Comparison

A Raisin in the Sun vs Beloved

How A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Beloved by Toni Morrisoncompare on reading level, grade placement, curriculum overlap, and shared themes — derived from primary-source citations on each book’s ReadingList page.

A Raisin in the Sun

Lorraine Hansberry

Grades
912
Published
1959
Pages
151
Genre
Drama

Beloved

Toni Morrison

Lexile
870L
Grades
1112
Published
1987
Pages
324
Genre
Literary Fiction

At a glance

Grade-range overlap
Grades 1112
Year-of-publication gap
28 years (1959 vs 1987)
Page-count gap
173 pages (151 vs 324)
Shared curricula
4 of 6
Shared themes
0 of 12

Curriculum overlap

Both books appear in 4 shared curriculum frameworks:

Themes

Only A Raisin in the Sun

  • American Dream
  • Black family life
  • housing segregation
  • gender and work
  • assimilation vs heritage
  • generational conflict

Only Beloved

  • slavery and its aftermath
  • motherhood
  • memory and trauma
  • identity
  • community
  • the supernatural

Related on ReadingList

Comparison data computed from each book’s curriculum citations, Lexile measures (MetaMetrics), grade-range references (state ELA frameworks + AP/IB syllabi), and ban records (PEN America 2022-2024 index + ALA). Last reviewed: 2026-05-16.