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What is the dream of the main character in Raisin in the Sun and the dream deferred
Female gender identity in a raisin in the sun
Critical analysis of raisin in the sun
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Lorraine Hansberry is a playwright through that movement. She is a playwright, author, and an activist. She is the first black playwright and the youngest American to win a New York Critics' Circle award. She wrote A Raisin in the Sun which is a real story that happened to her and her family. It is a significant play that shows the struggles the Blacks face in their lives. A Raisin in the Sun is a clear example on the kitchen sink drama. In the play, Walter plays the role of the angry man. He is dissatisfied at a world that offers him no social opportunities. The play moves in a chronological order. One can see that the setting is indoors and it does not change through the play which conveys the feeling that they are locked in their …show more content…
They are not allowed to move into a better living only because they are Blacks. Racism is a major theme. The theme of self identity is represented through the character of Beneatha who wants to be a doctor, breaking the rules of her restrict society. Dream deferred is an important major theme. It is also related to the title which advices everyone not to give up their dreams until they dry and rot. Lorraine Hansberry used several techniques to stress on the class distinction in her play. Her techniques vary between symbolism, irony, sarcasm, satire, contrast and foreshadowing. Mama's plant symbolizes the family. The satire is when Walter obstacles Beneatha from achieving her dream while he himself is suffering from the society which obstacles him from achieving his dreams. Although they are poor, they have a sense of humor and they make sarcastic comments. The situational irony is when Mr. Lindner comes to their house to offer them money to make them stay and do not move into the white neighborhood. The fainting of Ruth foreshadows that she is pregnant. The characters speak Black English. Everyone has his own dialect. Their speech reveals information about their education. So, Beneatha is the most educated one in the family and Ruth and Mama have the less education in the
I noticed a few major symbols throughout the scenes in this play. For example, Mama’s plant; this plant never fails to be watered and taken care of by Mama, and this represents not only her caring and compassionate attitude towards a plant but her attitude towards her family as well. Her care for her plant is similar to her care for her children, both unconditional and unending despite the less-than-perfect “garden” that it is in(their house).
The play is set around the late 1940s and throughout the 50s on the south side of Chicago In the opening Significance of ending/closing scene Symbols Mama’s plant symbolizes how she loves her family and how she wants their dreams to come true. She takes care of the plants like she takes care of her family and dreams of a house with a garden. Benethas hair is another symbol.
Walter is seen as struggling to become the head of the family throughout the book and this comes to a head at the end of the story when he gets to his lowest point. Felder goes over the male characters in each sitcom and analyzes how they all have the same roles acting as head of the family, in charge and in control. The women were expected to be soothing and calming, as Felder writes “It was her husband, Jim, who ultimately solved the many problems concerning the couple’s three children… often appeared overly authoritarian and frequently lost his temper with his sons… these negative “masculine” character traits were countered by the soothing “feminine” presence of his wife” (Felder 156). As Walter loses control of his life after he lost the money, the women of the family ridicule him for not taking control like he is expected to. Beneatha and Mama have a conversation about the way Beneatha was treating her brother and adds this: “That’s what I thought you said. You feeling like you better than he is today?... Yes? What you tell him a minute ago? That he wasn't a man? Yes? You give him up for me? You done wrote his epitaph too- like the rest of the world? Well who give you the privilege?” (Hansberry 108-109). Beneatha ridicules her brother because he wasn’t able to take the role he was expected to. He wasn’t able to control the family or handle the problems like he was expected to even though that is what every man of the family ‘needs’ to do. The influence of these gender roles is so prevalent as Mama stops Beneatha from ridiculing her brother, Walter’s inability to take the role that is expected of him completely breaks him down and pushes him to his
The play depicts the feelings and thoughts of the people of their time. Their feelings are different then what we see today in our lives. The family had to deal with poverty and racism. Not having enough money and always being put down because of the color of their skin held them back from having a lot of self-respect and dignity. I think that Mama was the one who had the most pride and held the family together.
Ruth's speech reveals that she is the most uneducated person in the family. She makes many grammatical mistakes and her speech is flavored with southernisms as Mama's. Walter's speech proves that he is more educated than Ruth. Beneatha is the most educated one in the family. She speaks Standard English and sometimes Black English when she is emotional (Hansberry
The story also focuses in on Ruth Younger the wife of Walter Lee, it shows the place she holds in the house and the position she holds to her husband. Walter looks at Ruth as though he is her superior; he only goes to her for help when he wants to sweet talk his mama into giving him the money. Mama on the other hand holds power over her son and doesn’t allow him to treat her or any women like the way he tries to with Ruth. Women in this story show progress in women equality, but when reading you can tell there isn’t much hope and support in their fight. For example Beneatha is going to college to become a doctor and she is often doubted in succeeding all due to the fact that she is black African American woman, her going to college in general was odd in most people’s eyes at the time “a waste of money” they would say, at least that’s what her brother would say. Another example where Beneatha is degraded is when she’s with her boyfriend George Murchison whom merely just looks at her as arm
Beneatha is a college student and is the best educated member in the family. Her education is very important to her and she hopes to one day become a doctor. Beneatha believes that education is a means to understanding and self-fulfillment. It was unheard of at this time for a poor well-educated black woman to have such high ambitions and dreams. Beneatha took a lot pride in this fact and often waved her intelligence around in her families faces. Mama, knowing how much her education meant to her, told Walter to save $3000 for Beneatha's medical schooling. When it was discovered that Walter had invested the money in his liquor store scheme and Willy had run off with all the money, Beneatha was devastated. She had lost all hope and even though her spirits may have been lifted after her talk with Asagai in act III and the chance to move into a new house, it seems that Beneatha will never realize this
She speaks whatever comes to her mind without a filter. While in a fight with Mama, Beneatha states, “Well - neither is God. I get sick of hearing about God.”, this was a big mistake. Mama, not amused by Beneatha’s comment about God, slaps Beneatha, Beneatha should have thought of who she was talking to before she said those offensive words. Additionally, Beneatha tends to respond defensively when someone makes a comment about her personal life. For example, Ruth and Mama tease Beneatha about going on a date with George Murchison, a rich black man. Beneatha responds indignantly with how shallow George is, concluding that maybe she will never marry anybody. Beneatha shows constant negative interactions with other
Ruth discovers that she is pregnant but fears that the child won't bring no good into the family. All the child will do is put more financial pressure on her family members. Beneatha even goes as far as saying, “...where is he going to live, on the roof?”. When Walter says nothing to Ruth’s admission that she is considering abortion, Mama puts a down payment on a house for the whole family from the insurance money. She believes that a bigger, brighter dwelling will help them all. The house is perfect, however it's in Clybourne Park. A complete white neighborhood. When the Youngers’ future neighbors find out that the Youngers are moving in, they send Mr. Lindner, from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association. Mr. Linder proposes an offer to the Youngers saying that he will pay them double the money they put in the house if they don't move in. In the meantime, Beneatha rejects her admirer, George Murchison, whom she believes to be blind to the problems of race and does not care about having deep conversations with Beneatha. She then receives a marriage proposal from her Nigerian love interest, Joseph Asagai, who wants Beneatha to get a medical degree and move to Africa with him. Since Walter has always been saying things like, “Have we figured out yet just exactly how much medical school is going to cost?”, she figured why not. Beneatha wholeheartedly agrees; but only after discussion with the
The book Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision, by Dr. Barbara Ransby was an incredible and extremely moving book. I really enjoy learning about history and significant people who have impacted the history and culture of our country. However, I have never learned of Ella Baker nor have I ever heard her name mentioned once. Barbara Ransby's book provides a well-structured and insightful biography of one of the most important, yet least well-known, leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. After reading Ransby's book, I have learned of the immense contributions that Ella Baker has contributed to history, more specifically the Civil Rights Movement. Furthermore, I have gained a greater understanding of the continuing relevance of her life's work. Ella Baker has achieved many goals throughout her life time, has overcome numerous obstacles, played a major role in building and leading many organizations through the civil rights movement. Ella Baker was a revolutionary and this is made apparent through Ella Baker's biography written by Barbara Ransby. The author did a remarkable job portraying Ella Baker's life and struggle for civil rights.
Effiong, Philip U. In Search of a Model for African-American Drama: a Study of Selected Plays
Walter and Beneatha’s relationship is very complex. The spiraling tension between the two siblings causes confrontation to form and creep into the Younger household. Walter needs his family to respect him as the man of the family, but his sister is constantly belittling him in front of his mother, wife, and son. This denigrating treatment taints Walter’s view of himself as a man, which carries into his decisions and actions. Beneatha also subconsciously deals with the dysfunctional relationship with her brother. She desires to have her brother’s support for her dream of becoming a doctor, yet Walter tends to taunt her aspiration and condemns her for having such a selfish dream. Mama as the head of the family is heartbroken by the juvenile hostility of her adult children, so in hopes to keep her family together she makes the brave move of purchasing a house. Mama’s reasoning for the bold purchase was,“ I—I just seen my family falling apart….just falling to pieces in front of my eyes…We couldn’t have gone on like we was today. We was going backwards ‘stead of forw...
The values of the New World have caused Walter to become materialistic, emotionally insensitive, and frustrated. The first example of where this can be seen is during Walter’s argument with Mama. Mama and Walter both have different meanings on what it means to be alive. Walter, due to having become materialistic, views the meaning of life as money. Mama views the ...
Beneatha is Mama’s daughter. She wants to become a doctor when she gets out of college. She also wants to save her race from ignorance.
Beneatha is Mama's youngest child. She aspires to become a doctor. Mama wants Beneatha to become what she wants so she decided to put aside some of the insurance money for Beneatha's schooling. Beneatha struggles as a young independent woman who has yet to find her identity. She finds herself trying new hobbies and dating two very different men. During a conversation with one of those men, Asagai, Beneatha is forced by Asagai to realize that she is not very independent at all. In fact she has been depending on the insurance money to get her through school. After this realization, Beneatha gains thoughts on how to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor (Kohorn). She presents her mother with her decision of getting married and how she "plans to find her roots in Africa" with Asagai (Silver).