A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Well I've made a huge leap forward. I've finally discovered audio books. I pop a CD into the car player and listen while I'm driving to work. The written word takes on a whole new meaning when spoken. So here we go!
I last read A Raisin in the Sun while in high school. Being young and naive, I couldn't fully comprehend the depth of this play. I knew it as one of those classics that should never be forgotten but I filed it in the way back of my mind with the rest of the things I've forgotten since my teenage years. It's a play so this audio version comes complete with not only actors but doorbells, telephone rings and squeaky doors opening and closing. I got an inside look into this family that I never would have discovered by simply reading the words on the page.
The Younger family is waiting for a life insurance check. Lena and her children, Walter Lee and Beneatha , Walter's wife Ruth and her grandson, Travis live together in a small apartment on the south side of Chicago in the mid 1950's. Like all of us, they had dreams of building a better life. Each member of the family had a different idea on how the money should be spent in order to find those dreams. What they learn about themselves and the world they are living in is a powerful lesson.
What struck me the most about this play is how far we've come in trying to heal the racial divide in this country but how little we've changed now that we've arrived in the 21st century. We've only made our differences more visible since the advent of 24 hour news. It's sad. I highly recommend that A Raisin in the Sun get dusted off, read or listened to, whatever works for you. The story is thought provoking, real and current for today's world. A classic for today, real change for tomorrow.
Well I've made a huge leap forward. I've finally discovered audio books. I pop a CD into the car player and listen while I'm driving to work. The written word takes on a whole new meaning when spoken. So here we go!
I last read A Raisin in the Sun while in high school. Being young and naive, I couldn't fully comprehend the depth of this play. I knew it as one of those classics that should never be forgotten but I filed it in the way back of my mind with the rest of the things I've forgotten since my teenage years. It's a play so this audio version comes complete with not only actors but doorbells, telephone rings and squeaky doors opening and closing. I got an inside look into this family that I never would have discovered by simply reading the words on the page.
The Younger family is waiting for a life insurance check. Lena and her children, Walter Lee and Beneatha , Walter's wife Ruth and her grandson, Travis live together in a small apartment on the south side of Chicago in the mid 1950's. Like all of us, they had dreams of building a better life. Each member of the family had a different idea on how the money should be spent in order to find those dreams. What they learn about themselves and the world they are living in is a powerful lesson.
What struck me the most about this play is how far we've come in trying to heal the racial divide in this country but how little we've changed now that we've arrived in the 21st century. We've only made our differences more visible since the advent of 24 hour news. It's sad. I highly recommend that A Raisin in the Sun get dusted off, read or listened to, whatever works for you. The story is thought provoking, real and current for today's world. A classic for today, real change for tomorrow.
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