Maybe a little bit snarky.

I am frustrated by all these fake-outs. Where are all the happy endings?

A Raisin in the Sun: Family needs money. Family gets money. Family loses money.

(cop-out resolution to make author feel better: family maintains pride)

The Glass Menagerie: Girl has issues. Girl's brother arranges for gentleman caller. Girl and gentleman "hit it off." Guy remembers he's married. Brother escapes, leaving his mother and sister to their own devices.

(cop-out resolution to make the author feel better: brother haunts sister... for a while.)

Othello: Mmm... the pattern fails here because we know it's a tragedy from the get-go. We all pretty much knew Othello was done for.

Anyway, happy things:

That movie's a lot better than the trailer would indicate. Do not be deceived.

The imagery in that poem still sort of grosses me out.

Speaking of themes....

The theme of A Raisin in the Sun, similar to that of The Glass Menagerie, is dealing with life's disappointments. In particular, the families in those two plays dealt with feelings of entrapment that exacerbated their other disappointments, e.g. Walter's investments and Laura's gentleman caller.

I really liked how A Raisin in the Sun opened with the poem by Langston Hughes:

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat

Or crust and sugar over--

Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

Like a heavy load

Or does it explode?

Walter's dream of owning a business is forcibly deferred by the shady Willy character. When Mama initially refused to give him the money for it, his dream was indeed festering like a sore and fouling the family relations. It weighed on him so heavily that he lost sight of his values when it came to Ruth's baby. I don't remember what we decided the "explosion" to which the poem refers meant, precisely, but I don't think the play quite follows that part of the poem. In the end, it's more like Walter has accepted the unfortunate turn of events, and this is the part where the dream dries up like a raisin in the sun. Perhaps this is why that's the part that made it into the title.

I'd also like to point out that The Grapes of Wrath pulls its title from the Battle Hymn of the Republic, and raisins are dried grapes. They both deal with oppression, as well. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Two Scoops!

What amount of time is covered in the action? How much of the action is presented as a report rather than dramatized on stage? Does the play feel loose or tight in its construction?

Conveniently, A Raisin in the Sun states very clearly the timeline it follows alongside the Act/Scene numbers. It's page 22 in the First Vintage Book Edition. Act I, Scene 1 takes place on a Friday morning, and Scene 2 takes place the following morning-- a Saturday. Act II, Scene 1 takes place later on the same Saturday, and Scene 2 takes place on a Friday night a few weeks later, and Scene 3 takes place on "moving day," one week later. Act III takes place an hour later on moving day. The total time span adds to about a month.

Most of the action is conveyed through the dialogue, as far as I can tell. The few actions not mirrored by the dialogue are italicized and placed within parentheses in the middle of the dialogue, with the exception of some stage directions at the beginning of new scenes.

The large gaps between some scenes left the construction feeling loose. It bothers me that the author doesn't think we need to know more of what happened in between those scenes.... It's like how I haven't watched Days of Our Lives since I was in pre-school, but I still no exactly what the plot is because it's just a ridiculous cycle.