A grape in the dark

Although I spent an entire blog talking about my hatred for dramatic plays I was surprised by "A Raisin in the Sun". This story was filled with a happy ending and a strong clear moral (that one needs to work and not give up). I personally found the antics of Mama really strong and inspiring. Not once does she break down and cry over her dead husband, or the fact that she's leaving her home that she shared with him. She keeps her family as her motivation for everything and rarely thinks about herself (unlike the rest of her family except Rose). I also enjoyed how the family stuck together in this play. Although troubled homes are easily relate-able towards many people I think that those stories are depressing. Finally a story with a happy ending. Even without the money this family was going to make it, they were going to survive the hot sun and become the fruit of their dreams.

A plant, next to the raisin, in the sun

One overall theme in this play (inspired by question 5) is the theme of the family being trapped by their current housing and money status. Throughout the play all of the characters (even little Travis) are all bogged down by the amount of money they have. For example Walter goes crazy trying to "make something of himself" because he is unhappy with his current job. Mama wants to move out of the apartment to give her family a better place to live.

I think the plant is a great representation of this theme (and a couple of other themes not written in this blog). It's a symbol of something to dream about ( a garden) and the affects of the house on the family (almost killing them) yet it stays alive. Similar to the family
they make it through the move

This is real yo

Answering question # 1 on if this play was realistic or not.

This play is very realistic. the characters are alive and function as normal people do. None of the family members have special powers, or make random asides to the audience that wouldn't make sense in real life. The plot line itself is true, the idea of a poor family dreaming of living in a house is very applicable to life today. Finally there wasn't any music or stage directions that went outside of the realm of reality (no lit up fathers paintings this time).

The only scene that could be seen as somewhat unrealistic is the African scene when the brother and the sister dance and chant to a record, basically venting their frustration. That was a little strange.

The way that this play is so realistic made the this play easy to relate with and the characters life like.

Please no more

This was a REALLY REALLY boring play. Where are the classics with bloodshed, fights, and un-predictable endings? At least I would enjoy reading something with a little humor, yet there was none in this play with the exception of Amanda flirting with Jim

I can not stand another drama, where the only action is emotions and how people react to each other. The worst part of dramas? They are predictable and boring. Mr. Costello, please let us move on from the drama. Sure the long monologues and overly-exaggerated characters are fun, but lets move on to novels.

Reading Stage Directions for Dummies

Pg 1119, question #6

There are two aspects to this play that really makes this play stand out. First the lighting thought out the play bring out the things that need to audience's attention. One example is the fire escape that is constantly lit up. This play is all about ESCAPE, for Tom that means leaving the house, for Amanda that means having her children taken care of and for Laura that means playing with her glass. However this point is bought out when the fire escape is being lit up.

The reader (an actual audience would have issues seeing things) can use the stage directions to also show the characters emotions. For example the last scene with Laura and Jim is easily explained when the stage directions show how Laura felt (becoming less shy and more open to Jim).

Are you for real?

Pg 1119 question #1

This play deploys many realistic and non-realistic conventions.

Realistic:

The family is overall a realistic family in New York. They live in a cramped apartment with the male of the family making the money. The girls work in more feminine roles (selling magazines and learning to type). The dialogue between the family members is also very realistic.

Non-Realistic:

There are certain aspects of the play that sway away from real. For example the father's picture lights up at certain times of the play (whenever he is spoken about). It's pretty creepy. Also all of the antics of Amanda are pretty ridiculous and I think that Tom exaggerates them just a bit.

However this play is more realistic and not but these non-realistic tactics really just bring out the drama in the play. How Tom wishes to escape, how Laura is shy and how Amanda doesn't know when to quit.