The Rasin in the Sun and ¨Let America be America Again¨ ESSAY

Evidently the American Dream, the ideal that every citizen of the United States should have
an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and
initiative. The theme of both poems that is being portrayed in the play A Rasin in the Sun the
author Hansberry tells us about a family where each has an American Dream, and in the poem ¨
Let America be America Again¨ is telling us to let America be the America that was free for us to
obtain the American Dream. The similarities they share between the Dream is "Money is Life¨.
¨ A Raisin in the Sun¨ is essentially about dreams, as the main characters struggle to deal
with the oppressive circumstances that rule their lives. The title of the play references a
conjecture that Langston Hughes famously posed in a poem he wrote about dreams that were
forgotten or put off. He wonders whether those dreams shrivel up “like a raisin in the sun.” Every
member of the Younger family has a separate, individual dream, Beneatha wants to become a
doctor, for example, and Walter wants to have money so that he can afford things for his family.
The Youngers struggle to attain these dreams throughout the play, and much of their happiness
and depression is directly related to their attainment of, or failure to attain, these dreams. By the
end of the play, they learn that the dream of a house is the most important dream because it
unites the family.
¨ Let America Be America Again¨ is showing that not everyone has experienced the freedom
of the American Dream. With the asides at the poems beginning, the speaker shows how
completely different some experiences may have been. The overall message in ¨Let America Be
America Again" is that the American Dream is not truly relized because not everyone can attain
it. The American Dream is a concept that says anyone can become who they want to be in
America. If that is not true then therefore the American Dream is not possible.