"A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry
[Writer's Name] [Professor's Name] [Course Title] [Date] "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry Introduction A Raisin in the Sun is a three-act play set entirely in the Younger family's Chicago tenement apartment. As the play opens, Walter Younger, Sr., referred to as "Big Walter," has recently died, leaving his widow, Lena, a life insurance policy worth $10,000. Lena wants to use the money as a down payment on a house in the suburbs so that her family can leave its crowded, shabby apartment. Lena's son, Walter, wants to invest the money in a liquor store so that he can quit his job as a rich white man's chauffeur and become his own boss. Beneatha, Walter's younger sister, a college student, wants to use part of the money to pay for her medical school tuition. Ruth, Walter's pregnant wife, sides with Lena. The debate over how to spend the insurance money threatens to destroy the Younger family. Walter insults his sister by telling her to forget about medical school and become a nurse or get married like other women. Lena expresses misgivings about Walter's plan to invest in the liquor business, and he, in turn, accuses his mother of destroying his dream of becoming a successful businessman and providing for his family. (Hairston, 123-124) When Lena refuses to give Walter the $10,000 that he needs for his investment, he stops working and starts drinking heavily.
Mice and Men Critical Evaluation
"Of Mice and Men" I have recently read and studied in-depth the book "Of Mice and Men" by the very interesting author, John Steinbeck. Steinbeck writes in a manner that is both thought provoking and deep. This essay will talk about the book, the characters, and, in particular, the theme of loneliness, which is very prominent throughout. Steinbeck was born in 1902 and he wrote about his times and what it was like to live then. "Of Mice and Men" was published in 1937. The title refers to the famous poem by Robert Burns - "To A Mouse". It relates to the story in many ways - George and Lennie have a "scheme", and it goes "aft agley" (goes wrong), then leaves George "nought but grief and pain", for their "promis'd joy" (their plans to get a "little place". It goes along the lines of verse 7 - "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley An' lea'e us nought but grief And pain For promis'd joy!" The book is set in California, near the Salinas River in the 1930s. The two main characters are George Milton and Lennie Small. The narrative begins with George and Lennie sitting around a fire in a quiet place by a river on a Thursday night. This is where we first hear of the dream the two friends share but don't really believe in. The next day, they land a job at a ranch in an attempt to raise some money towards their 'little place'. They get to know the other ranch
How does Robert Louis Stevenson explore human nature in his novel 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'.
How does Robert Louis Stevenson explore human nature in his novel 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. Human nature has two sides: good and evil. R.L Stevenson explores this theory in his novel 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. Stevenson was born November 13th 1850 and had a strict upbringing in Edinbrough, Scotland. As he was born into a strict religious family, religious rules were forced into him. Of course, he rebelled. Stevenson's interest in human nature was caused by his strong upbringing giving him desires to do the opposite to what he was being told to do. He wanted to explore outside the strong moral boundaries that had been set to him while growing up. An influence on R.L Stevenson was William Brodie; well know as Deacon Brodie (1741-1788). He was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of the trades guild and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a burglar, partly for the thrill, and partly to fund his gambling. This links in with the idea of Jekyll and Hyde because Jekyll had a good job and a good repretation, just like Brodie. By day Brodie was a respectable business man however, by night he turned into a burglar and thief just like Jekyll turned into something bad at night: Hyde. In the novel, Henry Jeykll is striving to separate the two parts of his human nature. Gothic horror is the genre of this novel: urban, modern and recognisable which makes the story
What is the Importance of Alfred Doolittle to Shaw's 'Pygmalion?'
What do you consider to be the importance of the role of Alfred Doolittle for the play as a whole? Alfred Doolittle is a working class dustman. He is Eliza's father and an important character to the theme of class distinction. To the original middle-class Edwardian audience, Doolittle would be a very representational working-class figure. His name alone, 'Doo-Little,' epitomises the stereotypical middle-class view of the working class man, who doesn't do as much as he could, therefore making him 'undeserving.' However, this view is challenged by Doolittle's pride in being one of these 'undeserving poor.' He says he 'means to go on being undeserving.' Doolittle takes this social stigma as a compliment, which would have shocked his audience, but also created humour. Doolittle's values in life would also have challenged the middle-class perception of the working classes. His attitude to marriage and sex would have shocked the audience. Doolittle says of his mistress, 'catch her marrying me!' His mistress will not marry Doolittle, because that would give him dominion over her. This challenged the middle class view that marriage before sex was the natural order of things. As Doolittle says to Pickering, 'it ain't the natural way; it's the middle class way.' In some ways, Doolittle confirms the social stereotype that the poor are undeserving because they are lazy. Doolittle
Discuss the meeting of Stanley and Mompesson in Act 1. Consider it's dramatic effectiveness and it's importance in relation to the play as a whole.
Discuss the meeting of Stanley and Mompesson in Act 1. Consider it's dramatic effectiveness and it's importance in relation to the play as a whole. When the audience first meet Mompesson, he is being shown around the village, to the rector's house. You learn about Mompesson from his conversation with George Savile, "the rector of God has no enemies, only sheep to be fed" is what Mompesson thinks. Savile tells him he is wrong, "now rinse that starch from your face my boy...come two steps down from heaven to speak to these people...you'll have to make concessions". By Savile having to say this, and from what Mompesson previously said, we learn that he is quite high and mighty, or at least he thinks he is, and the people won't like him for that. Stanley first comes onto the scene when the harvest celebrations have begun. He disapproves of them happening, as it is against his puritanical beliefs, and the first thing he says is "this is a sad sight Edward Thornley". As he begins talking to Thornley, it quickly becomes clear that Thornley still sees Stanley as his rector. They both share the opinion put forward by Thornley about Mompesson, that he's "a youngster, full of arrogance and spleen, who spits in the dust as we pass." Stanley has a dark, brooding presence, which contrasts darkly with the happy feel of the celebration and the audience would be able to tell this about him
The Action of blue remembered hills is told through naturalistic scenes that reflect on every day life
Form The Action of blue remembered hills is told through naturalistic scenes that reflect on every day life e.g. * Believable, true to life 7 year old children. to have adults play seven-olds, has some of the same effect of drag performances since these are clearly not real children, * It is written so the characters allegedly speak as children do as it is adult that act out this play so they do need to be able to speak as children. We first see the 1940s boys innocently playing war games while the girls play house, but gradually Potter's deconstruction of the myth of innocence begins, with the casual cruelties of which children are so capable, and a strict alpha-male pecking order that could rival any animal species. By the end, when the children take an irreversible leap into adult-style hypocrisy, childhood can never look quite the same Structure Blue Remembered Hills is made up of 29 scenes and 1 poem. I feel the scenes start long at the beginning and gradually get shorter towards the end, this could be because they are switching between scenes, (this is done on purpose) is the scenes are shorter when switching you may stay more interested and have more knowledge about what is going on than you would if the scenes are shorter. Also I think the reason for the scenes getting shorter toward the end could represent Donald's life getting shorter and leading up to
Racism and its Part in the Play Othello
Racism and its Part in the Play Othello Racism has long played a huge part in history, both ancient and modern. A play, written by Shakespeare, about the downfall of a great black general in the Venetian Army. The play, "Othello", describes his fall using the questionable hero technique along with many others, including racism. In the play "Othello", race plays a huge part in the destiny of the characters. How Othello is treated, Desdemona's love to Othello, and how the play might have went if he faced the courts instead of suicide, all relate to the race of the hero, Othello. One main factor in racism is how the racists will refer to the victim, or mainly, how he is treated. What really stands out in the first sections of the play is that none of the characters actually refer to Othello by his name. "An old, black ram is tupping your white ewe." (1,1, 89-90) Iago here is referring to Othello as an old, black ram. He is the main racist in the play, and the one who plotting the downfall of Othello. By white ewe, he was referring to Desdemona, referring to her as a gentle creature and most importantly, a white one. In that same part, Roderigo is also insulting Othello in the same racist manner that Iago is using. On the other hand, there are some people that respect Othello, and not only use his name, but with respect too. "Valiant Othello we must straight employ
Great Expectations
Essay title: Having read 'Great expectations' how effective is the opening chapter? Discuss the methods Dickens used to ensure his readers' continuing interest. In this essay I will be focusing on the novel, 'Great Expectations.' Charles Dickens was a 19th century writer which affects his writing and language used within the novel. He has also written many other famous books such as "Oliver Twist", "The Christmas carols", and "David Copperfield". The novel, 'Great Expectations' is set in London in the 19th century. It is about a young boy called Pip, ambitious to become a gentleman; He starts off as a naïve, innocent, young boy growing up in a working class family who is then tainted by wealth, desire and pride. He develops his working class status to grow on to a higher class status, however he finds out human values are much more important than pride and wealth. In order to entice the reader to the rest of the novel Charles Dickens employs a variety of techniques and narrative hooks in the opening chapter. Within the opening chapter Charles Dickens exploits engaging characters such as Pip goes on to the outside world where he meets Magwitch, in which he learns that the world was not as simple as he assumed it to be. Charles also uses dramatic action and mysterious setting in the first chapter to hook the reader to the rest of the novel. The use of pathetic fallacy is also
How does Charles Dickens create characters that are both memorable and striking in the novel 'Great Expectations'?
How does Charles Dickens create characters that are both memorable and striking in the novel 'Great Expectations'? In 'Great Expectations' Charles Dickens shows his marvellous talent by creating archetypal characters that readers can genuinely sympathise with and relate to. With an intricate mix of dialogues, direct description, setting and atmosphere, Dickens fashions characters that are striking and memorable. He utilises the characters to a great effect in order to shed light on the Victorian class system, and his views on it. Great Expectations is set in a period very different to ours, it is in the Victorian period. A period in which the class system was important. The class system 'refers to the ranking of people into a hierarchy within a culture' (Wikipedia). There was a large contrast in those times, between those at the top, the rich, and those at the bottom, the poor. In real life, it was widely known that Dickens did not like the rich and the power that they wielded over others. This is why he portrays the rich in a bad light and the poor in a good light. This is a habit of Dickens' that he uses in other books as well, for example, Oliver Twist. Again, Dickens' uses the same method in this book, by outlining the changes in Pip's attitude when he goes from being 'common' to a 'gentlemen'. This makes the characters memorable and striking to the reader as Dickens
Explain how Arnold Wesker shows the way an everyday situation can turn into a very tense and dramatic one full of conflict in the play Little Old Lady.
Little Old Lady Explain how Arnold Wesker shows the way an everyday situation can turn into a very tense and dramatic one full of conflict in the play ‘Little Old Lady’. The play ‘Little Old Lady’ is set on a train; the play is about no smoking in underground station because of the fire at king’s crosses station in 1980 also the play is about how people were treated in the 1980s. Arnold Wesker wrote this play to show people how people were treated in 1980s. The main characters of the play are Sam and Tracy, they are both 15 years old, Jason is 17 years old, the others in the play, don’t have a real name. The writer called them by the way they are for example; little old lady, she is 65 years old and she’s called little old lady because she’s little and old. The other characters are Harassed Women. She is 45 years old and she’s called harassed women because she worries too much. The Unpleasant man, he is 50 years old and he is called unpleasant man because he’s not a nice person. The play is set in 1980s because at that time society was changing and people were begging to care less about others. Also ,young people respected old people at that time .Arnold Wesker wanted to show people how society was in the 1980 and how it changed so he wrote a play about how people’s views and values were . The stage directions and the dialogue show that it is