Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun borrows its title from the iconic poem "A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes. In it, Hughes identifies six possible fates for a dream that is set aside for too long. Hughes' imagery can be found within the symbolism of the characters' dreams in Hansberry's piece that follows an African American family in the 1950s.
Hughes first queries, "Does it dry up / Like a raisin in the sun?" A raisin is a grape that has been left in the harsh sun and dehydrated after being exposed to harsh conditions for too long. This fate is similar to that of Mama's, whose dream is to leave the tiny apartment and buy a house with many windows and a beautiful garden. Mama, the matriarch and oldest member of the Younger family, has had her dream the longest, and the many hardships instilled on her by a racist, classist, and sexist society take a toll on her dream.
Hughes also wonders if a dream deferred "fester[s] like a sore / And then run[s]." A sore, an untreated wound that starts small, can grow as bacteria eat around the wound, causing it to painfully fester and bubble with blood and pus, infecting more of the body around it. This dream is more like Walter's, who wants only to be respected in a world where his race is constantly used against him. The little indignities that Walter suffers affect the rest of his life, tainting his relationship with his wife, sister, and mother as well as negatively impacting their dreams.
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