A Raisin in the Sun by Larraine Hansberry is about a poor African American family living on the south side of Chicago, that wants to accomplish their dream but it is be a problem because of money. This essay is about Walter and Beneatha's dreams and how their dreams impact others and drive the story. They are given a chance to move out of their neighborhood when they receive a life-insurance check worth $10,000 when their father dies. Walter wants to invest in a liquor store and Beneatha wants to use the money to go to medical school. Walter and Beneatha are in the conflict about not only their dreams, but also how that money will be spent. Walter is the African-American and he wants to have money so that he can afford things for his family and to finish his dream which is to own a liquor store. In the text and says, “ See there, that just goes to show you that women don’t understand about the world. Baby, don’t nothing happen for you in this world less you pay somebody off!” This sexist remark seems to come …show more content…
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. She wants to make her life challenging and to challenge Gender stereotypes. She wants to break that chain that girls can do hard working things too not just boys. Beneatha Also can’t achieve her dream because Walter loses the money. In the text it says, “MAMA: Is it gone? Son I gave you sixty five hundred dollars. Walter: All of it...it’s all gone.” What are wasted the $650 that mama gave him and some of that money was supposed to go in Beneatha’s checking account. Now this is affecting her dream. Beneatha wants to be a doctor but now there's a problem because Walter wasted the money for her college. That's how Beneatha's dream is
Ruth was being prevented from having a baby because of money problems, Walter was bringing him self down by trying to make the liquor store idea work. Once Mama decided to buy the house with the money she had received, Walter figured that he should further go on with the liquor store idea. Then, when Walter lost the money, he lost his dignity and tried to get some money from the “welcome party” of Cylborne Park. Mama forced him to realize how far he went by making him show himself to his son how low he would go. But he showed that he wasn’t susceptible to the ways the racism created.
Throughout the play, Walters and Beneatha’s views on wealth clash because according to Walter, money is the answer to all of their issues while Beneatha constantly reminds him that the money was mama’s and she could do whatever she wants with it whenever he pressed on about buying the liquor store. In scene two of act two, after mama gives Walter the money, Walter explains to his son Travis in a long speech how he will invest the money and what kind of life they will live once the business is successful, this also included sacrificing Beneatha’s school money. This speech also shows Walters “American Dream”. Unfortunately, Walter trusted the wrong man with his money and ended up losing it all.
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
One of the major themes of the play A Raisin In The Sun is dreams and dreams deferred. Each member of the Younger family had each of their own dreams when the family received ten thousand dollars in the mail. The money was from Mama’s husband who had passed away a few years before. Everyone wanted the money to be for themselves and nobody else. Walter wanted the money to help him open a Liquor Store when Beneatha wanted the money to pay for her Medical School tuition. Travis just wanted fifty cents that his teacher told him he needed for class that day, and Mama wanted to use the money to move her family out of their tiny apartment and into a nice house where they could all live happily. One morning...
...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.
At first, the family viewed the insurance money as a distant entity, much like the dreams of Beneatha and Walter. Beneatha, the independent sister of the family, had dreams of becoming a doctor one day. She felt as though being a doctor “was truly being God” (133). To her, as a doctor, she would not only miraculously cure people and save lives like God, but she would also finally reach a level of divine respect. Much like God has control over all living beings, Beneatha viewed her medical degree as the key to having complete control over her own life. Once she had obtained her degree, her life would take an abrupt turn for the better. Without her degree, Beneatha feels as
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.
Mama talks to Walter about her fears of the family falling apart. This is the reason she bought the house and she wants him to understand. Walter doesn't understand and gets angry. "What you need me to say you done right for? You the head of this family. You run our lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was all right for? So you butchered up a dream of mine - you - who always talking 'bout your children's dreams..." Walter is so obsessive over money that he yells at his mom for not giving him all of it. He doesn't know that what his mom is doing is for the family. He thinks that having money will make the family happy, when in reality the family doesn't need anymore than what they have to be happy.
“A Raisin in the Sun” is set at in an area where racism was still occurring. Blacks were no longer separated but they were still facing many racial problems. The black Younger family faced these problems throughout the play. The entire family was affected in their own way. The family has big dreams and hope to make more of their poor lives. Walter, the main character, is forced to deal with most of the issues himself. Ruth, his wife, and Travis, his ten-year-old son, really don’t have say in matters that he sets his mind to. Beneatha, his sister tries to get her word in but is often ignored. Lena (Mama) is Walter’s mother and is very concerned about her family. She tries to keep things held together despite all of the happenings. Mama’s husband had just recently died so times seemed to be even harder. They all live in a small apartment when living space is very confined (Hansberry 1731). They all have dreams in which they are trying to obtain, but other members of the family seem to hold back each other from obtaining them (Decker).
This event shows yet another time in which a family member threatens to ruin the inherent stability of the family structure by trying to build in a manner which is completely incompatible with the rest of the structure. Beneatha, although believing to be bettering herself is leaving an important part of herself and her heritage behind. Beneatha's speech about God is her attempt to show her independence and uniqueness in the world, but when she asserts her self in an area that is extremely sensitive to the family heritage and structure, she threatens to wean herself from the only guaranteed support group in life, the family. Once again, as with Walter, Benetha realizes later in the story that it is the furtherance of long-standing family values and morals which give the foundation upon which to build a wonderful life.
She is determined to find her fullness as an individual and to not be defined by the man she marries. Walter constantly criticizes Beneatha’s dream of being a doctor. He treats it as though his dream is no longer feasible. He’s portrayed by Hansberry as being fairly pathetic and helpless. It seems like he needs women to help him move into manhood.
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).