A Raisin in the Sun: Symbols

Lorraine Hansberry uses a variety of symbols in A Raisin in the Sun. I believe that one of main symbols was the apartment. Because it was cramped, old, and dark, it symbolized a trapped feeling amoung the Youngers. Throughout the years, Mr. and Mrs. Younger started a family, raised them, and became grandparents in that apartment. Not only that, but the entire clan lived in one space. The family could not rise above the society which glued them to that place.

Another symbol was the new house. This new house represented hope for a better future. The house was a way out of the poverty of the community they are living in now. It is also a symbol of a completely new way of life and a new perspective. The new house was in an all white neighborhood. This integration could symbolize the Younger's way of wanting to experience new ways of life. This could also be Mama's way of wanting to make her family equal to the rest of the society. This new house could have also symbolized new opportunities.

One of the aspects of the places they live that gets brought up a few different times is the window. In the apartment, there is hardly any outside light that shines in. This could represent the family's depression or hopelessness. When Ruth asks Mama about the new house, " Is there-is there a whole lot of sunlight?" (Hansberry, 491), I believed that this was Ruth's way of asking if the new house would bring hope to the family. This hope would bring happiness and peace to the Youngers that had not been with them for a long time.