A Raisin in the Sun

Welcome back to school!

I hope everyone enjoyed the nice long break!

We are going to round out the end of the quarter by reading "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry. We began the unit by briefly discussing the "Great Migration" and imagining the African American experience of starting new lives in the north. Additionally, we discussed the Harlem Renaissance and some of the artists to come out of that movement. Langston Hughes is one of the most famous poets to establish himself during that time, and his poem "Harlem" is the inspiration for the title of "A Raisin in the Sun".

To anticipate the experiences of the characters in the play, students have created a chart to think about what Hughes' different visions for "dreams deferred". This should be in the Pause and Think section of their notebook. There should be 3 columns. The first lists the different possible outcomes proposed in the poem:
1.  dry up like a raisin in the sun
2.  fester like a sore and then run
3.  stink like rotten meat
4.  crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet
5.  sag like a heavy load
6. explode

Students were asked to identify what these metaphors may look like in real life. Eventually we will decide which characters fit each metaphor.

Students will be reading the play in small groups over the next week.