DRAFT 1:

Comparing and Contrasting Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun by
Lorraine Hansberry.

When it comes to American dream, there are many different interpretations and degrees
of success. Many people in the United States never achieve their dreams. Arthur Miller’s Death
of a Salesman and Lorraine Hasnberry’s A Raisin in the Sun are two plays which choose to
focus on those who were not successful in their struggle to achieve their dreams. They are
similar in this regard, yet also different. These plays take two very different perspectives on what
factors come into whether or no individuals can achieve their dreams.
The first major difference comes in the form of each play’s title. A Raisin in the Sun is a
line from Langston Hughes’s poem entitled Harlem. This poem discussed dreams and “dreams
deferred.” More specifically, what happens when dreams are “deferred,” comparing them to
shriveled raisins, stale sweets, and festering sores. This title and its context helps establish
what the play meant to the author and the ideas Hasnberry was striving to communicate to her
audience. That is, the dreams of Black Americans have been deferred for so long that they
could easily be described by any of the descriptions provided in Harlem.
Death of a Salesman on the other hand has a very different meaning when it comes to
the dreams and desires of the main characters. In the play itself, this specific order of words is
only mentioned or alluded to once by any of the characters. This one time was by Willy, while
discussing why he wanted to become a traveling salesman. Willy’s inspiration died, and had a
massive funeral as a result of all the people he had come to know and love. This is contrasted
within the same play by Willy, who received no such attention or recognition at his funeral. Not
only that, but Willy was likely selling something much different than goods around the time of his
death. Lies. The title in this context fits very well with Willy and his character. By constantly
selling lies to the people around him, Willy has sealed the circumstances of his own death to
some degree.
Undoubtedly, Lorraine Hasnberry was very focused on race issues when writing A Raisin
in the Sun. This is clear right from the start of the play. Merely having the main characters be
Black Americans immediately gives the reader and/or audience clues into what is likely to occur
within the play. In particular, what will get in the way of the main character’s dreams. However,
something that was perhaps a little different than most stories and/or articles concerning race
was the perspective at which Hansberry told her story. Throughout the play, she never really
portrayed any of her characters as hateful or spiteful towards another race, with the possible
exception of Bennethea, who would frequently speak about the civil rights movement. The only
white person in the play was in fact, Mr. Lidner. He, unlike many portrayals of white people in
mostly black stories, treated the youngers with what appeared to be the same respect as he
would have with a white family. His message was also not one born of hatred towards black
people, it was more so a message of safety concerns surrounding a black family moving into a
white neighborhood and the civil unrest that was occurring at the time. Now, this may not have
been the case, but considering how Mr. Lidner treated the Youngers [with respect], it is safe to
say that he held no real animosity towards them. Of course, this scene has numerous
interpretations and each reader may find one that is different or opposing to the one previously
mentioned.
On the same topic of perspective, Hansberry also included the next door neighbor in A
Raisin in the Sun. Mrs. Johnson is an example of a black person who believed in waiting for life
to get better rather than striving to make things better for herself. This was clearly apparent from
her single appearance in the play. Her attitude towards the Youngers moving to a white
neighborhood was quite apparent, with lines such as, “Did you hear about the bombings in that
white neighborhood when blacks tried moving in? It was all over the colored newspaper!” The
presence of this style of character helps make the play feel more realistic to a reader. In our
modern society, there are caricatures surrounding blacks and whites. Stereotypes, if you will.
Other stories and plays concerning race often surround this concept. To kill a mockingbird,
aspects of Huckleberry Finn, and 12 years a slave are all examples of stories which lean into
this stereotype to varying degrees. Now, the stereotype clearly exists and has existed, but
Hansberry's decision not to lean into these stereotypes makes A Raisin in the Sun somewhat
different to the aforementioned stories and perhaps more realistic and relatable. Opposition to
choices can come from anywhere, even places where you may least expect it, and that is
apparent from the inclusion of Mrs. Johnson.
A Death of a Salesman both contrasts and mirrors the idea of racism and respect in A
Raisin in the Sun. Willy (the main character) is clearly not respected by anyone in the play.
Especially not by his son, Biff. In this regard, Willy somewhat mirrors Walter, who also receives
little to no respect from the people around him. Sure, the families of both Willy and Walter
[mostly] love them, but love is not the same thing as respect. Willy, being a white man, was
inevitably more successful than Walter. This being a result of educational, occupation, and the
ever mentioned racial differences and tensions between blacks and whites at the time(s) each
play is set in. Yet, even though he was white, he never truly fulfilled his dream. This contrasts A
Raisin the Sun, white clearly shows racism and its associated issues as the primary reason no
one achieves their dreams. A Death of a Salesman instead focuses on what a lack of good
parenting, spite, and abandonment can do for a child as they grow up into adulthood. Willy
never truly knew his father, and as a result did not know how to raise Biff and Happy as they
grew up. He didn’t even have an older brother to even act like a father for him. This fatherhood
issue then translated to Willy’s children, who were raised improperly because Willy did not know
how to raise them. This will likely continue for generations to come, and all because Willy’s
father and brother essentially abandoned him as a young age.
This is contrasted by Walter and Ruth, and Mama in A Raisin in the Sun. These
characters demonstrate that parenting was not the reason why they didn’t really see their
dreams come to fruition. For Walter especially so. He had a father who was around until he
died, and he appears to be raising Travis in a way that is far better than how Willy was raising
Biff and Happy.
Lastly, there is the major case of gender roles and how they are different in these two
plays. A Raisin in the Sun displays three strong women surrounding Walter, who wants to be a
strong father for his son, who has been taught to lead the household and seek the best for his
family. The issue with this was that being surrounded by such strong women meant that he
received little to no respect until he openly shared his thoughts and emotions on the topic with
Lena. This is contrasted by Linda in A Death of a Salesman, who almost has no power, and
what power she does have, if left unused. This is shown through her inability to stand up to
Willy, he inability to remove the gas hose, and her almost encouraging or doing nothing about
Willy’s obvious attempts to commit suicide. These two plays demonstrate that gender roles are
a delicate balance that, once disrupted, can cause a long line of issues. If one is too strong
and/or the other is not strong enough, then that is an issue for the entire family and potentially
generations to come.
In conclusion, there are numerous separations between Death of a Salesman and A
Raisin in the Sun. Everything stemmed from a lack of respect towards certain characters in the
story. Willy never received respect from anyone, and Walter could not get any respect from his
family, aside from maybe Travis and Ruth. This lack of respect did nothing to help their
situations and ended up nearly tearing their families apart. It is likely that had there been more
respect between various characters, dreams may have been more achievable.