Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

A Raisin in the Sun is Lorraine Hansberry's seminal three-act play about an impoverished black family, set in Chicago's Southside neighborhood sometime between 1945 and 1959.

The setting is the dark family apartment, crowded with "tired" furniture protected with "acres of crocheted doilies." Although constantly cleaned, the apartment is a scene of weariness and poverty. The single main room (described as two in the landlord's lease) is a dingy, crowded combination living room/dining room/kitchen. Its only natural light is provided by a small window in the kitchen.

Offstage to the right, an alcove (a former breakfast room) serves as a bedroom for Ruth and Walter Lee. Their son, Travis, sleeps on a "make down bed" of pillow and blankets on the living room sofa. Offstage to the left is the single bedroom, shared by Mama and Walter Lee's sister Beneatha.

The...