A RAISIN IN THE SUN Essay Prompts for High School ELA

These A Raisin in the Sun essay prompts are designed for grades 9-12 ELA. They cover Hansberry’s themes, characterization, author’s craft, historical context, and personal response. The prompts are organized by when they work best in the unit — before reading, during reading, and after reading.

Before Reading: Essay Prompts on the American Dream and Personal Values

The pre-reading lessons for A Raisin in the Sun generate some of the richest essay material in the unit. Before students meet the Younger family, they grapple with the same questions Hansberry puts at the center of the play. The following prompts work well as pre-reading essays, personal responses, or anticipation pieces.

The American Dream

James Truslow Adams, who coined the term “American Dream,” described it as “a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

The following prompts invite students to engage with this concept before it appears in the play:

What is the “American Dream”? What are the connotations of this term? Does it mean different things to different people? Write an essay defining and evaluating the concept in your own terms.
What is the legacy of the American Dream? Is it a beautiful reality, a pleasant fantasy, or a destructive lie? Use evidence from history, current events, or your own experience to support your argument.
Does the popularity of the American Dream concept have a positive effect on society, or does faith in the American Dream continually harm generations of Americans? Take a clear position and defend it.
Write an essay responding to this question: Is the American Dream equally available to all Americans? What factors determine who can access it?

Deferred Dreams: Hughes and King

The title of the play comes from Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” (1951), which asks what happens to a dream that is postponed or even denied. Before reading, students compare Hughes’ poem to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech — two treatments of the same subject in very different registers.

Compare the themes of Langston Hughes’ “Harlem” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. What does each author say about the dreams of African Americans? How do the works differ in tone and emphasis?
Hughes asks: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” Write an essay responding to Hughes’ question. Use examples from history, literature, or your own experience.
Both Hughes and King address the experience of African Americans in the United States, but they do so in very different ways. Which author’s approach do you find more powerful? Explain your reasoning with specific reference to both texts.

Personal Values: What Matters Most?

The anticipation guide for A Raisin in the Sun asks students to take positions on statements about money, dignity, heritage, family, and personal ambition — all central to the play. These make strong personal essay springboards.

What are your personal values? What matters most to you in life, and how did you come to hold these values? Write a personal essay exploring one or two of your core beliefs.
Which is more important: financial security or personal dignity? Can a person have both? Write an essay defending your position.
Write an essay responding to this statement: “You cannot put a price on self-respect.” Do you agree? Where does dignity fit in relation to material success?
Is it possible to fully assimilate into a new culture without losing something essential about your identity? Write an essay exploring the tension between assimilation and cultural heritage.
Some people believe that hard work and determination are enough to overcome any obstacle. Others argue that systemic barriers limit what individuals can achieve regardless of effort. Which view is closer to the truth? Write a persuasive essay defending your position.

While Reading: Essay Prompts on Character, Craft, and Conflict

These prompts work best when students are actively engaging with the play. They draw on specific scenes, character moments, and craft elements that reward close reading. Many work well as timed writes, in-class essays, or short analytical responses.

Characterization and Point of View

Each character in A Raisin in the Sun holds a different set of values. Choose three or four characters and write an informative essay explaining their points of view and how their differences create conflict and dramatic tension in the play. Consider organizing the body of your essay by character.
Walter Lee Younger is one of the most coveted roles in American drama. Why? Write an essay analyzing Walter Lee’s character (his values, his contradictions, his arc) and explain what makes him such a rich and demanding role for a performer.
Ruth Younger is sometimes overshadowed by the more spectacular characters. Write an essay arguing her importance to the play. What does Ruth represent? How does Hansberry use her to develop key themes?
Beneatha Younger is frequently described as ahead of her time. Write an essay analyzing Beneatha’s values, ambitions, and conflicts. To what extent does Hansberry use Beneatha to deliver her own views?
Asagai and George Murchison represent opposing perspectives on African heritage and assimilation. Write an essay comparing their points of view and explaining how their contrast develops one of Hansberry’s themes.

Dialogue, Dialect, and Word Choice

Hansberry’s word choice is one of the most distinctive elements of the play. Choose two or three elements of her style (dialect, figurative language, imagery, tone, mood, allusions, or sentence style) and write an essay analyzing how she uses language to characterize, create mood, and establish a sense of time and place.
The stage directions of A Raisin in the Sun are unusually detailed and literary. Write an essay analyzing Hansberry’s word choice in her stage directions. How do the directions differ in tone and style from the dialogue? What is her purpose in writing directions this way?
What effect does the use of dialect have on the reader or viewer of A Raisin in the Sun? Write an essay explaining how Hansberry uses dialect to characterize her characters and create authenticity.
Choose one monologue from A Raisin in the Sun and write a close analysis of Hansberry’s word choice. Identify the specific elements she uses (figurative language, connotation, sound devices, allusion) and explain how her choices create meaning and emotional impact.

Symbolism

Choose one symbolic element in A Raisin in the Sun (Mama’s plant, the insurance check, Beneatha’s hair, light, food, fire, or another of your choosing) and write an essay explaining how Hansberry uses this symbol to develop one or more of her themes. Make sure to analyze specific moments in the play where the symbol appears.
There are no raisins in A Raisin in the Sun. Write an essay explaining the significance of the title. How does the Langston Hughes poem connect to the play’s themes and central conflicts?
Is the main conflict of A Raisin in the Sun primarily external or primarily internal? Write an essay defending your position. Use specific evidence from the plot and from the characters’ inner lives.

Historical Context

Based on evidence from the play, would Lorraine Hansberry align more closely with the views of Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. Du Bois on how African Americans should advance in the face of prejudice? Write an essay defending your interpretation with specific textual evidence.
Lena Younger and Mrs. Johnson argue about Booker T. Washington. What does their argument reveal about the characters’ respective values and points of view? Write an essay analyzing this scene and its significance to the play’s themes.
What must a viewer of A Raisin in the Sun understand about 1950s America in order to fully appreciate the play? Write an essay identifying two or three aspects of historical context (housing discrimination, the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Movement, decolonization in Africa) and explaining how each enriches the meaning of the play.

After Reading: Essay Prompts on Themes, Arguments, and Personal Perspectives

These prompts work best once students have finished the play and had time to discuss it. They require students to synthesize their understanding of the whole work, form and defend interpretations, and connect Hansberry’s writing to their own views.

Theme Essays

A Raisin in the Sun develops themes across a wide range of subjects. The following is a partial list of theme subjects from the play:

Money and greed, family, love, faith, heritage and culture, hopes and dreams, sexism, identity and sense of self, helping others, children, progress, racism, internalized racism, assimilation, dignity and pride, respect, marriage.

Identify one of Lorraine Hansberry’s themes in A Raisin in the Sun and write an essay analyzing how she develops her message. Your essay should identify an accurate theme statement and analyze the theme’s development using specific textual evidence regarding key characters, key dialogue, key scenes, and symbols or motifs.
In your expert opinion, what is the single most important theme to Lorraine Hansberry in A Raisin in the Sun? How do you know? How does she put this message in the spotlight? Write an essay defending your interpretation.
Choose two of Hansberry’s themes and write an essay explaining how they interact and develop together. How does each theme reinforce or complicate the other? What does their interaction reveal about Hansberry’s central message?
Choose one of Hansberry’s themes that you feel strongly about. Write an essay comparing your own view on the subject to Hansberry’s. Where do you agree? Where do you disagree? Use evidence from the play to represent her position accurately.

Racism and Social Justice

“Racism in A Raisin in the Sun essay” is one of the most common searches that leads teachers to this page. The play is one of the richest texts available for teaching students to identify and analyze racism in its many forms.

Hansberry explores how racism takes many forms in A Raisin in the Sun — some explicit and explosive, others subtle and insidious. Write an informative essay explaining how racism operates in the play. Use specific examples from the text, including at least two different forms of racism. Consider Mr. Lindner’s visit, Walter Lee’s comments about African American women, George Murchison’s dismissal of his African heritage, and Mrs. Johnson’s reaction to the family’s plans.
The play illustrates how racism manifests in different forms. Write an essay analyzing how Hansberry portrays systemic racism, internalized racism, and interpersonal racism in the play. How do all three forms operate simultaneously?
Walter Lee rehearses acting out a racist stereotype in order to please Mr. Lindner. This is one of the most difficult and disturbing moments in the play. Write an essay analyzing this scene. Why does Walter Lee do this, what does it cost him, and what does it reveal about the play’s themes on dignity and self-respect?

Feminist Perspective

Author Imani Perry has described Lorraine Hansberry as “a feminist before the feminist movement.” When it comes to gender, A Raisin in the Sun delivers mixed messages. Write an essay arguing for one of the following positions: (a) the play mainly delivers a feminist message, or (b) the play ultimately reinforces traditional gender roles. Use specific evidence from the text to support your argument and address the strongest counterargument.
Beneatha Younger is one of the most complex female characters in American drama. Write an essay analyzing her role in the play. How does Hansberry use Beneatha to explore the intersection of gender, race, and identity? What does Beneatha’s arc suggest about Hansberry’s own views?
Compare the roles of the three women in the Younger household — Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha. Write an essay analyzing how each woman navigates the constraints placed on her and what each character’s choices reveal about Hansberry’s themes.

The American Dream — Revisited After Reading

The Younger family stakes everything on some version of the American Dream. Write an essay arguing whether A Raisin in the Sun ultimately endorses or critiques the concept. Does Hansberry believe in the American Dream? Does the ending of the play support your interpretation of the concept?
Walter Lee’s arc in the play traces the destruction and partial redemption of his faith in the American Dream. Write an essay tracing this arc — where does Walter Lee begin, what does he lose, and what does he ultimately choose? What does his journey suggest about Hansberry’s view of ambition, dignity, and self-determination?

Argument Essays

Your theater company has gone over budget preparing a new production of A Raisin in the Sun. One minor character must be cut: Mr. Lindner, George Murchison, or Mrs. Johnson. Write a proposal arguing which character is least essential to the play. Your argument should explain the importance of the other two characters and anticipate the strongest objection to your choice.
Is A Raisin in the Sun still relevant today? Write an essay arguing for or against the continuing relevance of the play. Address at least two specific elements, a theme, a character, a conflict, or an aspect of historical context, and explain what they do or do not speak to in the present moment.

Hansberry’s Life and the Play

A common piece of writing advice is to “write what you know.” In what ways did Lorraine Hansberry write what she knew in A Raisin in the Sun? In what ways did she diverge from her own experience? Write an essay exploring the connections between her biography and the play. How important is it to know about the author when examining their work?
How important is it to understand Lorraine Hansberry’s identity when reading A Raisin in the Sun? Write an essay arguing for a position on the biographical approach to literary interpretation. Does knowing about the author change how we read the play?

The formatted essay prompt handouts with planning pages, thesis guidance, and organizers are available in the A Raisin in the Sun Projects and Essays product. For the complete unit including 21 lessons, reading quizzes, and a final test, see the A Raisin in the Sun Unit and Materials product.

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M. Towle

M. Towle is a veteran Language Arts and Social Studies teacher with fourteen years of classroom experience in urban schools in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. M. Towle holds an M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies and is the founder of TeachNovels.com.

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