Happy Turban Tuesday!

So I thought this play was nice. I mean, it was cool and stuff because, yay black people and civil rights and stuff, but I feel like I've read many similar classics like it in that same niche of "I'm an African-American author writing about African-American struggles in a real, down-to-earth, yet entertaining way." To Kill A Mockingbird jumps to mind first. Though they're different, they're really the same. I really enjoyed To Kill A Mockingbird and I thought A Raisin in the Sun was pleasant, but I just felt some redundancies. I guess the best stories really have already been told, it's just the spin you put on it that makes it special. I've read countless hero cycle stories too, so I guess I can't complain too much. Meh. Mah thots r awwsum sumtimez.

We should read some boring Limey Literature next that doesn't include

William of Shakespeare.

Gaze into my Bottomless Bellybutton! - $5.00

How is dramatic suspense created?

Suspense in this play, unlike others, is not caused by the withholding of information from the audience or characters, because everybody knows just about everything that goes on. Rather, the suspense is created from the poem from which the play takes its name. "A Dream Deferred" is utilized as throughout the play, tension is created from the chasing of the dreams of the family. Each person's dream is put off for some time, such as Walter's dream of owning a liquor store, Mama's dream of owning a nice house, and Beneatha's dream of becoming a doctor which causes tension to steamroll, especially with Walter. Sometimes the scene is joyous and then swiftly changes to moody and reflective. It is in these shifts too that suspense is created. The realistic portrayal of a poor African-American family in itself also causes some suspense in that at the time, it may have been a taboo topic in plays, and when applied to modern times, is still often a sore spot as a large percentage of the poor are minorities which plays into their mistreatment Pre-Civil Rights Movement.

Now THAT'S a "Dream Deferred"

Pills for Everyone!

What themes does the play present?

I think the main theme of the play is the value of dreams, especially because "A Raisin in the Sun" refers to "A Dream Deferred." Also, although a raisin may shrivel in the sun, I really think a grape would be more prone to do that then turn into a raisin, so really the play should be called "A Grape in the Sun that could Turn Into a Raisin." But pursuing dreams is the driving force behind the plot. "Daring to Dream" and "Following One's Dream" usually carry a lot of weight with people, especially those crazy theater types, so the weight of the theme is felt throughout the play which increases the pleasure of the performance. And because it isn't kind of a watered-down "Golly gee Ma, I wish we done had a house so's we can rise above the white man's oppression" kind of plot due to it's well thought out and profound writing and actions given in stage directions, the didactic aspects of it seem well implemented and leave the audience with a sense of wanting themselves to (hopefully) implement social change. Just bashing the oppression of African-Americans and constantly beating what would have been a mostly white audience with that would have had a negative effect on the play and I would probably have never read it because it wouldn't have made it past opening night.

Unlike this play, the milk is going a wee bit curdy. 

You may be cool, but you'll never be four popped collars cool.

So the big ending when Laura blew those sticks of wax out and Tom was all moody and "Laura, I can't quit you!" (Did that just happen? Oh yeah.) has me all in the speculative mood. So let's start with what I noticed, because that's what good readers do, or something. Light, and sometimes lack of it, played a large role in the play. You could say it was the lead! Ahahahaha! But many times, light cues were used, and lighting was described, such as a pale red light coming from the new floor lamp that illuminated Laura's beauty that wasn't there normally, a reference to a pleasant lemon yellow light, the light shining on their father's picture, the electricity going out, and a reference to Benjamin Franklin when he found electricity, the sheer beauty when light was shone on one of Laura's glass pieces, and many more that would just brighten your day. So after Laura's kind of transformation, as physically represented with the unicorn losing its horn, Laura, who is represented as a glass figurine of sorts, blows out her dim candles that wouldn't quite illuminate her as brilliantly as a light bulb. So blowing out her candles, though usually kind of a bad symbol is actually quite positive because she's moved to the brilliance of electrical light, which was kind of a big deal back then because it was new-fangled for the general consuming public. This is made evident by the line "For nowadays the world is lit by lightning!" which I believe references to Benjamin Franklin doin' his thang with his kite and key and lightning and electricity and light bulbs. So now Laura's happy and shtuff and that's cool.

Can I get a double dang for that in-depth analysis?

Go big money!

When someone asks you "What is creepy?" the correct answer is "teeth."

Does the play employ realistic or nonrealistic conventions? Etc, etschm (et schmetera)...

Seeing as this was a really important topic in class, I thought I might like to regurgitate and expand on what was discussed. What was realistic or nonrealistic (surrealistic would be a better word because nonrealistic isn't a word, but don't tell the book or it'll get it's posse of people with Ph.D.'s in stuff that don't matter to sic you [as a further aside, I used the word "sic" in this post and last post in two different ways. Go me!]) <----punctuation logjam - in this play was not a measure of how much I liked it, because it interwove realism and *sigh* nonrealism and outright told the audience to which it was being presented that, hey guys, this play is going to be a bit surrealistic sometimes and I'm down with that. What made it what critics would call to make you go see it "masterfully written" was the seamless stitching of recognizable, very relatable events for most people such as family strife and inner struggles with the inherent nonrealism that comes with plays to enhance the (...unity?) dramatic experience, such as the passing of time, breaking the fourth wall by addressing the audience, and having music and light cues. There are quite a few jokes in this post that may only make sense to me, but that's okay, I'm a unique glass unicorn...

...who pukes rainbows!

I motion to change "catfish" to "freakingradfish."

Identify the protagonist(s) and antagonist(s). Are there any foil characters? Etc, etc, etc...

Well, dearest question of brain-probeyness, Imma go out on a limb and say that dear Laura was our protagonist. But the kicker here is that Amanda, Tim, and the internal conflict of Laura and family issues were the antagonists. Dios mio, some-a those ain't peeple! Oh you're so complex, Tennessee Williams, with your intangible antagonists. But I did like the foil characters. Laura was a foil to Jim in that she was introverted and we all felt sad for her and Jim is all "I take night classes on speaking good [sic]," and Laura was a loner in high school and Jim was all popular and full of coolness. Though not a foil, an "anti-foil" (double negative? yes.) if you will, and you do will, was Tim and his father. It is made evident that they are incredibly alike in their nature for adventure, listlessness, and inclination to alkeyhol which makes us all like "ohhh nooooo, he gon' destrooy this here family by leavin' 'em all high and dry like." And he did leave them, but Laura blew out her candles, so it's cool everyone, don't freak out.

Also, this song will stay in your head for forever but is totally worth your time.