During this course Lit /210 I have read many selections and many types of genres such as novels,

poetry, and plays. However the main two that caught my eye were two dramas that we read this course. The first play was A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry which relates to the author life because Lorraine Hansberry was a Recognizable autobiographical , Lorraine was born in a neighborhood of Southside of Chicago . During this time period they enforced the separation of whites, and blacks was still legal and widespread through the south. An in the play A Raisin in the Sun they had to deal with racial problems and many struggles. It was also hard for them to get a new home because they were black and was trying to move into a white neighborhood. The second play is Oedipus Rex which is the second of Sophocles three Theban plays. However, both plays are similar and different in their own ways. These two plays were written in two different time periods using many different techniques. These two authors have written many different plays however, it seem like these two plays stood out the most. Both plays have two very important messages throughout the themes of each story. A theme is a universal ideas explored in literary work. A Theme can sometime be a message that may be about life, society, or human nature. The authors task is to communicate on a common ground with the reader. Most times readers take the message in the theme and apply it today their own life today. The play a Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry was written in 1959. The setting of this play was in the Southside of Chicago. Hansberry purpose is to describe an African American family daily lifestyle and troubles during the time period segregation and death. Lena Younger, mama, receives an insurance check of 10,000 for her husband death. The family begins to have conflict because Lena wants to use the money to put down payment on a house and give the rest of the money they have left for her daughter Beneatha college tuition. However her son Walter

does not agree that the money should be wasted on a new house. He thinks that he should receive all of the money and invest the money into a liquor store with his friends. He thinks it will help the family financial problem. On the other hand, Beneatha, mamas daughter wants use the money for her medical tuition. Finally, mama put a down payment on a house for the whole family. The house is in Clybourne Park, an entirely white neighborhood. Mr. Linder, from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association offers the younger family money in return for staying away from Clybourne Park. The younger refuse the deal, even after Walter went ahead and invests the rest of the money into the liquor store with his friends and his friends runs off with the cash. The youngers eventually moved out of the apartment. They believe they can succeed if they stick together as a family. Hansberry names the play after a line in the poem "Harlem" by the great Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. In the poem, Hughes asks: "What happens to a dream deferred? / does it dry up/ like a raisin in the sun?" Even though in the play not one raisin is mentioned the play does in clued a family with a lot of multiple deferred dreams.

The theme most prominent in A Raisin in the sun is Racism and The importance of family. As a family the youngers goes through a lot of struggle both socially and economically. After facing the death of their father they all came together to work past each struggle that came toward them. They learned if they begin to put family wishes before their own individual dreams it will help them accomplish their own individually wishes they have for their future. The reason I say theme of this play is also racism is because A Raisin in the Sun is a play that include Americans who happen to be black and explores how the fact of their race stop them from

accomplishing their dreams A Raisin in the Sun also demonstrates how race can complicate the American Dream. Hansberry uses symbolism with mama plant that sits in the window which represents mamas care and hr dream for her family. She takes goose care of the plant However, it never gets enough light or water, but she takes pride in how it has not furnishes under her care. Her care for her plant is similar to her care for her children, the planet also symbolizes her dream to own a house, and have a garden and a yard. She uses her plant to practice gardning skills. Her success with the plant helps her believe she would be a successful as a Gardner. Dramatic irony was used numerous times on this play. One example of dramatic irony was when water gave all his money that Lena gave him from his father death to his friend Willy to invest in a liquor store. However, when, Bobo, one of the business partners come to the youngers apartment to inform Walter of the plan. Bobo informs Walter that Willy didnt show u to follow through with the business plan. The other character become aware of the problem before Walter acknowledges it. Which seem as though Walter had lost two important things in his life? Oedipus Rex is a play written by Sophocles in 429 BC. The setting of this play is in Thebes, and ancient Greek town. At the beginning of the play Oedipus is worried about the plague in Thebes. This was caused by the last king Laiuss death murder. King Oedipus himself begins to try to find the murder and seek revenge against him. Teieresias, and old prophet, speaks to Oedipus about something with Oedipus revelation was to murder his father which actually turns out to be King Laius. His father knew that Oedipus would murder him therefore he abandoned him as a baby. King Oedipus also learns that his wife Jocasta, the queen is actually

his mother. At the end of the play the queen commits suicide and Oedipus blinds himself and is begging to be exiles. He also asks Creon, his brother in law, to send him away from Thebes and look after his daughters, Antigone and Ismene. The theme of Oedipus rex is the limits of freewill. Also the fate of King Oedipus was illustrated as part of the theme. His fate was to kill his father and mother. He actually did end up murdering his father and marry his mother and later on casue her to kill herself. He did not know that they were his parents to begin with because they gave him away to a royal family of Corinth. Sophocles uses the scar on Oedipus foot with his childhood for symbolism. The authors portraying all of the terrible things that came to Oedipus when was younger and what his fate for his adulthood. Sopochels also use three way crossroads to symbolize fate and the awesome power of prophecy rather than freedom and choice. When Oedipus finally sees the terrible truth of his life, He decides to go home and stab out his eyes. Oedipus says he does this because he can no longer look on the horrors that his actions have made Oedipus becomes the thing he's always been: blind. In Oedipus Rex the first time dramatic irony occurred is when king Oedipus promised the towns people he would find king Lauiss murder and seek revenge against him and rid the town of the plague when in reality he is the murder of the king his father, and is seeking revenge among himself. Sophocles also used dramatic irony in the play Oedipus Rex when his parent gave him away at birth because they knew that he would grow up and kill them when he get older. However, when he got older he did not know that King Lauis and Queen Jocasta was his father and mother that he had killed.

Both a Raisin in the sun and Oedipus Rex considered a tragic drama. A tragedy is a story where a character is killed by a person weakness. In Oedipus Rex, the most tragic is when Oedipus killed his father which affected his mother. However, at the same rime his other was actually his wife so when she realizes that Oedipus knew that they gave him away at birth and that her husband was dean she strangles herself and he ends up blinding himself. At the end of this causes the tone of the story to change. On the other hand, when the father dies in A Raisin in the Sun, it affects the whole family to the point where each of them had to learn how to work together as family. Most time plays that end in a tragedy most likely have a very somber tone. A somber tone means that they are depressed or upset about something. Both plays have somber tone at one point in the play in the play. A Raisin in the Sun is an American theater. American theater was the immediate way to model and articulate black Consuioness. However, no other author could have predicted the popular success that came from A Raisin in the sun which was very popular in American theater during its time period. Oedipus Rex is Greek theater most theater were tragic and satyr. They were also based on related or unrelated mythologicial events. Most of their performance lasted several hours and were held during the daytime. Sometime Greek plays only had three actors they used different mask to play different roles. The three actors could be all amen therefore they would have to play women to in the play.