A Raisin in the Sun - An Apple Pie, a Bright Blue Sky, a Breezy Meadow in July

Question 4: how is dramatic suspense created?

The camera zooms in close and they play a dramatic chord

Actually, something particularly dramatic seems to happen every time a scene or an act comes to a close. At the end of scene one, Ruth collapses on the ground without any warning, and the last that we see is Mama calling her name in desperation. We don't gain a full understanding of what happened for another 20 pages or so, so we are left trying to guess what happened? Is she sick? no, she just has a baby. Oh that's nice, so what's the problem? Abortion, what? C-Eb-G-B-D!!!

Similarly, at the end of the first act, Walter is struck dumb at the idea that his wife is considering an abortion and just kind of...walks out. But don't worry, Mama is on the case, just as soon as somebody gets her a hat! But what will she do, I wonder? Hopefully this issue will...*puts on sunglasses* resolve...C-E-G-Bb...yyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Ahem...

But in all seriousness, I guess what I'm trying to say is that dramatic suspense is created by letting every tense moment or situation occur right when a scene or act is about to end. By doing this, it allows the writer to sort of place a gap in the action. In most of the situations, it would be much less dramatic to see what happens immediately after. However, because a scene ends, the action can resume after the fact, and the audience can slowly understand what happened earlier.

A Raisin in the Sun - na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na

Wait, what?

Question 5: What themes does the play present?

Ultimately, the most prominent theme of A Raisin in the Sun is it's representation of the "American Dream." Now, I personally define the American Dream as financial security and independence, not living from paycheck to paycheck, providing for the family. Some define it as climbing the corporate ladder, crushing those beneath you, and making far more money than you ever know what to do with, but that's just ridiculous, in my humble opinion.

Anyway, how is this theme portrayed, you ask? Well, essentially the entire family is striving to achieve this dream in some way. Mama wants to use the life insurance check to buy a new house for her family so that they'll be able to live more comfortably. Walter wants use the money to buy a liquor store and be financially independent forever. Beneatha wants to go to medical school and become a doctor and achieve success all on her own; she is so determined to do this on her own that she even says she doesn't want to marry just because of money and might not even marry at all *GASP!* Ruth however, just worries about maintaining the life that the family currently lives. She doesn't worry about improving their lot in life but rather just wants to keep things how they are. This of course leads her to worry about the impact that another child will have on the family's financial situation, which brings about the whole new can of worms that we call abortion. Abortion isn't really a theme in the play, but it's at least an issue that pops up. I feel that the author makes their case fairly well through Mama who outright opposes the very idea and says that if Walter wants to be a man then he needs to protect the life of his unborn child.

Another mildly important theme is the underlying racial tension that was prevalent at the time. It's apparent that Walter is a bit mad at the white folk who appear to be living a much easier life simply because their white while his whole family has to struggle so hard since they're black. At the same time, the white neighbors try so hard to prevent the Younger family from moving into their predominantly white neighborhood.

Yup. Lotsa racism. and Racism is bad, mmmkay?

A Raisin in the Sun - I recognize that my titles are becoming increasingly less relevant

This is literally all I could think about while reading this play:


It's very distracting, I'll have you know. I don't even know what this is. I think I just saw something about them on Family Guy once.

I think I'll talk about some similarities between Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun. First off, they both depict the tale of a family which is trying to achieve financial security and independence. Also, they both have a desperate hope that something will come along and solve all of their problems. In Glass Menagerie, this hope comes in the form of a "gentleman caller" who will come along, marry Laura, and support the family forever. In A Raisin in the Sun, the hope is the life insurance check from the late father of the family. Now, while everyone in the family has different ideas of how the money should be spent, all of them still view it as the ultimate solution for their problems. Mama hopes that they'll be able to move into a better home, and secretly hopes to put the money towards Beneatha's medical school bills. Walter, on the other hand, wants to invest all of the money in a liquor store in order to achieve financial security forever. However, in both plays, their hopes and dreams don't quite fall together exactly as planned, and the family has to find some way to make things work on their own. Or they don't, we don't really get a clear picture there. Yay for open endings.

Also, both families lack the father. However, the way that they are presented is completely different. In a glass menagerie, the Amanda uses the father as an example of everything that Tom should not be. However, in A Raisin blahblahblah, Mama urges her son to strive to act more like his father and defend the life of his unborn child. I just think it's a tad interesting.

The Glass Menagerie - Trees Hate You

I'll be handling question 8 with this blog post: "To what extent does the play employ narration as a means of dramatic exposition?" Well I'll tell you, book. The narration of this play is kind of unique. The narrator is actually both a narrator who directly addresses the audience and breaks the fourth wall and a character who chills behind that fourth wall and directly partakes in the activities of the play itself. This allows Tom to do many things that would be otherwise impossible for just any simple character. Tom reveals many aspects of the play's backstory and symbolism. He illustrates the setting as America during the 1930's. He explains the meanings of many of the characters, including himself and his role as both narrator and character. And, potentially most important of all, he tells the audience about the fifth character who doesn't appear in the play: the father of the family, whose picture looks down on the entire play. Tom is able to introduce him and explain his significance to the play because he is able to act as a narrator. Furthermore, Tom's role as narrator allows the audience to recognize that he is the main character of the play, and that this memory illustrates Tom's memory. Ultimately, the use of Tom as a narrator aids the dramatic exposition in that he is able to explain and describe many things that help the audience understand the play.

The Glass Menagerie - Witty Title Goes Here

I'll take on the sixth question with this post: "How do the various physical effects reinforce the meanings and contribute to the emotional effects?" Tennessee Williams was very precise in how he wanted his play to be presented. The stage directions throughout are extremely explicit, and everything from the music to the body language to the lighting is outlined in detail. On numerous occasions, it is noted that a character should sigh while saying a line, which helps to show exactly how they're feeling about the current conversation. Even gestures like Tom throwing down the paper as he exits the building helps to show his frustration. Also, the stage directions often help add to the nonrealistic nature of the play. When Tom asks "who ever escaped from a coffin without removing a single nail?" the father's picture conveniently lights up, as if to say "This Guy!" Also, Tennessee Williams tells us exactly when certain songs start playing, like when "The Glass Menagerie" starts playing right before anything dramatic happens, as if to say "Hey, pay attention, this is important!" Ultimately, the explicit physical effects help to make the meaning of certain events much more easily recognized and discerned and also helps show the emotions of the characters.

The Glass Menagerie - Memory Play

I still don't know what to think about this play. It's a bit odd...not really like anything I've ever studied before. I think that mostly stems from the fact that it is a "Memory Play," so I suppose I'll devote the rest of this post to exploring what a memory play is, and what that means for the play itself. A memory play is, of course, a play telling the story of the main character's memories. To me, it seems a bit like a frame story, in that there is a play in which Tom addresses the audience directly and narrates the play, and then there is the play within, in which Tom is a character and acts out the story. The ultimate effect is that the play can take on a much more nonrealistic approach. When recalling a memory, things often seem quite different from how they would actually happen in real life. The most notable change is that most of the play is set to music, because "in memory, everything seems to happen to music," as put by Narrator-Tom. Also, the narrator can make reference to events that don't really make sense within the timeframe of the actual play. Tom alludes to Chamberlain, a person who really didn't matter to America at the time, since he hadn't even been elected Prime minister until 1937. Furthermore, the pace of the play is affected. When recalling memories, one does not remember the long stretches of time in which nothing happens. When watching the play, it appears that things happen one immediately after another, but really, it is apparent that things are happening at a far slower rate, and the boring parts are essentially just being cut out, like when Tom has to remind Amanda that she asked him to find a nice young gentleman at the warehouse. Ultimately, the purpose of the memory play is to allow the writer to use many different techniques that would be hard to employ otherwise.