Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun follows the struggles of an African American family living in a neighborhood in 1950s South Side Chicago. The play discusses several issues pertaining to African Americans of the time, such as poverty and discrimination. One of the major themes of the story is the search for a sense of belonging; whether that’s a sense of belonging to the continent of Africa, a neighborhood in Chicago, or on a personal level within the Younger family. The play explores this theme through its characters Beneatha, Mama and Walter. The play deals with the search for a sense of belonging on different scales. Beneatha’s character journey throughout the play is representative of one’s search for belonging in the world. …show more content…
The quintessential image of the American dream is that of a house with a white picket fence and Mama thinks the house she buys in Clybourne Park will allow the Younger family fulfill that dream. It’s a symbol for belonging in America; it can also represent an acceptance of American cultural values, such as capitalism. In addition, it’s an emphasis on the Youngers’ value on family and the home because the Youngers rely on each other during hard times, and they are not afraid of what may happen in the new neighborhood they know they are not welcomed in because they know they have each other. Moreover, Lindner and the other residents of Clybourne Park who offer to buy the house the Youngers bought represent the discrimination against African Americans at this time, and possibly a reason black Americans, like the Younger family, need to fight for a sense of belonging. “And we have decided to move into our house because my father- my father- earned it for us brick by brick” (Hansberry 148). When Walter states the family will be moving into the house despite Lindner’s offer supports the importance of fighting against racial discrimination, which ties into the idea of the rejection of assimilation seen with Beneatha’s
Walter wants to begin the new business which is the liquid store rather than being a chauffeur. However the family except the Walter doesn't want to take an adventure and accept the Walter's idea. The dream of Walter is going to fall down, but the Lena believes Walter and give him the money which is the remainder of the money after buying new house, which is included the Beneatha's college money. Walter is surprised by belief of the family so he invests the money to a friend to start the new business, but the friend is gone with the money that has Walter and Beneatha's hopes. Walter gets discouraged
Lindner shows the effect of racial intolerance. A clue to this purpose is the fact that Mr. Lindner is the only white man in the novel. His effect in the drama shows by how he refers to the Younger family, and by him asking them to reconsider moving into Clybourne Park. “I sure hope you people know what you’re getting into.” (149) Mr. Lindner makes this statement after the Younger family decides to move regardless of his proposition.
Walter still believes that it is him against his mother and family, where he has to sacrifice everything but Beneatha can sit and bring nothing to the table. Repeatedly, Walter is left alone in the dark while his family enjoys themselves, or so he believes wholeheartedly. When Mama reveals the news about a new house, she explains it is possible to buy a house “[because] it was [Big Walter] who [gave] [Walter] the house - in [Big Walter’s] way” (91). While not supporting and understanding Walter’s ambitions in life, Mama went ahead and fulfilled her dream and Beneatha’s. Another pattern emerges, where Walter is seen as unsatisfied and shaken by the fact that Mama preaches about wanting what is best for her children, and he is compelled to harshly explain his unjust treatment for his sacrifice.
In the play “A Raisin in the Sun,” the family explores many issues, both within their family and with outside conflicts. This play has a historical feel to it. In Chicago 's south side a black family is living in a run-down apartment. It takes the readers back to a time that many young people don’t know of, and a time that offers respect to older generations (1959). The play takes on a few social reforms.
The Younger family, is a family who are honest and who also work hard for what they want, just because they are black, does not mean that they don 't deserve to live in a better neighbourhood. However, racism also impacted the Younger family beneficially in the way Walter rejected Linders’s offer at the end of the play. The example of racism gives Walter the opportunity to become the man he always wanter to
Title 1920’s American society was full of go-getters. Deemed the Land of Opportunity, people immigrated from far and wide in hopes of achieving happiness via the famous “American Dream.” America was fantasized as an equal opportunity for success, the birthplace of Jazz, and instant wealth for all hard workers. However in reality, although the Roaring Twenties encouraged a relaxed, extravagant lifestyle for the upper class, the strict societal views of race, money, and social power reveal the harsh realities of how social stratification affects attaining the American Dream.
“A Raisin in the Sun,” written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, was the first play ever produced on Broadway by an African-American woman and was considered ground-breaking for it’s time. Titled after Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” sometimes known as “A Dream Deferred,” the play and the subsequent film adaptations are honest examinations of race, family, poverty, discrimination, oppression and even abortion in urban Chicago after WWII. The original play was met with critical praise, including a review by Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times where he wrote, “For A Raisin in the Sun is a play about human beings who want, on the one hand, to preserve their family pride and, on the other hand, to break out of the poverty that seems to be their fate. Not having any axe to grind, Miss Hansberry has a wide range of topics to write about-some of them hilarious, some of them painful in the extreme.” The original screen adaptation released in 1961 was highly acclaimed in its own right, and was chosen in 2005 for preservation in the United States of America National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural and historical significance.
Theme: The Need to Fight Racial Discrimination The character of Mr. Lindner marks the topic of racial prejudice blatant in the narrative as a problem that the Youngers are not able to elude. Mr. Lindner and the individuals he signifies can only look at the colour of the Younger relative’s skin, and his suggestion to persuade the Youngers to stop them from relocating threatens to destroy the Younger household and the principles for which it rests.
Andy’s father, Elroy, had a more difficult time believing racism would not be as strong in this small California city as it had been in the South. The first home they rented was closer to town. They had to walk to the nearby grocery store because they had yet to save enough money to buy a
Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor, is often affected by some of her family members’ decisions. She begins to lose hope, thus enabling her to become a realist.
She was not like other young women that would be housewives or maids at her age but instead is independent. Looking after herself and making more of a life for herself, she attends school, tries to play guitar, and looks for a love interest. This breaks the stereotype of a “normal” woman who is a housewife or maid and shows Beneatha is different. Therefore, Beneatha overcomes this criticism of her “unnatural ways”, and proceeds to make her life successful.
She defies the ideal life for a woman and expresses her opinion loud and clear. Beneatha throughout the play finds herself and her African American roots. Walter does not approve of Beneatha’s hopes to become a doctor he tells her, “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. . .” (1.1.125) These social issues that the characters faced in their lives made them out to be the people that they were meant to be.
Through the use of the historical lens, looking specifically at the economic struggles, the struggle of unequal opportunity, and the housing covenant that African-American’s faced in the 1950’s, Hansberry’s message of A Raisin in the Sun is revealed: the perseverance of an ethnic minority in a time of racial discrimination. A Raisin in the Sun is set in a time of great racial discrimination, the 1950’s in the united States. This featured racism towards those of color or non-caucasians, and the struggles commonly faced by the African-American family is shown through the eyes of the Younger family through the writing and experiences of Lorraine Hansberry. Of the three major struggles the Younger family faced, the most prominent in Act one is that of financial disability. This is best shown through the working lives of the family.
She is also upset because Walter is giving in to racial tension and calling Mr. Lindner back to negotiate taking money in exchange for not moving into the white neighborhood. Lena immediately snaps back and calls out Beneatha for not learning to care for her brother. In this scene Lena’s maternal instinct really shines through. Even though she is disappointed in Walters foolishness and lack of pride, she knows that Walter is at his lowest point and that persecution and ridicule will not help the situation in any way. She also understands that his pursuit of money wasn't for self interest but to make things better for the whole family.
Just within the recent decades, men and women started to fight against the gender stereotypes and started to challenge their roles in a family and in the society. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, portrays the lives of African–Americans during the 1950s. Lorraine Hansberry, a writer and a social activist, reinforced the traditional gender roles, especially female’s, by depicting how the Youngers interact and how they act in an economical struggle. Throughout the play, A Raisin in the Sun, she uses Walter Lee Younger, Ruth Younger and Lena Younger to reinforce the traditional role of fathers, wives and mothers within a family.