Talk:A Raisin in the Sun

Title
I'm pretty sure that aaron is the bomb and we are doing good on this article is a reference and quote from the Poem "A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes. Need to find citation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.40.26.78 (talk) 19:35, 23 April 2009 (UTC) The title is from a line from the poem "Harlem" also known as "A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes.

Ms thorton pushed micah out the chair . Re the article on Hansberry's family, they were very wealthy for their time. Seems as if the story was more designed to emotionalize the race struggles and less of a biography of Hansberry's own life. Loraine's father was a real estate man, and spent significant time in Washington courts, something that is not mentioned at all during the story. Any thoughts on this?--Csodennc 15:21, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Errors in quoted section
I've just fixed a couple of grammatical errors in the quote from Lorraine Hansberry's book - a missing apostrophe, an incorrect verb, and so forth. I'm a little hesitant to change what claims to be a direct quote, but judging from the context, Lorraine was very well-spoken, and I doubt her book would have contained such errors in the final edit anyway. I have the feeling these errors were accidentally introduced by someone transcribing the quote into YAHOO. But if I'm wrong (I guess you'd have to check her original text to find out), please let me know, or revert my edits, or both. Thanks.

Jessicapierce 23:33, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Error in Attribution to Philip Rose in Original Broadway Cast Section
The article has a hyperlink attributed to the wrong Philip Rose. There should be added an article for Philip Rose the Broadway Producer. The hyperlink goes to a biography of a 19th Century British Assistant Surgeon.

Ch10023 15:57, 16 May 2007 (UTC) I like guys —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.189.124.94 (talk) 19:33, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Incomplete article
I know nothing of this play, so I came to the article to find out, and found this: "Waiting for the curtain to rise on opening night, Hansberry and producer, Phillip Rose, did not expect the play to be a success, for it had already received mixed reviews from a preview audience the night before"... Then the article ends.

So was it a success? It was on Broadway, but plays on Broadway can fail. Is this article missing a section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.151.122.172 (talk) 16:44, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Sequel
I heard there was a sequel where the new neighborhood starts to deteriorate and it covers the neighborhoods transition from quiet suburb into a blighted ghetto after white flight. Where can i find it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.184.242.64 (talk) 05:56, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Plot?
Happened upon this page, which tells me nothing about the content of the play itself. Perhaps someone can remedy that? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.18.207.113 (talk) 16:15, 2 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Second that (same reason). --Vaughan Pratt (talk) 03:13, 8 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Fixed that, hopefully it gives the general idea. --Vaughan Pratt (talk) 06:12, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

The entire plot section is just lifted from Spark Notes without any attribution. I'm pretty sure copyright infringement is against OP. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.53.244.74 (talk) 14:38, 24 September 2010 (UTC)
 * I just came upon this page, and the above poster is correct. The plot summary is copied verbatim from . I'm not sure what to do about this, but this almost definitely a copyright issue.  Wolfehhgg   (talk)  02:32, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

From SparkNotes: The foregoing licenses do not include any rights to:
 * compile, repackage, disseminate or otherwise use data extracted from the SparkNotes Site. Yopienso (talk) 03:50, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

The current plot section is the result of this edit of 13 March 2010, which simply substituted the SparkNotes version for the existing plot section without explanation. It replaced essentially what I wrote on 8 September 2009, which as can be seen from the "View history" tab at top right (of the article, not this talk page) evolved over the course of 22 edits.

Not that the SparkNotes version is worse, in fact it includes details I omitted, though it says nothing at all about either the contrast between George and Joseph or how they jointly define Walter, without which the plot falls apart into two unrelated stories.

Unless there are any strenuous objections I propose to restore the version immediately prior to the 13 March 2010 substitution. --Vaughan Pratt (talk) 20:18, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

Incidentally this page gives 2002 as the date to associate with the SparkNotes article on Raisin in the Sun, which is at least consistent with SparkNotes' foundation year of 1999. (Barnes and Noble acquired SparkNotes in 2001 for $3.5M.) That and the evidence of the article's history page would seem to make Wikipedia the one at fault here, and moreover to say something about Wikipedia's methodology for catching copyright violations --- this particular one was able to survive for two years! --Vaughan Pratt (talk) 21:24, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

Since there were no objections during the past month I restored the old version as promised above. --Vaughan Pratt (talk) 03:30, 9 May 2012 (UTC)

The plot section has eliminated Ruth Younger, who serves a vital role. Her willingness to abort a baby they can't afford to have is a stark reminder of what's been sacrificed when Walter Lee gambles -- and loses -- their money. This section should be updated to show that. Additionally, it's Ruth that insists they HAVE to move; her passion, her *desperation*, is driven by the fear that the four walls of that tenement will see the end of her family. Despite the physical stress doing other people's laundry places her under, she offers to work relentlessly to get the family -- especially her son -- into something better (not to mention giving her husband a small victory to help save their relationship and their marriage). This, too, should be referenced in the plot summary. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1003:B021:A665:3542:2DE9:B0C7:C81 (talk) 13:59, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

Uncertain of one thing
Moments ago, I added a bit in the 1989 adaptation section on "12 year-old Tupac" playing the role of "Travis". I'm wondering if the two sources aren't reliable, as Tupac wasn't 12 years old in 1989. Something's iffy, or maybe I'm perceiving it wrong. Can someone look into this? Lord Sesshomaru (talk • edits) 19:14, 7 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Here you go, 2 refs:
 * LA Times
 * Google Books
 * Yopienso (talk) 04:32, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Indeed. According to Golus Tupac played Travis in a 1983 stage performance of Raisin at Harlem's Apollo Theater. --Vaughan Pratt (talk) 21:32, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

MF Doom song
This: In the 2004 album MM...Food by MF Doom (musician), the song Guinessess features a sample from the film Raisin in the Sun, seems spurious to me. Please do not restore without both a reference and a reason why it should be included in the article. Thanks! Yopienso (talk) 04:16, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Copyright matters
Hi all. I understand some concern has been expressed about this page and its (in many passages) verbatim similarity to this page at the web site for a Nashville, Alabama (USA) theatre group. It's unclear at this point whether they copied from us, without attribution, or we copied from them, also without attribution. I've asked our resident copyright expert, to opine, and advise us how to proceed, by responding here. The relevant copyright policy page is here. If we need to contact the theatre group to sort this, there's a contact page, with e-mail addresses, on their web site.

Btw, I'll just add that if anyone has any free time, and can answer any of the basic questions that so many new users pose on her talk page, I'm sure Moonriddengirl would welcome any polite "talk page stalker" help assistance that any of us could offer from time to time. The time she has available to contribute here is, imo, used more productively dealing with copyright issues and policy, a pretty complex area, than with dealing with the usual help desk sorts of questions. Best, –  OhioStandard  (talk) 06:06, 19 April 2011 (UTC)


 * User Peridon has helpfully commented about this on his talk page,saying, "One of those tricky ones. There's no copyright marking on the site, but also no acknowledgement or date or free licence. It is laid out in a rather WP style - would take a dig into the history to see how our article has evolved. It's much clearer when things arrive in a lump." –  OhioStandard  (talk) 12:15, 19 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I'm convinced we're in the clear. :) See evidence in the template at the top of the page. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 16:56, 19 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Thank you, Moonriddengirl. So, that means the presumption that the 1961 film wasn't nominated for any Oscars in order to avoid [inflaming] racial tensions is unsourced. Right? And should be deleted. Yopienso (talk) 17:38, 19 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't know whether Moonriddengirl will reply further, Yopienso, but my answer to your question is "yes". It may very well have been the case that no Academy Award was given for the reason supposed in the passage, but we can't say so just because we think it likely. I've gone ahead and deleted the passage, in this edit. Cheers, –  OhioStandard  (talk) 07:59, 20 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks, OS. Yopienso (talk) 09:22, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

This will all be moot if no one objects to my proposal at the end of Plot? above. The article's current plot section shows hallmarks of having been lifted from elsewhere (one single edit on 13 March 2010, as opposed to the more customary series of edits developing the section such as those of 8 September 2009), making it highly likely that Wikipedia is not "in the clear." --Vaughan Pratt (talk) 20:41, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

Ambiguity in 'Plot' section
“George represents the "fully assimilated black man" who denies his African heritage with a "smarter than thou" attitude, which Beneatha finds disgusting, while dismissively mocking Walter's lack of money and education.”

Who is mocking Walter? George or Beneatha? Harfarhs (talk) 04:18, 30 June 2020 (UTC)