The underlying theme of Hansberry's Raisin is in the question posed by Langston Hughes' poem "Montage of a Dream Deferred," when he asks, "What happens to a dream deferred?" and then goes on to list the various things that might happen to a person if his dreams are put "on hold," emphasizing that whatever happens to a postponed dream is never good. More simply, the question Hansberry poses in her play is, "What happens to a person whose dreams grow more and more passionate — while his hopes of ever achieving those dreams grow dimmer each day?" Even the Bible concerns itself with this problem; in Proverbs 13:12, we read: "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." We see clearly what happens to Walter as his dream continues to be postponed by too many circumstances that are beyond his control.
Several other motifs are also successfully intertwined into this drama. Hansberry's avant-garde concerns, her prophetic political vision, and her ability to perceive the future importance of events that few people in 1959 were even aware of are used as lesser motifs or minor themes throughout the play.
