Assignment:
Approximately 1,200 words in length, based on MLA guidelines.
Primary source (the play A Raisin in the Sun, pages 1506-1570)
• Plot: What happens in the play?
° Do the characters or situations change during the play?
° What are the differences between the beginning, middle, and end of the play? Is it divided into acts? Would there be an intermission in a per for mance?
° Can you summarize the plot? Is it a recognizable kind or genre such as tragedy, comedy, farce, or mystery?
• Setting: What is the setting of the play?
° When does the action occur? Do the stage directions specify a year or era, a day of the week, a season, a time of day?
° Are there any time changes during the play? Are the scenes in chrono-logical order, or are there any scenes that are supposed to take place earlier or simultaneously? Does the passage of time in the lives of the Style: What do you notice about how the play is written?
° What is the style of the dialogue? Are the sentences and speeches short or long? Is the vocabulary simple or complex? Do characters ever speak at the same time, or do they always take turns? Does the play instruct actors to be silent for periods of time? Which characters speak most often? How might their speech patterns differ?
° Are there any images or figures of speech?
° What is the tone or mood? Does the play make the reader or audience feel sad, amused, worried, curious?
•Theme: What does the play mean? Can you express its theme or themes?