Comparison of Hoop Dreams and A Raisin in the Sun
Comparison of "Hoop Dreams" and "A Raisin in the Sun"
The movie Hoop Dreams shows you the difficulties and obstacles that come in the way of dreams. Although it’s said that if you believe in a dream long enough it will come true, but in Hoop Dreams and A Raisin in the Sun you are shown the harsh realities of the falseness of that statement. And that the reality of a dream not coming true hits you like a brick wall.
Many obstacles get in the way of the road to dreams in both stories. In both stories, all families suffer from having little knowledge, and it doesn’t help that they’re all black. Also being poor and living in the ghetto makes things that much harder. Pregnancies also put big bumps in the road to success, in both instances it makes the families come together and try their hardest to make it through. However, there are also many different obstacles that come in the way for each family. In Hoop Dreams, both William and Arthur are given much support to fulfill their dreams of getting to the NBA, but Walter in A Raisin in the Sun is only given grief on getting his liquor store. This can point the young immature teens to giving them more hope that a very rare dream will come true. Also, the two ballplayers do have talent to help them start down the road to success, but that can be very misleading, all Walter has is the nagging of his buddies Bobo and Willy. The toughest of the obstacles to overcome was when William injured his knee and it affected his basketball career for a long time. He never really did get over it, he was forced to settle for a second best basketball school, but managed to receive a great education.
Family matters also plays major roles in both the play and the movie. With both Bo (Arthur’s father) and Walter’s case, they both had substance abuse problems and it much affected how well the dreams went. By the end of each story, each said they were off drugs for good. Bo had even said that if he wouldn’t have been on drugs, he would’ve been able to afford Arthur’s education at St. Joseph’s, and that possibly could have put him more in the spotlight in the basketball scene, just like...