Conflicts in an American Family in play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

23 Feb. 2014. Washington, Gladys J. “A Raisin In The Sun.” Masterplots II: African American Literature, Revised Edition (2008): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web.

The American dream has been visualized and pursued by nearly everyone in this nation. Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about the Younger family that strived for the American dream. The members of the Younger family shared a dream of a better tomorrow. In order to reach that dream, however, they each took different routes, which typified the routes taken by different black Americans. Walter Lee Younger's route, which was filled with riskiness and impulsiveness, exemplified the road taken by blacks who had been oppressed so much that they followed their dreams with blind desperation.

25 Apr. 2011. Washington, Gladys J. "A Raisin in the Sun." Masterplots II: African American Literature, Revised Edition (2008): 1-3.

Sato, Hiroko. "Under the Harlem Shadow: A Study of Jessie Fauset and Nella Larsen." The Harlem Renaissance Remembered. Ed. Arna Bontemps.

Racial discrimination is one of the reasons to believe that their life post moving to Clybourne would be a nightmare is due to the fact that they will not be respected as individuals. Nowrouzi, Faghfori, and Zohdi in “In Search of Equality: A Dream Deferred for African Americans in A Raisin in the Sun” writes, “The Youngers live in a segregated neighborhood in a city that has remained one of the most segregated areas in the United States. (2271). Mama Younger buys a house in an all-white community, which she believes has better living conditions and has lower cost. But traditionally, the family would pay more than a white family.

Harlem Shadows and the Liberator, pp. 56-59 23. Ferguson, Section 1, Document 9, Langston Hughes. The Weary Blues, pp. 68-72.

This money comes from the death of Lena’s husband. Each member of the family wants to do something different with that money. Lena wants to buy a bigger house in a nicer area, and Ruth agrees with her. Beneatha wants the money to go to tuition for medical school. Walter wants to invest the money in a liquor store, so he can own the store, and become successful and rich.

Walter dreams of a better life for himself and his family. He hopes to someday live as equal to the wealthy white men. He would like to invest the money in business, specifically in a new liquor store venture. His wife, Ruth, is the caretaker of the home. She is a strong woman and is striving to keep her family together.

Even though the overall American Dream was to be wealthy, to support a family, and to have a job; people wanted to be really wealthy without doing work. Families during this time period were materialistic and just wanted what everyone else had. The 1950s were when “…over 6 million women went to work for the first time in their lives… women were afterward criticized for destroying the American family” (Gillespie 3). In previous years, up until 1945, women stayed at home caring for their families while the men fought in World War II. More jobs were needed in the United States labor force, so the responsibility fell largely on the shoulders of female citizens.

29 Issue 4, p543, 7p. Zanger, Jules. "Young Goodman Brown" and "A White Heron":Correspondences And illuminations. Papers on Language & Literature. Summer90, Vol.