Comparison

A Raisin in the Sun vs Lord of the Flies

How A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Lord of the Flies by William Goldingcompare 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

Lord of the Flies

William Golding

Lexile
770L
Grades
912
Published
1954
Pages
224
Genre
Allegorical Fiction

At a glance

Grade-range overlap
Grades 912
Year-of-publication gap
5 years (1959 vs 1954)
Page-count gap
73 pages (151 vs 224)
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 Lord of the Flies

  • civilization vs savagery
  • human nature
  • loss of innocence
  • group psychology
  • power and leadership
  • fear

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.