In this section I will be connecting the two plays read in class ("The Tragedy of Hamlet" and "A Raisin in the Sun") to each other and also to the world. It is important to compare and contrast these works because they are both very different. In today's society old works are often not appreciated by students. These plays have both impacted the way we write today.
A Comparison of The Tragedy of Hamlet and A Raisin in the Sun
A Raisin in the Sun and The Tragedy of Hamlet are two plays with very different plots and styles, but as every fictional piece has; they both have an agon (a conflict). A Raisin in the Sun takes place in Chicago’s South side, in the 1950’s with a black family who is waiting for the insurance check from their father’s death. The agon would be: Walter against society. As a black man in America in the 1950s Walter suffers, he lives in a tiny two-bedroom apartment with his wife, son, mother and sister. Walter wants to get out and make a living for himself and his family, but it seems that society just keeps kicking him down.
There is a lot of tension in the Youngers household. Walter finds out that his wife is pregnant and considering an abortion, he does not know what his mother is going to do with the insurance check and his sister is in medical school. The situation which sets Walter over the edge, is when he finds out that he lost the $6,500 because Willy Harris stole it from him. The situation later settles when Walter invites Mr. Lindner to accept the buy out for the house but instead, he tells him they will still be moving in. Mr.Lindner and the new house represent a deeper meaning, they represent a society which oppresses the black community in America. It is at this moment where Walter fights back against society, and he becomes a man.
On the contrary The Tragedy of Hamlet takes place in the late middle ages with the royal family of Denmark. The agon of the play would be the protagonist Hamlet, against his uncle and now stepfather, King Claudius. Hamlet has many suicidal thoughts throughout the play and is very unstable.
He kills Polonius which later leads to his own demise. Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius earlier in the play but second guesses himself, as he lacked the mental strength. After Claudius accidentally poisons Hamlet’s mother, Hamlet finally finds the strength to kill Claudius, pouring poison in his ear; the same way Claudius killed his father. The agon is settled, but Hamlet later dies from a poisonous stab wound by Laertes.
There is a lot of tension in the Youngers household. Walter finds out that his wife is pregnant and considering an abortion, he does not know what his mother is going to do with the insurance check and his sister is in medical school. The situation which sets Walter over the edge, is when he finds out that he lost the $6,500 because Willy Harris stole it from him. The situation later settles when Walter invites Mr. Lindner to accept the buy out for the house but instead, he tells him they will still be moving in. Mr.Lindner and the new house represent a deeper meaning, they represent a society which oppresses the black community in America. It is at this moment where Walter fights back against society, and he becomes a man.
On the contrary The Tragedy of Hamlet takes place in the late middle ages with the royal family of Denmark. The agon of the play would be the protagonist Hamlet, against his uncle and now stepfather, King Claudius. Hamlet has many suicidal thoughts throughout the play and is very unstable.
He kills Polonius which later leads to his own demise. Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius earlier in the play but second guesses himself, as he lacked the mental strength. After Claudius accidentally poisons Hamlet’s mother, Hamlet finally finds the strength to kill Claudius, pouring poison in his ear; the same way Claudius killed his father. The agon is settled, but Hamlet later dies from a poisonous stab wound by Laertes.
Although both plots are very different, Hamlet and Walter have some similarities. Both men have an end goal in sight; Hamlet’s is to kill Claudius and Walter’s being to move his family out of their small dingy apartment and to find success. Walter’s success did not come in the form of money and status, it came in the form of pride and dignity. Although Hamlet and Walter have some similarities, they are extremely different from each other. Hamlet follows Aristotle’s expectation of The Tragic Hero, a wealthy powerful and noble man who experiences an internal conflict of a tragic flaw. Whereas Walter is quite the opposite, he is a poor, common man who experiences an external conflict in his social environment, following Miller’s expectation. Both men embody the characteristics of a hero, but only one truly is a hero. Hamlet is not a hero as he struggles to avenge his father’s death, he completes the task but it results in his demise, and in the process the demise of four innocent people. Walter is a hero, he struggles to find happiness and positivity in life, but with all the difficulties he and his family experience they are able to express what is most important in life; pride and dignity for who they are.
Communication is not only a problem for Hamlet...
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In Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, Hamlet's mind is his worst enemy and is what leads to his eventual demise. It is very evident that Hamlet suffers from depression and other mental issues. His obsession with death is made know throughout his many soliloquies about murder and suicide.
Hamlet has a difficult time expressing his feelings for Ophelia and eventually kills her. He is unable to express any emotions even with his mother. Hamlet loses his mind with his mother when confronting her about his father's death; months after his death.
Not only does Hamlet have an obsession with death, but he also has an issue with communication. His inability to communicate his thoughts to his family and friends, leads to misunderstanding and his road into depression.
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In both Hamlet and A Raisin in the Sun the protagonists have issues communicating with their friends, family and even themselves. In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Walter is going through troubled stage in his marriage and does not get along with his mother and sister.
Walter's wife Ruth, finds out that she is pregnant but is considering an abortion due to their financial situation. Walter has trouble expressing his feelings about her pregnancy and about his business ideas. Walter believes that no one in his family wants to support his business endeavours and that no one believes in him.
Communication in the Youngers household can be seen as a problem, but as the play progresses Walter and his family begin to come together. The factor which brings them together is the purchase of their new home.
Unlike The Tragedy of Hamlet, in A Raisin in the Sun there is a coming together and sense of family unlike the Hamlet and the Royal family of Denmark.
Walter's wife Ruth, finds out that she is pregnant but is considering an abortion due to their financial situation. Walter has trouble expressing his feelings about her pregnancy and about his business ideas. Walter believes that no one in his family wants to support his business endeavours and that no one believes in him.
Communication in the Youngers household can be seen as a problem, but as the play progresses Walter and his family begin to come together. The factor which brings them together is the purchase of their new home.
Unlike The Tragedy of Hamlet, in A Raisin in the Sun there is a coming together and sense of family unlike the Hamlet and the Royal family of Denmark.
Behind Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun
In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun she demonstrates the struggles of Black people in America in the 1950s. Lorraine came from an elite family, but lived in a working class black community. She did not want to exhibit her family in the play, instead she wanted to exhibit the more common family from her community. This is where the Youngers family stems from, a black working class family, in an extremely segregated Chicago. When Walter Youngers and his family are encouraged not to move into the white neighbourhood of Clybourne Park he moves in anyway. This is the what Lorraine Hansberry's family experienced as well. Walter Youngers was acting as her father did in real life. There is a great amount of passion put into this play because of its significance. A Raisin in the Sun demonstrates how many black people lived and suffered in the United States in the 1950s. Racism in America was extremely present then, and sadly it is still very present today.
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