Essay about A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun chronicles the narrative of the Youngers, a family of lower-class blacks attempting to advance in life. Each of the similes in the poem corresponds to a character from the play.... The characters are compared to objects or actions throughout the poem. Similes are commonly used in poetry to create imagery that is difficult to express otherwise. By using concrete objects as metaphors for human emotions, writers can convey ideas and feelings that might not be possible with only literal descriptions available. For example, one cannot describe joy without using some form of comparison; therefore, joy can be represented by another term or even an object that we know is capable of producing this emotion. Fear can be described as "a little bird that sips at the moon" while sadness is likened to a cloud that covers the face of the moon. Humans are also compared to animals, plants, and minerals to indicate that they have traits in common with these other natural objects. In addition to being used to invoke images, similes can also enhance our understanding of what is being said. Using more than one simile together creates a metaphor, which is a figure of speech that compares two things that are apparently unconnected.