In a time when African American people had no greater desire than "will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character" (King), A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, is the tale of an African American family living in Chicago's South-side, sometime between World War II and 1959 (Hansberry, 24). The characters' various endeavors take place during a time when one's gender and the color of one's skin defined their value. This results in character traits and world views that many find hard to relate to because of cultural differences caused by time. Beneatha Younger is a credulous, self-actualizing, and autarkic young woman who serves as one of the main protagonist of A Raisin in the Sun. These traits arise out of a desire to find herself yet still remain independent in an age when a woman's entire identity was tied to a man's. This was a time when men thought women were unable to have their own thoughts, values, and aspirations, independent from any man's.
Beneatha shows the quality of being credulous, meaning she is far too eager to believe any evidence she hears that supports her own viewpoint, which can lead to susceptibility to faulty ideals and affects the overall credibility of everything she believes. This is evident in her interactions with Asagai, and although he does not have a bad worldview, he does easily mold her into his way of thinking, even effecting her so far as her changing her exterior appearance rapidly as a result of him. This trait does not appear to be evident in her interactions with the rest of her family. The defining variable in whether this trait makes itself evident appears to be the amount of respect she has for the person with the ideals, not the ideals them-self...
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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.
Each character in A Raisin in the Sun has grown through out the play. The first character I will begin to talk about is Walter Lee Younger (brother). He is Passionate, ambitious, and bursting with the energy of his dreams, Walter Lee is a desperate man, influenced by with poverty and prejudice, and obsessed with a business idea that he thinks will solve all of his problems. He believes that through his business idea, he will collect all the money he will ever need. Once he has done so, he will improve himself socially and be able to impress others.
She is confused about who she is and where she fits into society, and believes that finding her true African culture will help connect her to her purpose. Asagai and George represent white and black culture respectively, and Beneatha choosing between them means severing her ties with one culture. In the end, Beneatha chooses to move to Africa with Asagai and embrace her distant African culture (355). She believes that she will fit in there, and not feel out of place. Had she chosen to stay in America and be with George, she would have continued to assimilate herself, along with her family, into white culture, and perhaps find success there. Although, perhaps she never would have really fit in. I believe that Beneatha chose African culture because she realized that no matter how hard her and her family tried, they would have never fully fit into society due to white supremacy. The world is not color blind, and differences will always exist. Beneatha chose to embrace those differences, rather than disguise
Lorraine Hansberry’s novel, A Raisin in the Sun, revolves around a middle-class African-American family, struggling during World War II. By reading about the Younger’s true to life experiences, one learns many important life lessons. One of the aforementioned would be that a person should always put family’s needs before their own. There are many examples of this throughout the novel. Just a few of these would be the example of Ruth and her unborn baby, Walter regaining the respect of his family, and Mama and her unselfish ways.
The battle against racism was fought with the help of many people. Beneatha in the story, A Raisin in the Sun by Hansberry, was always trying to find herself within the story. Whether it would be the guitar lessons she would take or the clothes she would wear, it all meant something to her.
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
A dream deferred is a dream put off to another time, much like this essay. But unlike dreams sometimes, this essay will get fulfilled and done with. Each character from A Raisin in the Sun had a deferred dream, even little Travis although his dream was not directly stated.
A Raisin in the Sun In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry portrays obstacles that the Younger family and other African Americans had to face and over come during the post World War 2 era. Obstacles that had to be over come by the Youngers were economical, moral, social, and racist obstacles. Lorraine Hansberry, the author of the play had to face one of these as well growing up. Born in Chicago on the south side in an all black neighborhood, Lorraine Hansberry and her family had to deal with segregation.
In addition, not only were women considered to be less intelligent, they were also expected to become something lesser than a man. This is displayed further along in the argument between Walter and Beneatha, Walter states… “Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people- then go be a nurse like other women- or just get married and be quiet…” (38). In other words, Walter is grouping Beneatha with other women and is forming a prejudice idea of how that group should act. Walter is encouraging Beneatha to not work hard, settle down, and discard her aspiration. At the same time, he is also disencouraging her dream to be a doctor. During this time, the norm in society was for women to do easier jobs, like becoming a nurse, or not working at all and becoming a wife. Because of those stereotypes and expectations, Walter is questioning her capability and right to become a doctor. One of his reason to question her is the fact that she does not pay for her schooling. Some people may argue that Beneatha is enforcing female stereotypes
In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, one of the most important themes is the American Dream. Many of the characters in this play have hopes and aspirations; they all strive towards their goals throughout the play. However, many of the characters in the play have different dreams that clash with each other. Problems seem to arise when different people’s dreams conflict with one another; such as Walter’s versus Bennie’s, George’s versus Asagai’s, and the Clybourne Park versus the Younger’s.
One of the first ideas mentioned in this play, A Raisin In the Sun, is about money. The Younger's end up with no money because of Walter's obsession with it. When Walter decides not to take the extra money he is offered it helps prove Hansberry's theme. Her theme is that money can't buy happiness. This can be seen in Walter's actions throughout the play.
When talking to Mama and Ruth in a scene about marriage, Beneatha’s opinion on this topic shocks the two other women. When she is asked about her thoughts on who she will marry, Beneatha responds by saying, “I’m not worried who I’m going to marry yet—if I ever get married” (Hansberry 50). Beneatha is not concerned about marriage at the moment because she is studying to become a doctor. Her motivation to become a doctor stems from her want to change the world. Beneatha’s motivation is parallel to her generation’s, the Baby Boomers, drive to improve the world. As the conversation leads towards the topic of religion, Beneatha tells Mama and Ruth that “God is just one of the ideas I don’t accept” (Hansberry 51). Being the youngest of the three women, Beneatha is not as religious as Mama. Instead, she believes that it is wrong that He gets all the credit of humankind. Beneatha not believing in God lines up with how the Baby Boomers are less devout than the GI Generation. Beneatha’s beliefs show how she incorporates more modern values into her
...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).
“A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry is a play about an African-American family, who faces discrimination and financial struggles, but still remains united throughout their journey in buying a new home. Just like the Youngers, people create lifelong goals and dreams, in which they want to accomplish. When they do not fulfill their dreams, it simply becomes “a raisin in the sun” because just like a raisin loses its juice when kept outside for too long, a dream loses its significance as well. The Younger family all have distinctive dreams and throughout the play, they do not realize the importance of family until their dreams became deferred. The title “A Raisin in the Sun” is a representation of all the characters’ dreams being deferred.