RAISIN IN THE SUN/DOLLS HOUSE
When comparing Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll House," to Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun," many similarities are seen. They are both struggling with social issues, the thought of wealth, and gender roles inside the household, as well as outside. Although these families represent completely different backgrounds and social classes, they share many of the same characteristics. Both of the families portrayed in the plays have their own place in society. The Helmers, from "A Doll's House, are a middle class white family in the late 1800's. Nora Helmer is constantly seeking approval of her controlling husband, Torvald. She is forced to look nice and keep up appearances so society, and Torvald, will approve. At this time in history it was customary that the male was the head of the household and the woman was to obey him, as is seen in this home. On the other hand, the Younger's, an African American family in the 1950's, are very poor and cannot afford any luxuries. When they receive a large amount of money from a settlement, Mama decides to purchase a house for the family. However, this house is located in t
Money also has a large part in both of the plays. The main focus of the play is on the life insurance check they will be receiving from the death of Walter Sr. In both "A Doll's House," and "A Raisin in the Sun," we see many similarities within the characters. However, Torvald was appointed to a new position at the bank where he will now make enough money to afford a higher standard of living. When the Helmer's were first married they were very poor and were forced to work long hours just to make ends meet. A representative comes to their apartment and offers them more money than the cost of the house to not move in because they feel it will disrupt their community. In contrast, Beneatha Younger is a strong minded, feministic college student who has dreams of attending medical school. He playfully calls her degrading names, though she accepts it and even acts as though she likes it. The Younger's are a family of five living in a two bedroom apartment in which the bathroom is shared by multiple families. When the check finally arrives, Mama gives part of the check as a down payment on a house and the rest to Walter who places it in an investment for a liquor store with his friends, who then run away with all of the money. Torvald calls her his little "spendthrift" because he believes she is spending all of the money he gives her quickly, but in reality she is using it to repay her secret loan. This is an example of the prejudices of our society. The level of wealth in these two plays is different, and even though the gender roles are portrayed differently they still represent the same idea. The issue of society is mostly that each family is trying to fit in.
Common topics in this essay:
Walter Lee,
Nora Helmer,
Raisin Sun,
Walter Sr,
African American,
Clybourne Park,
Doll's House,
gender roles,
raisin sun similarities,
,
strong minded,
sun similarities,
nora helmer,
raisin sun,
doll's house,
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Acceptance Essays
