The Racist Discourse of Segregation in Lorriane Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’: A Socio-Cognitive Approach to Ideology

Abstract

This research paper studies the racist discourse of segregation in Lorriane Hansberry’s ‘A raisin in the Sun’. It analyzes this play from a socio- cognitive approach to ideology. In this play, the ‘raisin’ stands for the black American families living under the sun of white racists. The research is mainly concerned with the relationship between racism, discourse and ideology. It is considered as an instance of critical discourse analysis. It shows that discourse is the way through which various discursive practices of segregation, discrimination and national oppression are enacted and exercised. It analyzes discourse with regard to the social contexts of its production and comprehension by individuals as members of social groups, institutions or organizations. Thus, it inspects racist ideology from a socio- cognitive perspective. In so doing, it selects the following theoretical framework: Overt racist discourse and covert racist discourse. Overt racist discourse will deal with lexicalization and pronouns. And covert racist discourse will deal with syntax, lexicon, global semantics, local semantics and schematic structures. The research shows that although racist people deny their racism to look tolerant and brotherly while segregating the blacks, yet they will not proceed unopposed like this for ever. And this is the main objective of this research. It acquaints the blacks of the argumentative strategies of the whites that segregate them as out-groups. Hence, the blacks will become able to resist them.