Essay Sample:
Although there are three and a half
centuries and a continent between Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and William Shakespeare’s Othello – thematically, the two dramas turn out to be surprisingly similar.
Both plays speak to social issues, addressing racism, generational conflict, and
traditional gender roles.
Hansberry’s 1959 play centers on
themes of cultural stereotyping and racism, as does Shakespeare’s tragedy of 1604.
Walter Lee, Hansberry’s African American protagonist, confronts the same sort
of racial discrimination from the neighborhood association’s Mr. Lindner as the
Moor of Venice and his ongoing confrontation with Iago. The destructive effect
of internalized racism is also presented in both works. At one point, late in A Raisin in the Sun, Walter is so broken
by the weight of circumstances beyond his control, he becomes convinced that he is as
worthless as the grinning caricature of Black minstrelsy. Likewise, in the
final act of Othello, the mighty military leader is brought to his knees by a
distorted self-image. Certainly Othello has been weakened by the treachery of
others, but he is finally felled by the sword of his own self-perception as having
all along been the stereotypical black “heathen” who – by nature – would
corrupt and destroy so pure and perfect a jewel as Desdemona.
Each work by Hansberry and Shakespeare
explores the ideas of breaking with tradition and the battle between
generations. Just as Desdemona is at odds with her father over the matter of
her marriage to Othello, Walter’s sister, Beneatha, is at odds with her mother in
A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha and
Willy are warned to show respect for tradition or suffer the consequences. This
is an echo of the warning given to Othello by Desdemona’s father, Brabantio. The
theme of generational conflict is also found in the age difference between
Othello and his maiden bride.
Socially acceptable gender roles – and
specifically, the expected “woman’s place” in society – is examined in Hansberry’s
text and the Bard’s tragedy. Shakespeare makes it clear that Desdemona has eloped
with Othello. The young woman’s strategic choice to secretly marry is more than
just a break with social tradition, it is a skillful use of the customs and
common laws that favor the rights of a husband over those of a father.
Desdemona knows that, having already been legally married, should Brabantio wish
to fight about it, he would have to do battle with “her lord” Othello. Lorraine Hansberry focuses on gender through
the interwoven pressures driving the drama’s three main female characters: Ruth,
the struggling new wife, Beneatha, the liberated sister with aspirations; and
Lena, the matriarch desperate to maintain her family.
Racism, generational conflict and gender
role expectations are not uncommon themes. Still, it is remarkable to consider that
these three themes are common to A Raisin
in the Sun and Othello, despite
the enormous time and distance separating Lorraine Hansberry and William
Shakespeare.
