A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun 

By: Bridget Robinson

"A Raisin in the Sun" is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry that takes place in the Southside of Chicago during the 1950's and is about a lower-class African American family and the struggles that they face in making an important decision. The main characters in this story include; Mama, Walter, Beneatha, Travis, and Ruth. After the father figure passed away, the family is informed that they are in line to receive a $10,000 insurance check in regards to net worth. The family becomes excited but is then faced with a very difficult decision which is how they should spend the money. Each member in the family has their own aspirations and ideas about how to spend the money. Mama, had dreams with her husband to buy a house and thrive in comfortable living and with this said, Ruth agrees with Mama. Walter had his own unique thoughts and longed to open up his own liquor store with his friends. The reason behind this is Walter believes it will help to end the family's financial instability and bring an economic constant into their lives. However, Beneatha is studying to become a doctor and can use all the financial support she can get, arguing that the money should go towards her education - she also wishes her family would not be so set on joining the "white world". As the play progresses, Ruth discovers she is pregnant but is worried about telling her family because of the financial strain she fears will occur and considers having an abortion. Mama ends up placing a down payment on the home and many people in the neighborhood become skeptical about living with those of the African American race. This results in the Clybourne Park Improvement Association sending in a man in hopes to buy them out of the property so they will no longer move into the neighborhood. After refusing the money from Mr. Linder, Walter also loses the rest of the money to Willy Harris who runs off with the money after convincing Walter to invest in a liquor store. This does not go over well with the family and, after a few internal conflicts with the family regarding Walter and his wife, they proceed to move-in anyways. Beneatha is proposed to by her Nigerian boyfriend and the family moves out of their apartment and fulfill their dreams regardless the racism in the neighborhood, reoccurring finical struggles, and having to be successful on their own.

Overall, I believe this play shows the true colors of this time period and shows when integrity really means something to one's self and others. An underlying message that might be shown throughout this play is to stick with your gut and stay true to who you are even when times become hard. This play exemplifies how the ways of living in colored communities was so common for African Americans and why it was so shocking when families such as this family decided to go their own way and create a new and bright future for themselves. Fear should not stop anyone from following their dreams and pursing what is best for themselves and others. When I was growing up, one of my friends was African American and her dad used to tell us stories about how when we was growing up, he would face racial challenges like this in school and how the kids would try to bribe him out of clubs being that segregation was still slightly highlighted in the communities he grew up in. This play represented the future for African Americans and their exploration of their newly founded rights,

Lincoln

Lincoln

By: Bridget Robinson

In the film, "Lincoln", directed by Steven Spielberg, the great journey that president Lincoln went through to abolish slavery through the thirteenth amendment and end the civil war was portrayed. This film depicts all the major conflicts he faced when trying to abolish slavery and showed the audience the course of events that occurred during his second term of presidency. One might think that beyond the major plot line this film is about dedication and standing your ground on what you think is right when the world around you seems to think differently. 

I did not particularly care for this film because there was too much dialogue for my liking and the auto for speaking in the film was not very clear and concise. I did like how historically accurate the film was and how in the beginning of the film when President Lincoln was having a conference with major political leaders and military men, Spielberg emphasized the great passion everyone in the room held with the subject at hand - which was the passing of the thirteenth amendment. I greatly liked how they portrayed Lincoln to be an honorable man and kept his relationship with the people around him real - being he had problems with his wife and respected those around him. 

Prior to this film, I had a great amount of knowledge about slavery but did not know much about the thirteenth amendment and the many difficulties and obstacles our former leaders had to overcome to get our nation to where it is today. I did not know that so many government officials were against passing the thirteenth amendment. I learned the different reasons people were opposed to this amendment, whether it be fear or the major loss in free labor, and that the Civil War was also going on a this time. It was interesting to watch the opening scene when all the soldiers were fighting on the battle field and yet once they were in the presence of President Lincoln, they showed great respect and even recited his most famous speech, the Inaugural Address.