1. Explain how the title, A Raisin in the Sun, is appropriate for this drama. Refer to Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” when considering your response.
(15 points)
The play is set in an era where the African American citizens faced a lot of racial prejudice and resentment from the white community. The poem focuses on the lives of African Americans whose dreams of achieving equity as well as equality remained a dream. This brought along many frustrations that made the black community very bitter. They faced discrimination and harassment from the white community despite being legally and politically conscious of their rights. Their dreams of being free people, free from discrimination are constantly ignored and all they receive are promissory notes that are never fulfilled. This poem is appropriate for the drama, as it has completely analyzed the life of African Americans and the promises that were constantly broken during that time, (Langston Hughes, “Harlem”).
2. Discuss two pieces of literature that we covered this semester that deal with oppression of women in marriage or in society in general. (15 points).
A Rose for Emily: this poem is based on the life and trepidations of Emily Grierson. She lives in a house left by her father upon her death. She serves as a symbol of how women are oppressed in society as well as in their own family. Emily had come from a well of family who had a lot of money and had cultivated a name for themselves. She however felt oppressed by the fact that her life had to be dictated. By the time she was 30 years, Emily was still not married as her father kept driving away potential suitors who he felt were not good enough for her daughter. Women did not choose husbands but had their families’ approval first before they could get married. Being a person of interest, everything she does is watched and provocative. An example is when Emily started dating Homer Baron, a man the people believed was beneath Emily’s status and for this fact, and they thought she was embarrassing herself.
A Doll’s House: the poem talks about a woman, Nora who makes a mistake of forging her late father’s signature to obtain money to take her husband to hospital. The truth eventually comes out and Nora’s husband, Torvald, is outraged at that fact and says provocative words to her. Eventually she comes down but feels that she is only used like a doll to be admired and bring grace to her husband when she does a mistake, she is humiliated and treated disrespectfully by her own husband (Blythe, H, & Sweet, C 2011, ‘Approaching “A Rose for Emily” through a Meddler-in-the Middle Pedagogy’).
3. Innocence and Experience
Growing up is seen as growing into truth and reality.
What poetry from this section do you think best illustrates this point?
In the poem, The Chimney Sweeper, the boy in the poem is so innocent that he is not aware of the social injustice that is going on. On the other hand, in the songs of experience, the boy is aware of the injustice in society and he takes a stand by speaking against it. He blames the injustice for where he is. Both poems are contrast to each other as one shows how experience has opened the mind of the boy who speaks out against injustice while the other is still very innocent to know the evils that injustice has brought to his city. Blake emphasizes that both innocence and experience complement each other. That is why the boy will have to go through harsh times to grow out of his innocence and into the real world. The same world is marred with poor working conditions, harsh living standards and poor treatment of the chimneysweepers within the England cities.
In the poem, “chimney sweeper”, the young boys, Blake included are forced to sweep the chimney constantly. Little food is given to them and are poorly clothed while their masters force them to sweep the Chimneys while naked so that he does not have to replace the clothes that would have otherwise been ruined by the boys in the chimneys. Many boys died in the process and those who were not burnt by the chimneys, died due to respiratory problems such as cancer. The poem addresses exploitation of the children’s innocence and the oppression they face everyday working at the chimneys. Those children being exploited are not aware of the exploitation as most of them are orphans and their master is the only caregiver they have, (William, Blake, and “the Chimney Sweeper”).
4. Conformity and Rebellion
Several characters in the works in this section are rebels.
What are they rebelling against? Are they justified in their rebellion? Refer to 2 pieces of literature. (15 points)
Hunger Artist: In this poem, the hunger artist is a man whose profession is based on going for forty days without food. He moves from town to town with his manager who lock him up in a cage and keep him there fasting for forty days. His cage is at a public place where people pass by and are amused by him though a number of people believe he sneaks food at night. This fact raises a lot of resentment and makes him feel un-appreciated. Though he normally goes for 40 days because the spectators become bored after some time, he eventually decides to rebel and goes for a longer period without food and eventually dies. His fasting act was merely a way of gaining recognition and admired by the people, which leads him to his death.
Two Kinds: this poem focuses on a mother’s high hopes and expectations for her child. She hopes that her child is some prodigy of some sort and ends up forcing her to take random tests to discover what it is. The child on the other hand, has the dream of becoming a ballerina but she knows this will always remain a dream, as her mother would not want to hear any of it. Her mother constantly kept pushing her to do things she saw other children do on TV believing that her daughter could do the same. The girl eventually rebel against her mother’s constant antics to make her become somebody she is not. She decides to find her own path and not let her life be dictated by her mother. (Kafka, Franz, “A Hunger Artist”).
5. Culture and Identity
Social tradition has often determined the roles we play in life.
What 2 pieces of literature from this section illustrate how tradition and culture are important aspects of one’s identity? (15 points)
Tradition has always been an important aspect of people’s lives. It is what keeps people connected, young or old. Some tradition have been abandoned as time passes but others are still practiced, especially those with religious or family connections. In the poem, “Everyday Use” talks about two girls, Dee and Maggie and their mother. Dee was able to go away to school and got a rich education while Maggie stayed at home with her mother. When Dee returns, she finds her mother and sister just as she had left them. She comes along with Hakim, a man who due to his religion does not eat pork that was prepared for them. Dee has also changed her name to an African one. When they finish their meal, the engage in a tussle over whom, Dee or Maggie should have the Quilt left by their ancestors. These quilts are memorable and both sisters fight over who should own the quilt. This shows how much people embrace tradition and always wants to have a peace of it with them despite changing times (Walker, Alice & Christian, Barbara).
A rising in the sun is a poem about a disadvantaged black family who try to make ends meet. When they receive the insurance check after Mr. Youngers’ death, they all have different ideas of how they would like to use that money. Mrs. Younger decides to buy a house and take the family to a better place to improve their chances of a better life. The face a lot of racism and prejudice, but still stand strong, believing that as long as they are united they can weather any storm. The house is a symbol of unity as it keeps the family together under one roof (Gordon, Michelle. “‘Somewhat Like War’: The Aesthetics of Segregation, Black Liberation, and ‘A Raisin in The Sun”).
6. Love and Hate
What two works in this section best illustrate the idea that love and hate are closely related emotions? (15 points).
Drinking coffee and the Hills like White elephants are good examples that demonstrate that there exists a thin line between love and hate. In the “Hills like white elephants” there is a man known as the American and a girl the American refers to as jig. After having a drink at the train station, the American starts to insist that the girl should have an operation though he does not mention which kind of operation it is. He states that it is a minor important. Jig on the other hand is resentful about the operation but wonders whether the American will still love him and if they will continue to live happily ever after. They start to argue about the operation, as jig is not yet convinced about doing it.
This poem shows how much due to love, people perform things they do not approve of. It is that unending desire to commit to that person, which involves doing some things to please him or her. The operation is the America’s idea but his girlfriend does not want it. He hates him for putting pressure on him to have it but because she loves him, she puts it into consideration. She is however, frightened that things may change after the operation and that he would not love her as much as before. The girl has a mix of emotions of whether he loves the American or hates him for wanting her to do the operation. As they argue, it is difficult to determine whether these two people love or hate each other. Later, the operation is revealed as abortion.
There is certainly a strong relation between love and hate. A person may love someone else but hate the things that person does which the two poems try to give an example of. Jig is distraught, wondering whether to commit to her un-born child or to her boyfriend. She hates him for putting her in such a position as to choose between giving a life or taking it, but at the same time she knows how much she loves him and would do it just for him. (Ernest Miller Hemingway’s, “Hills Like White Elephants”).
7. The Presence of Death
Which poems did you find to be the most impacting in this section?
What was the message about death in each poem?
Why did these particular poems impress you more than the others?
The poems that most captivated me was “to an athlete dying young”.
Housman who wrote in his poem “Smart lad to slip betimes away, from fields where glory does not stay” wrote the second poem, to an athlete dying young (Housman). His view on death is quite perverse, as he believes that a man should die while his glory of having achieved something is at its peak. He reiterates that it is when a man’s glory is high that he will not be forgotten even after he dies. He may not be invoking the youth to take his message literally, but he ends up praising the young athlete who died while his glory was still at its peak. He asserts that such a man will always be remembered, Housman, Alfred “To an Athlete Dying Young”).
The main reason why these two poems captured my attention is that, though the theme is that same, they have a very different viewpoint on it. One poem believe that the people who died, died too soon while the other poem embraces that though the person died young, he died a hero without any regrets. This therefore, tends to make the poems quite interesting.
