Didactic literature demonstrates or dramatically presents a thesis or doctrine in a persuasive form. Didactic works attempt to teach a lesson. The term propaganda is a sub-division of didactic literature; a work of propaganda undertakes to move the reader to take a position or to take action on a particular moral or political issue of the moment.
Hansberry expresses many political and sociological views in Raisin, ideas which attack racism and prejudice; the audience is moved to either take action after having seen the drama or to change previously held bigoted beliefs.
The chief character in a work is called the protagonist, or sometimes, the hero. Walter is the protagonist in Raisin, for even though he does not appear to be a hero in the traditional sense of the word, he is the person around whom the drama revolves. The drama that unfolds in Raisin changes Walter dramatically, which prompts Mama to say about him at the end, "He finally come into his manhood today, didn't he? Kind of like a rainbow after the rain."
The most important opponent of the protagonist is called the antagonist. In Raisin, one might erroneously assume that the antagonist is Karl Lindner, but that is merely a simplistic view. Walter's real opponent is racism. Although Lindner is a representative of racist ideas, he is not the only force that is bearing down on Walter, crushing him with its weight.
