Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
The Value and Purpose of Dreams
A Raisin in the Sun is essentially about dreams, as the main characters struggle to deal with the oppressive
circumstances that rule their lives. The title of the play references a conjecture that Langston Hughes famously
posed in a poem he wrote about dreams that were forgotten or put off. He wonders whether those dreams shrivel
up “like a raisin in the sun.” Every member of the Younger family has a separate, individual dream—Beneatha
wants to become a doctor, for example, and Walter wants to have money so that he can afford things for his
family. The Youngers struggle to attain these dreams throughout the play, and much of their happiness and
depression is directly related to their attainment of, or failure to attain, these dreams. By the end of the play, they
learn that the dream of a house is the most important dream because it unites the family.
The Need to Fight Racial Discrimination
The character of Mr. Lindner makes the theme of racial discrimination prominent in the plot as an issue that the
Youngers cannot avoid. The governing body of the Youngers’ new neighborhood, the Clybourne Park
Improvement Association, sends Mr. Lindner to persuade them not to move into the all-white Clybourne Park
neighborhood. Mr. Lindner and the people he represents can only see the color of the Younger family’s skin, and
his offer to bribe the -Youngers to keep them from moving threatens to tear apart the Younger family and the
values for which it stands. Ultimately, the Youngers respond to this discrimination with defiance and strength. The
play powerfully demonstrates that the way to deal with discrimination is to stand up to it and reassert one’s
dignity in the face of it rather than allow it to pass unchecked.
The Importance of Family
The Youngers struggle socially and economically throughout the play but unite in the end to realize their dream of
buying a house. Mama strongly believes in the importance of family, and she tries to teach this value to her
family as she struggles to keep them together and functioning. Walter and Beneatha learn this lesson about
family at the end of the play, when Walter must deal with the loss of the stolen insurance money and Beneatha
denies Walter as a brother. Even facing such trauma, they come together to reject Mr. Lindner’s racist overtures.
They are still strong individuals, but they are now individuals who function as part of a family. When they begin to
put the family and the family’s wishes before their own, they merge their individual dreams with the family’s
overarching dream.
Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major
themes.
The Home
The Younger apartment is the only setting throughout the play, emphasizing the centrality of the home. The
lighting seems to change with the mood, and with only one window, the apartment is a small, often dark area in
which all the Youngers—at one time or another—feel cramped. While some of the play’s action occurs outside of
the apartment, the audience sees this action play out in the household. Most of what happens outside of the
apartment includes Travis’s playing out in the street with the rat and Walter’s drinking and delinquency from work.
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
The Value and Purpose of Dreams
A Raisin in the Sun is essentially about dreams, as the main characters struggle to deal with the oppressive
circumstances that rule their lives. The title of the play references a conjecture that Langston Hughes famously
posed in a poem he wrote about dreams that were forgotten or put off. He wonders whether those dreams shrivel
up “like a raisin in the sun.” Every member of the Younger family has a separate, individual dream—Beneatha
wants to become a doctor, for example, and Walter wants to have money so that he can afford things for his
family. The Youngers struggle to attain these dreams throughout the play, and much of their happiness and
depression is directly related to their attainment of, or failure to attain, these dreams. By the end of the play, they
learn that the dream of a house is the most important dream because it unites the family.
The Need to Fight Racial Discrimination
The character of Mr. Lindner makes the theme of racial discrimination prominent in the plot as an issue that the
Youngers cannot avoid. The governing body of the Youngers’ new neighborhood, the Clybourne Park
Improvement Association, sends Mr. Lindner to persuade them not to move into the all-white Clybourne Park
neighborhood. Mr. Lindner and the people he represents can only see the color of the Younger family’s skin, and
his offer to bribe the -Youngers to keep them from moving threatens to tear apart the Younger family and the
values for which it stands. Ultimately, the Youngers respond to this discrimination with defiance and strength. The
play powerfully demonstrates that the way to deal with discrimination is to stand up to it and reassert one’s
dignity in the face of it rather than allow it to pass unchecked.
The Importance of Family
The Youngers struggle socially and economically throughout the play but unite in the end to realize their dream of
buying a house. Mama strongly believes in the importance of family, and she tries to teach this value to her
family as she struggles to keep them together and functioning. Walter and Beneatha learn this lesson about
family at the end of the play, when Walter must deal with the loss of the stolen insurance money and Beneatha
denies Walter as a brother. Even facing such trauma, they come together to reject Mr. Lindner’s racist overtures.
They are still strong individuals, but they are now individuals who function as part of a family. When they begin to
put the family and the family’s wishes before their own, they merge their individual dreams with the family’s
overarching dream.
Motifs
Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major
themes.
The Home
The Younger apartment is the only setting throughout the play, emphasizing the centrality of the home. The
lighting seems to change with the mood, and with only one window, the apartment is a small, often dark area in
which all the Youngers—at one time or another—feel cramped. While some of the play’s action occurs outside of
the apartment, the audience sees this action play out in the household. Most of what happens outside of the
apartment includes Travis’s playing out in the street with the rat and Walter’s drinking and delinquency from work.
