A Raisin In The Sun Chorus

In my third unit of Drama, we read A Raisin In The Sun, highlighting a character, Mama as the matriarch of the story. She is a wise smart and strong woman. For our Action Project, we had to choose a scene of A Raisin In The Sun and follow a main character of that scene through the story. We had to find what they were good, what they did bad, and the consequences of their actions. Also mentioning we had to comment on the character's different moments. I chose the character, Walter, because he is a person that likes to take the risk for the better good of the family. In this Action Project, I chose to address the issue of Walters mistake that he made in the play and wanted to argue if he was justified or not. This causes drama and tension in the family. Anywho here's what I did.

Prologue

On the south side of Chicago in the 1950s in a 2 bedroom apartment lives a normal black family. This family is named the Youngers. The Youngers are hard working class individuals and don't like to settle for less. The Youngers had a major loss in their family and with that loss came insurance money. This money came to the ends of the families heads. It turned into greed and lies. Mama wanted to get a house because she never had anything of her own. That was her dream. While her son Walter wanted to use that money and start up a business to make the family wealthy. Things turned south at the end but in a way, raisins are still sweet right? The Youngers come to find out that the money that Mama gave to Walter was misused and conflict erupts.

Script

First scene: MAMA You making something inside me cry, son. Some awful pain inside me. 

WALTER Don’t cry, Mama. Understand. That white man is going to walk in that door able to write checks for more money than we ever had. It’s important to him and I’m going to help him … I’m going to put on the show, Mama. 

MAMA Son—I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers—but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ’em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor. (Raising her eyes and looking at him) We ain’t never been that—dead inside. 

First commentary:

Here Walter is trying to redeem himself and be a better man. He is taking initiative by trying to get even more money for the family. Walter is bringing light to his mistakes and changing for the better. This sudden development of change can be an awakening for the future of the family.

Second scene:  

WALTER What’s the matter with you all! I didn’t make this world! It was given to me this way! Hell, yes, I want me some yachts someday! Yes, I want to hang some real pearls ’round my wife’s neck. Ain’t she supposed to wear no pearls? Somebody tell me—tell me, who decides which women is supposed to wear pearls in this world. I tell you I am a man—and I think my wife should wear some pearls in this world! (This last line hangs a good while and WALTER begins to move about the room. The word “Man” has penetrated his consciousness; he mumbles it to himself repeatedly between strangely agitated pauses as he moves about)

MAMA Baby, how you going to feel on the inside?

WALTER Fine! … Going to feel fine … a man … MAMA, You won’t have nothing left then, Walter Lee. WALTER (Coming to her) I’m going to feel fine, Mama. I’m going to look that son-of-a-bitch in the eyes and say— (He falters)—and say, “All right, Mr. Lindner—(He falters even more)—that’s your neighborhood out there! You got the right to keep it like you want! You got the right to have it like you want! Just write the check and—the house is yours.”

BENEATHA That is not a man. That is nothing but a toothless rat.

MAMA Yes—death done come in this here house. (She is nodding, slowly, reflectively) Done come walking in my house on the lips of my children. You what supposed to be my beginning again. You—what supposed to be my harvest.

Second commentary:

Walter although is a man he is acting like a child. He was overconfident about his business with his friends. The mistake that altered the mood of the play was when he gave the money that his mother gave him to one of his partners. He didn't even take the other half of the money and put it in a bank for Beneatha. This action tells that Walter is an independent thinking person he only cares for himself at times. The consequences of this action was the family feeling like it has been broken, the trust in the family was a little broken, and tons of money that came from the death of their loved one was lost.

Third scene:

LINDNER (Looking up, frozen) No, no, I’m afraid I don’t— 

WALTER (A beat. The tension hangs; then WALTER steps back from it) Yeah. Well—what I mean is that we come from people who had a lot of pride. I mean—we are very proud people. And that’s my sister over there and she’s going to be a doctor—and we are very proud

— LINDNER Well—I am sure that is very nice, but— 

WALTER What I am telling you is that we called you over here to tell you that we are very proud and that this— (Signaling to TRAVIS) Travis, come here. (TRAVIS crosses and WALTER draws him before him facing the man) This is my son, and he makes the sixth generation our family in this country. And we have all thought about your offer

— LINDNER Well, good … good

— WALTER And we have decided to move into our house because my father—my father—he earned it for us brick by brick. (MAMA has her eyes closed and is rocking back and forth as though she were in church, with her head nodding the Amen yes) We don’t want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors. And that’s all we got to say about that.

Third commentary:

A lesson that I will like to share based on Walter is that we all make mistakes and try to do things that fail but you should always try. Walter made up for his mistake by standing up to the “man” he told him very clear and bold. We are moving into our new home. We don't want no trouble and that's it and that's all

Preventing Things Before They Happen

This Action Project is for my Spring S.T.E.A.M. class, Cure. In this unit, we learned about different disorders, how they affect the body, and how our immune system reacts when we have a disease in the body. In the course, we learned about experimental probability, which I didn't understand too much. For this AP, we had to pick a disease that could be hereditary and find out the risk of a fictional person in that is getting that disease and write out ways for the person to prevent it. I chose Breast Cancer for the disease in my family. Doing so, we also had to list ways that we could possibly prevent the disease, including a lot of factors. My patient has a very high risk of developing Breast Cancer, but the more people that can support the better. Here is my patient profile; enjoy.

Patient: Brittany Sanders

Age: 55

Race: African' American

Sex: Female

Height: 5"2

Weight: 123 pounds

Disorders trying to prevent: Breast Cancer' symptoms include a lump or mass in the breast. swelling of part of the breast, breast or nipple pain, and discharge.

The experimental probability that Brittany's family tree affects her chances: Brittany’s mother Mary Jane had breast cancer and so did her mother. 

                         J.L 2019

Risk assessment: African Americans are the second most likely to get breast cancer. Breast cancer death rates are 40% higher among black women than white women. Brittany exercises once a week, but she eats a lot of unhealthy food. She lives in the country and visits her care provider once every 1 year. She mostly eats fast food though which isn't so good all the time.

2 Medicaments: Tamoxifen and Raloxifene are the only drugs approved by the US to help lower the risk of Breast Cancer. 

Tamoxifen is used mainly to treat hormone receptor-positive breast cancer (breast cancer with cells that have estrogen and/or progesterone receptors on them). Side effects include vaginal dryness and vaginal discharge. Rare effects include serious blood clots and cancer of the uterus.

Raloxifene is used mostly to prevent and treat osteoporosis (very weak bones) in post-menopausal women. It reduces the risk of invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have osteoporosis or who are otherwise at risk of invasive breast cancer. Side effects include early symptoms of menopause.

Nutrition plan: Start eating more of a plant-based diet: plants have rich sources of fiber that are great for helping the body.

Examples:

1 cup leafy greens- Collard greens, Lettuce, Spinach,

½ cup raw chopped vegetables- Bell peppers, Carrots, Broccoli, Onions, Asparagus

½ cup fruit (or the size of a tennis ball)- Apples, Pineapples, Blueberries, Watermelon

100% fruit or vegetable juice- Fruit smoothies, Tomato juice 

¼ cup dried fruit- Banana chips, Strawberry chips, Raisins 

Vitamins/Minerals: Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains normal mineralization of bone and to prevent hypocalcemic tetany. One pill a day would be very beneficial. A mineral/supplement that can be used to help the body is fish oils omega 3 fatty acids which appear to stop or slow down the growth and development of breast cancer cells. Take these once a day also.

Overall lifestyle recommendations: Exercise regularly, maintain a healthy and constant diet, try to reduce stress amount, and stay positive.

2 Alternative therapies: (Intended effect for all is to reduce cancer in the body and prevent further damage.)

Breast-conserving surgery– A surgery in which only the part of the breast containing the cancer is removed. The goal is to remove cancer as well as some surrounding normal tissue. How much of the breast is removed depends on the size and location of the tumor and other factors.

Mastectomy – A surgery in which the entire breast is removed, including all of the breast tissue and sometimes other nearby tissues. 

Chemotherapy- uses anti-cancer drugs that are given into the vein or by mouth. The drugs travel through the bloodstream to reach cancer cells and eliminate them.

3 Specific goals: January till December 2019 to start

• Eat healthily and track what you eat using an easy food app. (Myfitnesspal, Spark people and Lose it.) 

• Drink 8 bottles of water a day to maintain healthy body functions to flush out toxins.

• Visit the healthcare provider every 2-3 months

In conclusion making, risk assessments for your self earlier in your life can prepare you for the future. Knowing what might be passed down the family tree can be scary, but you can change some lifestyle choices and decrease the chance of getting any disease. This AP has taught me to look at my family tree more and be more careful of the things I do. Also, this reminded me to be prepared which the BS motto.

Works cited

“Breast Cancer and Vitamin D.” Healthline, Healthline Media, www.healthline.com/health-news/vitamin-d-may-reduce-risk-for-breast-cancer#1.

“Breast Cancer Prevention.” Stanford Health Care (SHC) - Stanford Medical Center, stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-clinics/cancer-nutrition-services/reducing-cancer-risk/breast-cancer-prevention.html.

“Breast Cancer Rates Among Black Women and White Women | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/research/articles/breast_cancer_rates_women.htm.

“Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer.” American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/treatment/chemotherapy-for-breast-cancer.html.

“Office of Dietary Supplements - Vitamin D.” NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/.

“Tamoxifen and Raloxifene for Lowering Breast Cancer Risk.” American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/risk-and-prevention/tamoxifen-and-raloxifene-for-breast-cancer-prevention.html.