How long does it take to read A Raisin in the Sun?
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry takes about 2 hours 52 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 2 hours 52 minutes
An evening's read
First published 1958. 156 pages, about 42,900 words.
6 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 4 hours 46 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 2 hours 52 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 1 hour 47 minutes |
The page count is the median across 80 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
This groundbreaking play starred Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeill, Ruby Dee and Diana Sands in the Broadway production which opened in 1959. Set on Chicago's South Side, the plot revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena, called Mama. When her deceased husband's insurance money comes through, Mama dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans, however: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school. The tensions and prejudice they face form this seminal American drama. Sacrifice, trust and love among the Younger family and their heroic struggle to retain dignity in a harsh and changing world is a searing and timeless document of hope and inspiration. Winner of the NY Drama Critic's Award as Best Play of the Year, it has been hailed as a "pivotal play in the history of the American Black theatre." by Newsweek and "a milestone in the American Theatre." by Ebony.
Subjects: Drama, African American families, History, Afro-Americans, African Americans, Motion picture plays
More by Lorraine Hansberry
The United States in Literature [with Three Long Stories] -- Seventh Edition 15.0 h 
Prentice Hall Literature--Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes--Gold Level 19.8 h 
Prentice Hall Literature--Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes--The American Experience 22.5 h 
To Be Young, Gifted, and Black 4.9 h 
Prentice Hall Literature -- Platinum 27.3 h 
Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window 2.6 h 
