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Personification
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
A Raisin in the Sun takes place entirely inside a two-bedroom apartment within a predominantly Black area of Chicago’s South Side. The apartment is described in incredible detail in the stage notes and through the character's interactions.
The setting of A Raisin in the Sun is incredibly important, both because of the above and because the central tension of the play—what Mama Younger should spend the $10,000 insurance check on—ends with the purchasing of a house in a predominately white neighborhood. The fact that the play takes place within the apartment creates a sense of confinement that is touched on throughout the play, whether through Big Walter feeling trapped before his death or through the various dreams that involve getting out of the house specifically.
The setting, as well as the dream of moving to a house, portrays the harsh reality of segregation in the 1950s: Black Americans risked their lives and sometimes even estranged their community if they moved into predominantly white neighborhoods. Ultimately, the setting informs some of the specific figurative language used in the play: for example, a lack of sun in the home represents a lack of that which is necessary to prosper and thrive.
Related Themes:
