Monday, December 7, 2009
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All students are required to comment once a week. A week goes from Monday to Sunday. A comment can be a response to my or others' posts --- or a new post. All posts must be relevant to class discussions and assignments. Each post should be 1-3 paragraphs. Remember, it is OK to disagree with one another, but we must always be RESPECTFUL of one another.
For my example of symbolism, i am going to use an example from class and explain what i feel it represents. I agree the plant represents the family because its drooping and it is falling apart. That leads me to the new house. I feel Mama made a good choice of buying the house since that is what she wants (her garden and all). This is also her money so she has a right. Also, her dreams will just be gone because she is so old. This is her last chance. The house, she thinks, will bring the family together more. She wants her kids to be happy and give them a good life, along with Travis. She is very family oriented. She loves them and wants to see them happy. The new house is like a BRIGHT (lots of windows like Ruth wants) new birth along with this new baby.
ReplyDeleteI also think that is what the windows will represent since they always talk about dreary darkness. I think the new windows is a bright new baby.
One symbol that can be found in the novel is Walter's job. To him his job is repetitive and useless. Doing the same thing everyday for the rest of his life is not the position he wants to have. Opening doors all day for strangers and answering in two word sentences is not satisfying or advancing his future. He can only stand by hoping a door opens for him.
ReplyDeleteIn Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry uses symbolism many times. One, for example,could be Beneatha and her hair. In the beginning of the story, she was described to have short straightened hair. This was typical of the time for women to have this style of hair. After her visit with Asagi, she begins to search for her identity. That identity was her African culture and heritage. Asagi presented her with a Nigerian dress-wrap and a head dress. One night, Beneatha was dancing around in the outfit. When she took off her head dress, everyone was astonished to see that her hair was now cut in an afro. This change symbolizes Beneatha taking a step out of the social norm and becoming one with her identity. She wants to go back to her roots in Africa and that is what she did with her hair. Her hair stands for her rebellion against the conformity of women in America and her wanting to be retied with her beginning roots.
ReplyDeleteIn A Raisin In The Sun Lorraine Hansberry uses many symbols to get her point across to the readers. One symbol she uses comes in the beginning of the story when Ruth says to Walter "eat your eggs." Some people may just take this as Ruth telling her husband to eat his eggs, but Lorraine Hansberry uses the quotation as a symbol. In her wrting Ruth is telling Walter to give up his dreams because you are not going to get there. She is telling him to eat his dreams and stop chasing them. Another use of symbolism is the check. Yes, the check is money for mama as a result of her husband's death but Lorraine Hansberry's use of symbolism was it represented all the hard work mr. younger did and everything he meant to the family. An action mama does to hint this use of symbolism is she starts crying when she see's it.
ReplyDeleteOne of the symbols I found interesting in “A Raisin in the Sun” is Hansberry’s discussion of sunlight. In the play, she contrasts the sunlight in the old apartment with the sunlight in the new house. Hansberry stresses that the old apartment does not have much sunlight. There is no warmth or energy for the Younger family to grow because of the lack of sunlight. In Act II, Ruth inquires as to whether the new house will have a lot of sunlight. Ruth is very happy when Mama understandingly says it does. Sunlight often symbolizes life and hope. Sunlight makes living things flourish. Ruth is hoping that the Younger family especially Travis and Walter Lee will grow and flourish in the sunlight of the new home.
ReplyDeleteIn "Raisin In the Sun" I feel that there are many items that symbolize some thing. For instance Mama's plant represent their family, because in the plants current environment there is little room to gown which is similar to the family in their small apartment. Also, when they move into the new house with a garden it continues the symbolism with the plant, since the garden would act as a new house for the plant. I also think that Walters job as a chauffeur has him driving around rich white people, his job to me symbolizes him driving his dreams further and further away. This pun of symbolism shows that the longer Walter has the job as a driver he will never be able to own a liquor store.
ReplyDeleteIn A Raisin in the sun symbolism can be used to represent many different things. One thing that symbolizes how Walter lives is the check that Mama gets. Walter is always talking about money and how he wants to invest in a liquor store. He is all about money, he even says it himself that life is about money. Walter always talks to his buddies like Willie Harris about money. Also he is always asking when the check would come constantly. Last, he always talks about what he would do with all the money once he got it. That's why money most definitely symbolizes Walter.
ReplyDeleteIn the play, The Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry uses symbolism throughout the play. There is a lot of action and discussion surrounding the apartment, its poor condition, and that it is in bad section of the city. The apartment symbolizes the status of black families at this time. It is a low class apartment in a lower class neighborhood and most black families at this time had a lower standard of living than most white families. The author described a tiny window in the kitchen that barely allowed in light. This window, and its size, could represent the small window of opportunity that the family had. Later in the play we learn that the insurance check provided this opportunity. When the family used the insurance check to buy their first house, they took advantage of the opportunity the cash provided. Buying and owning a house symbolized a big step up the economic ladder. Still today in families, objects such as cars, houses, clothing, and other personal belongings are used as symbols of achievement.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the play "A Rasin in the Sun" is full of symbols. Most of which have already been said, and as mr. moccia said, i won't repeat anything already said. So i'll talk about Travis. To me Travis represents the goal of the family. He is the reason why Walter is so concered with money; to be the man of the house. Travis is also one of the reasons why Mama buys the house, so he has a yard to play in and a room to himself. He is the driving force of the other characters.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Walter's job as a chauffeur is a symbol in of itself. Walter spends all day following around white people in their nice cars and their nice clothes, when in reality, this is exactly what he does in his normal life. This job symbolizes his desire to have a life like them, and how he tries so hard just to be different than the way he is.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned in class, I think that the plant is the biggest symbol in the story. Not even just the plant, but the idea of a garden. In the beginning of the play, the idea of having a house with a garden seemed distant and just an idea. Nothing more. As the family progressed and became closer, the idea seemed to get bigger and bigger. Once the family bought the house, and the garden seemed to be permanent in their mind, they became close and all of their thoughts seemed to connect. The garden is a huge part of the play.
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