Essay Example on Top Girls & A Raisin in the Sun: Women's Place in Society

Introduction

Top girls is a play authored by Caryl Churchill, which focuses on the character of Marlene. It delves into what a woman's place in society is and what it means to be a successful woman. On the other hand, a raisin in the sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry, which is a narration of a low-class African American family that lived on the Chicago south side during the 1950s. The play focuses on the family efforts to move in a white middle-class neighborhood where they are not welcome and the struggles of investing as African American individuals. Therefore, this paper will compare and contrast the two plays by summarizing the plays and its character, describing the protagonist's dilemma, analyzing the plot, and discussing the critical moment, themes, scenes, symbols, or characters who stand out in the plays.

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Summary of the Plays and its Characters

A Raisin in the sun is a story of a lower-class American family-the youngers- of African descent that resides in the Chicago south side during the 1950s. The family wants to move into a home in a neighborhood that is entirely made up of white middle class. As a result of a dream Mama had with her husband and the urge to fulfill it. The family has an insurance check worth $10000 from the deceased Mr. younger life insurance, out of which $3500 was put as a down payment for the home. Mama gave the remaining money to Walter Lee, the son of the family. In an attempt to increase the funds, four-folds, Walter invests in a liquor store and ends up losing it all in the process. Ruth, Walter's wife, believes and hopes that this investment will address all the family's financial problems; and provide more opportunity and space for Walter's son Travis. In truth, Beneatha, Walter's sister, wants to use the money for her medical school tuition and wishes that the Youngers do not join the white world. Nonetheless, the family resolves to move into their new home despite Walter losing the remainder of the insurance money and one of the neighbors informing the family that they are unwelcome in the white neighborhood.

On the other hand, Top Girls is a story set in the 1980s of Marlene, a businesswoman in London who hosts a dinner party at a trendy restaurant to celebrate her recent promotion. The guests she has invites are not her family members, or colleagues, nor friends but rather women plucked from myth, art, and history. Among the guests are Pope Joan, a woman appointed pope in the middle ages by disguising herself as a man; Isabella Bird, a nineteenth-century explorer, naturalist and writer; Patient Griselda, a character from the story of Chaucer and Boccaccio whose obedience to her husband despite being mistreated made her a legend; Lady Nijo, a Buddhist nun who once served as an emperor's mistress; and Dull Gret from a painting who led a women battalion into hell to fight the devil. The guests discuss their literature and history and reflect on the meaning of being a woman during their lifetime. The story uses iconic figures in exploring the realities of being the female and the potential price of achieving success. The play's structure is not linear in highlighting the different sides of being a successful woman in the 1980s. The women discuss love, disappointment, abuse, and motherhood. The women's account is strikingly similar, and as such, it is clear that their sufferings come from living a life of violence on the terms of patriarchy.

Protagonist's Dilemma Analyzing the Plot

In the play A Raisin in the Sun, the Youngers face a dilemma whether or not to accept the money offered by their future neighbors in return for staying away. The neighbors had sent Mr. Lindner from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association to strike a deal with the Youngers. However, despite Walter losing the $6500 remaining from the insurance fund to his friend Willy Harris who persuades Walter to invest in a liquor store and runs with the money, the younger refuse the deal. In essence, Mama, the matriarch of the family, firmly believes that a bigger and brighter dwelling unit will assist each member of the family in pursuing their dreams. As such, she puts a down payment for the home and moves in the new neighborhood fulfilling the Youngers' long-held dream. As such, their future looks slightly dangerous and uncertain, but they are determined and optimistic to live a better life. As a family, they believe they can succeed if they stick together and therefore decides to defer their dreams no longer.

In the play Top Girls, the story focuses on how Marlene's professional success has irreparably damaged her personal life; and she, therefore, attempts to come to terms with the mistakes she has done in the past. In a flashback, the play indicates that Marlene had earlier abandoned her biological daughter Angie. She had left her to live with her aunt Joyce, Marlene's older sister, who is her adoptive mother. As such, Marlene faces the dilemma of motherhood or professional success but chooses the former. Furthermore, Marlene abandoned her family to follow her profession by going away, leaving Joyce to take care of both Angie and their mother. In the second scene, Marlene is interviewing Jeanine, whom she believes has no concrete plans to succeed in a professional career since she plans to marry and have kids. Besides, Angie visited Marlene at her workplace and did not recognize her biological daughter. It only after achieving the professional success that Marlene realizes that she made a mistake. As such, she moves to repair her relationship with Angie and Joyce. But Joyce is adamant that they cannot be friends. However, Marlene later hires Angie to create a close relationship with her but informs one of her colleagues that the girl won't make it.

The Critical Moments, Themes and Scenes, Symbols or Characters who stand out in the Play

In the play Top Girls, the critical moment is in the opening scene where Marlene is celebrating her promotion as the managing director of Top Girl's employment agency. Her five dinner guests from different historical times prove that all women have fought oppression in their lives, and Marlene can relate with each of them. Again the third scene whereby Marlene converse with Joyce shows that Marlene had sacrificed her family relationships to attain success in her professional career. Thereby pitting professional career against motherhood and family, which helps to depict the lifestyle and life choices of Marlene.

On the other hand, a Raisin in the Sun's Beneatha younger stands out as she is the source of many of her family's new ideas and philosophies. Still, in college, she continually challenges the notions of race, gender, culture, and religion that her family has grown up with. She dates two men who represent different aspects of African American culture. First, George Murchison Beneatha's classmate, who is a wealthy African American whose character depicts the class tensions within African American culture. Asagai is her second boyfriend, who is a college student from Nigeria through whom Beneatha can learn her African heritage.

Conversely, Walter's younger truly encapsulates the American dream by his desire to progress and a genuine entrepreneurial spirit. He does not want to challenge the system, but he wishes to work up the social ladder into a higher class. His idolization of power and wealth creates a deeper hunger for change, but racism keeps his dreams stagnated, festering his hopes and dreams.

Works cited

Churchill, Caryl. Top girls. A&C Black, 2008.

Hansberry, Lorraine. Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. Samuel French, Inc., 1984.