ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Literary Topics Videos 221 videos
They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...
Dr. Seuss was a failure to start, but he soon learned to follow his heart. He wrote books about things that he knew, and soon enough, his book sale...
Sure, Edgar Allan Poe was dark and moody and filled with teenage angst, but what else does he have in common with the Twilight series?
A Raisin in the Sun 18501 Views
Share It!
Description:
This video summarizes the play A Raisin in the Sun. It discusses the Youngers, members of an African-American family trying to better themselves when they come into some money. It discusses race, family relationships, and money management.
Transcript
- 00:05
A Raisin in the Sun, a la Shmoop. Misery really loves company. Chances are,
- 00:08
every time you've spilled your tale of woe to a friend, he or she has countered with
- 00:09
an even more tragic story of their own.
- 00:09
We're not sure how it happens, but these conversations inevitably snowball into a polite contest
- 00:10
of sunburn vs. sinus infections, ailing aunts vs. colicky cousins…
Full Transcript
- 00:10
But no matter how horrific the other person's problems are, we secretly know that ours are
- 00:10
way worse. The Younger family in Lorraine Hansberry's
- 00:12
A Raisin in the Sun has plenty to complain about. Hard-working Mama is getting a huge
- 00:20
insurance check... awesome, right?
- 00:23
Unfortunately, everybody wants a piece of it.
- 00:26
Walter grabs the cash for himself, and loses it all, ruining the family's dreams of an
- 00:33
easier life.
- 00:35
If you can stand more bad news, that money was Beneatha's<<buh-neath-uh>> best chance
- 00:39
at paying for med school.
- 00:40
In fact, all three of these Youngers would feel at home on the cast of Les Mis, singing
- 00:40
"life has killed the dream I dreamed."
- 00:41
So who wins the Golden Hankie Award for the biggest sob story? Whose plump juicy dream
- 00:46
most resembles Langston Hughes'… shriveled raisin?
- 00:50
Beneatha's our first contender, and she's the obvious choice, here. Her friend calls
- 00:54
her “Alaiyo” <Ah-lie-yo>, meaning “one for whom bread is not enough.” No, he’s not
- 01:04
saying she’s not a carb addict. …
- 01:06
Beneatha’s got a fiery “take no prisoners” attitude, and she’s out to change the world
- 01:12
using medicine and social justice. She even cuts her hair to get back to her African roots…no
- 01:15
pun intended.
- 01:15
Mama was going to put away a nice chunk o’ change to give pay for Beneatha’s tuition,
- 01:20
which would have given her a leg up on fulfilling her goals.
- 01:23
When the family learns that Walter’s no-good buddy ran off with her college fund, Beneatha
- 01:31
feels like an idiot for believing she could make a difference.
- 01:34
Then there’s Walter, the man with a plan. He’s got a hot tip for a liquor store business
- 01:40
that’s going to break the Youngers out of poverty, and let him quit his job as a chauffeur
- 01:44
for a rich white man.
- 01:46
His optimism blinds him to the flaws in this get-rich-quick scheme, and to the dirty looks
- 01:47
coming from Mama and Ruth.
- 01:47
Most of all, Walter wants respect. He dreams of owning a successful business which will
- 01:48
give him equal standing with “The Man,” and snooty college kids like Beneatha’s
- 01:50
suitor, George.
- 01:50
What better way to prove all the haters wrong than with a stack of cold, hard cash?
- 01:54
But then Walter makes the not-too-smart decision to trust his money to a guy named “Willy.”
- 01:59
Sure, we all saw that epic fail coming, but Walter didn’t—and now his whole family
- 02:03
is treating him like he’s slime mold. Good luck with that respect thing, Walt…
- 02:10
You know that saying, “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy”?
- 02:14
With Mama Younger, it’s more the opposite…her contentment depends on the well-being of her
- 02:19
loved ones.
- 02:20
She supports Beneatha’s career, even though she doubts she’ll stick with it, and believes
- 02:22
that Walter is destined to become more than a white man’s employee.
- 02:26
She’s such a cool mom, she even buys her peeps a house.
- 02:29
Mama hopes that joining the Homeowners Club will start a legacy of prosperity for the
- 02:36
entire Younger clan, especially her grandson, Travis.
- 02:39
Her husband literally died so that this dream could become a reality…it’s his life insurance
- 02:45
money that’s put the Youngers on Easy Street.
- 02:47
Too bad her kids are so bratty. Walter sulks about money she spends, and Beneatha pokes
- 02:53
fun at Mama’s religious beliefs and beloved plant. …
- 02:53
…When she finally trusts her son to do the right thing, he betrays her. No wonder she
- 02:54
resorts to physical violence as a parenting method.
- 02:55
So who’s the winner of the “Dream Deferment” title?
- 02:56
Do Beneatha’s career goals and social conscience give her the edge?
- 02:57
Is Walter permanently grounded for losing the money and his shot at being an entrepreneur?
- 03:01
Or is Mama the most deserving of sympathy, for putting up with her kids and vanishing
- 03:06
cash? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
Related Videos
This video defines utopias and dystopias, and investigates how a utopia might become a dystopia. Can a seemingly perfect world actually be a dystop...
They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...
Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.
Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...