constant work to help support her family and yet expresses it internally most of the time by taking refuge in the memories of her past husband. The explosion is shown through Walter's attitude as becomes increasingly violent and spontaneous while trying to solve his troubles with alcohol. As these outlets for the tension they feel are released some of the previously mentioned affects on Walter become apparent such as the apparent degradation of his personal self worth and sense of pride. This finally results in his near complete submission when he almost accepts funds from the park committee to not inhabit their recently purchased house. Another important conflict that arises due to these tensions is Mama's inability to relate to Walter's disappointment in his financial situation after spending time constantly around successful people even younger than himself. This is because Mama feels as if they should be more worried about the time they can share as a family than how that time is spent. This is one of the key differences i observed between the play and the movie is the large contrast in the sense of urgency and dissociation between Mama and Walter and how much more lightly these issues are addressed within the play. While in the movie Walter feels largely alienated from his family, especially Mama, which he expresses by stating that no one understands him and leaving his house and trying to spend time in solitude at the bar, in the play although some of the problems are still present they take on slightly different forms and invoke different emotions. For example the sense of urgency is largely provoked and highlighted by Walter's large outbursts of anger that become increasingly frequent throughout the movie and are made more apparent by his aggressive body language and large stature. The moment that shows this contrast most effectively, relating directly to this situation, is when Walter screams in a final attempt that he is a volcano which, while in the movie seemed as if it was the boiling point for every aggressive undertone that Walter had imposed in the movie in the play his delivery suggested that the statement was more of an act of desperation and lack of options. The removal of the bar as a set piece from the play also played a large role in the generally lighter tones of the play because while it allows for the audience to view the impact of Walter's leave it also lets the audience avoid having to fully confront the issue by keeping Walter's means of escape seemingly a distant issue. While the play represented the issues brought by a Raisin in the Sun differently it still maintained a very clear reality throughout making the experience relatable and engaging.