The play is most similar to A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, which focused on the upward aspirations of an African-American family in Chicago. Although there are several additional themes (the fight against segregation, for one) that do not match those of Juno and the Paycock, the ardent desire for a better life is found in both works, and will bring up similar themes of what people will do to improve their circumstances, especially the stories they will tell themselves to try to make their aspirations happen.
Students should also consider work that contextualizes the setting of the play, such as O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars, Tim Pat Coogan's biography Michael Collins,...
