Oftentimes, authors rely on a specific rhetorical strategy to develop a theme in a story. In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry implements a myriad of rhetorical strategies, including personification, imagery, and symbolism, to convey the poverty the Younger family lives in.
Early on in the play, readers can sense the atmosphere of poverty through ample uses of personification. Hansberry emphasizes a couch which has been present in the Younger household before the birth of Mama's offspring. She says the couch "has to fight to show itself from under acres of crocheted doilies and couch covers" (23). The worn, ancient couch portrays the extensive length of time that it has been around.
The incorporation of imagery also exemplifies the struggle the Younger's are encountering. Hansberry describes a "sole natural light which fights its way through this little window" (24). The "little" window Hansberry describes correlates to a home in the slums (24). Hansberry also references how the Younger's share one bathroom. She explains the bathroom is "an outside hall... which is shared by another family or families on the same floor" (25). It is clear that such a bathroom is found in predominantly impoverished areas.
Beneatha symbolizes opportunity and hope. She has aspirations "to be a doctor" (36). Beneatha's dream of becoming a doctor merely represents the potential for the Younger's to move out of Chicago's Southside. A medical school's cost is expectantly high, but such an opportunity for Beneatha will remove her family from the slums.
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| Beneatha Younger |
Hansberry appears to have a vast amount of rhetorical strategies in her literary toolbox, so readers can expect to witness more and more from her as the story continues.
As well as the rhetorical strategies you mentioned, Hansberry uses similes to help the reader understand concepts through familiar comparisons. Ruth is not just tired, she is "sleepy as the devil" (26). Shortly after waking up, Walter wanders in, "still more oriented to sleep than to a new day" (26). Rather than simply saying he was tired or groggy she chooses to use a metaphor to not only express his current state, but to also state his level of alertness or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteAnother rhetorical strategy Hansberry employs is allusion, like in the description of Mama: "Her bearing is perhaps most like the noble bearing of the women of the Hereros of Southwest Africa--rather as if she imagines that as she walks she still bears a basket or a vessel upon her head." (39). This use of allusion gives the reader a mental picture of the manner in which Mama holds herself, and in that way amplifies Mama's characterization.
ReplyDeleteNot only does the imagery portray the struggle that the Youngers encounter in the South Side of Chicago, but it also helps in the defining of each character. Through lines of descriptive and vivid text, Lorraine Hansberry puts readers through a realistic view of what each character is like. On page 31, it is apparent that Ruth and Walter have some tension with each other: "...Walter Lee peeks around the boy to catch the violent rays from his wife's eyes and draws his head back as if shot." This example of imagery shows us that the couple has disagreements that lead to negative feelings towards each other.
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