A Raisin in the Sun - Setting

A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry

As the play opens, the reader is presented with his first impression of the Younger household, the setting for the whole of the action throughout the drama. "All pretenses but living itself have long since vanished from the very atmosphere of this room," (Hansberry 24). The tired and dingy little apartment that is home to the five members of the Younger family, however, plays one of the largest roles in this play.

Reflective of the changing mood throughout the play, the light that comes from the single window also changes its cast from bright and sunny to dark and grey. At the conclusion of the play, the lights dim on the apartment as the family leaves, symbolizes the end of their journey within the cramped living space. The Younger family had spent all their lives in the home, and moving to Clybourne Park shows how the family is closing one chapter of their life in order to move on to a new one. Another thing that helps to contribute to the importance of the apartment is the fact that the reader's only impression of the characters comes from their interactions within the apartment; Asagai, George, and other characters are only visitors, and our sole understanding of who they are is fed by their presence in the apartment or indirect characterization offered by the conversation of the habitants of the apartment. Likewise, most of the disagreeable aspects of the play occur outside of the apartment. For example, the chasing and beating of the rat by Travis and Walter's drinking both occur outside of the house. This happens to feed the theme that the residents try to hold the house together by attempting to remove anything that could be detrimental to the emotional ties of the family: the violence and alcoholism.

Overall, the consistency of the setting of the play adds to the overall development of the action. Watching the world unfold around the interactions of the Younger family allows the reader to develop a personal connection with the characters and an insight into the intimate workings of the family.