In this appraisal of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Weales examines the play's dramatic qualities and offers his ideas as to why it won the New York Drama Critics' Award in 1959.

Weales is an American drama critic; he is a winner of the George Jean Nathan Award for drama criticism and the author of numerous books on drama.

On the day that the New York Drama Critics' Award was announced, a student stopped me as I walked across the campus where I pass as an expert on the theater and asked a sensible question. Had A Raisin in the Sun won because it was the best play of the year, or because its author, Lorraine Hansberry, is a Negro? Even if the play is a good one (and, with reservations, I think it is), even if it were indisputably the best of the year, the...