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Raisin inthe sun analysis
How family balance in A Raisin in the Sun is shattered
A raisin in the sun family conflict
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In “A Raisin in a sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, a family rebels against the expectations of one another and their society. Beneatha, Ruth and Walter all have family expectations of each other. Beneatha wants to become a doctor, but the actions of Walter disagree. Walter wants to become a business man, but needs to focus more on his family. Family oriented Ruth wants to see the good in her husband Walter. Setting high expectations for one another defies the actions amongst the family members. Becoming a doctor to heal the ones in need was a dream that Beneatha wants to fulfill. Therefore, she feels that she can accomplish her goals with the insurance money her mama receives. However, Walter believes that his sister should just marry into a rich family and become a nurse, which is evident when he states “Who told you to become a doctor? If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people- then go be a nurse like other woman- or just get married and be quiet”(Hansberry 386). She wants to be an independent woman who never has to depend on a man, and having a degree will fulfill that desire. The actions of the family members opened her eyes to the reality of society. …show more content…
He had a family who counted on him to be the provider and family man. Ruth and Mama wanted Walter to be the man of the house just like his father was. Walter wanted a business that would make him rich, so that he could be the man his family wanted. Ruth was tired of giving up on her husband as she mentions to mama, “I don’t know what it is-but he needs something-something I can’t give him anymore. He needs this chance, Lena” (Hansberry 388). Her actions that she presents showed her expectations for her husband only brought them closer
Lena Younger, Walter and Beneatha's mother, was a widow in her early sixties who devoted her life to her children after her husband's death. Retired from working for the Holiday's family, she was waiting for her husband's insurance money to arrive. With the ten tho...
On the other hand, Beneatha wants money to pursue in her education. In an assured manner, Beneatha announces, “Oh, I probably will… but first I’m going to be a doctor, and George, for one, still thinks that’s pretty funny. I couldn’t be bothered with that. I am going to be a doctor and everybody around here better understand that!”
...llow." Ruth replies by saying, "He’s rich!" That is exactly Beneatha's point. She does not want to be in a relationship with George (boyfriend) simply because he can support her financially. That is how Beneatha proves her point about looking beyond the surface. He seems her obstacle in fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor. She is a strong woman who faces the negative attitude of people with great patience. For example, when Mrs. Johnson (neighbor) says, “I know--- but sometimes she act like ain’t got time to pass the time of day with no body ain’t been to college. It’s just--- you know how some of our young people get when they get a little education” (Hansberry 527).
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...
When Walter loses his "sister's school money," the consequences are widespread and Beneatha sees that dream diminish before her eyes. She sees her slipping through Walter's fingers and finds her lifelong goals changing. From the days of her childhood, she has longed "to be a doctor" and "fix up the sick." While her family and friends do not understand Beneatha's dream, she continues longing for the education she needs to create a successful life she desires rather than one where she is waiting "to get married.
Differences in generations can cause people to have different viewpoints in life. A Raisin In The Sun is a play set in the 1950s written by Lorraine Hansberry. The Youngers are a black family who lives in a cramped apartment in the South Side of Chicago. When Mama receives a check of insurance money, members of the family are divided in their own hopes of what it will be used for. Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha are the three women of the Younger household and their generational differences clearly show through their actions. The difference between generations is why Mama is the most devout, Ruth is an agreeable person, and Beneatha is outspoken and has modern views.
Beneatha wants to be a doctor because in the text it says “Get over it? What are you talking about , Ruth? Listen,I’m going to be a doctor. I’m not worried about who I’m going to marry yet..” This means Beneatha is really confident about wanting to do what she loves.
Lorraine Hansberry utilizes the events from her life and parallels them with her literature, impacting her style of writing through the use of characters and plot. Hansberry’s work is considered to be self-autobiographical, meaning the text relates the to context of her own life, in which parallels can be drawn. Hansberry was raised with a humble upbringing on the South side of Chicago, were her parents were supporters of the NAACP. This began her involvement in the civil rights movement and and support for the rights of colored people.
Beneatha’s dream is to become a doctor. She believes that her dream was deferred when she was born since she is coloured and a female. Although she fights this, her dream is deferred even more when Walter looses the money which she needed to get into medical school.
The conflict that involves Walter and Mama superficially concerns Mama's receiving an insurance check for ten thousand dollars, which she hasn't yet decided what to do with. Walter has hopes for using the money to invest in a liquor store, with the profits providing him and his family a better quality of life than what they have endured in the past. What really is at stake here, though, is more than money. Mama and Walter have different visions of what happiness is and what life is all about. For Mama, the best thing to do with the money is to make a down payment on a house. This house is to be situated within an all-white neighborhood, and represents assimilation. This is Mama's dream, and the dream ...
She sees how Asagai is in touch with his African side and reaches out for help to find her identity. She also continues with her education despite Walter’s derogatory comments about being a girl. One early morning, Walter agitates Beneatha with the same question because there “Ain’t many girls who decide to be a doctor” (Hansberry 36). Beneatha is likely to face this
Ruth is realistic about their life while Walter is unrealistic about his dream and the effects it could have on their life. Beneatha and Walter both need the life insurance money to pursue their dreams; Beneatha wants to be a doctor to help others, and Walter wants to own a liquor store to feel accomplished and to provide for his family. Mama is selfless and shows plenty of love and compassion for her family; on the other hand, Walter can be selfish at times and can occasionally be harsh to Ruth and Beneatha. These women all teach Walter that the most important thing in the world is not success, but it is family and what it means to you. They teach Walter that what genuinely matters in life is not how much money you have, but how willing you are to protect and care for your family.
A Raisin in the Sun is a play telling the story of an African-American tragedy. The play is about the Younger family near the end of the 1950s. The Younger family lives in the ghetto and is at a crossroads after the father’s death. Mother Lena Younger and her grown up children Walter Lee and Beneatha share a cramped apartment in a poor district of Chicago, in which she and Walter Lee's wife Ruth and son Travis barely fit together inside.
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about segregation, triumph, and coping with personal tragedy. Set in Southside Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the individual dreams of the Younger family and their personal achievement. The Younger's are an African American family besieged by poverty, personal desires, and the ultimate struggle against the hateful ugliness of racism. Lena Younger, Mama, is the protagonist of the story and the eldest Younger. She dreams of many freedoms, freedom to garden, freedom to raise a societal-viewed equal family, and freedom to live liberated of segregation. Next in succession is Beneatha Younger, Mama's daughter, assimilationist, and one who dreams of aiding people by breaking down barriers to become an African American female doctor. Lastly, is Walter Lee Younger, son of Mama and husband of Ruth. Walter dreams of economic prosperity and desires to become a flourishing businessman. Over the course of Walter's life many things contributed to his desire to become a businessman. First and foremost, Walter's father had a philosophy that no man should have to do labor for another man. Being that Walter Lee was a chauffeur, Big Walter?s philosophy is completely contradicted. Also, in Walter?s past, he had the opportunity to go into the Laundromat business which he chose against. In the long run, he saw this choice was fiscally irresponsible this choice was. In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee's dreams, which are his sole focus, lead to impaired judgement and a means to mend his shattered life.
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).