What is the author's style in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry?

Hansberry makes wide use of allusion in this play. Two significant allusions are prominent in this play one literary and one historical. The title of the play, A Raisin in the Sun, is taken from a poem by Langston Hughes,"Harlem." Langston Hughes was a prominent African American poet during the Harlem Renaissance, a period during the 1920s when many African American writers achieved considerable stature. The poem asks whether a dream deferred, or put off, dries up "like a raisin in the sun" or whether it explodes. During the play, Mama realizes that some members of her family are drying up, while others such as Walter are about to explode, and she realizes that their dreams can be deferred no longer.

The other major allusion is to Booker T. Washington, who is quoted by Mrs. Johnson as saying "Education has spoiled many a good plow hand." Booker T. Washington was a prominent African American during the late nineteenth century; perhaps his most well-known speech is his "Atlanta Exposition Address." Washington argued that Negroes should not aspire to academic education but should learn trades such as mechanics and farming instead. He also suggested that Negroes should not agitate for political rights and that while the races might intermingle for business purposes, they should live separate social lives. His primary opponent during this time was W. E. B. DuBois, who argued for equality and desegregation. Within the context of the play, Washington is understood as a negative example.