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A Raisin And The Sun Gender Roles

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The play, A Raisin and the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry, exhibits the diverse point of view an African American could possess of their limitations in the 1950s Chicago era. The Younger family lives in a rundown apartment which shields them from the prejudiced environment outside. Beneatha Younger, a young girl who strives to be a doctor someday will not let anyone tell her what is right or wrong. As stern as she is, sacrifices have to be made since her brother, Walter Younger lost the last of the family money by pouring into his liquor store. Benetha has no room for anyone else's negative comments or the modern-day assimilation practices that her family implements. As much as she did strive for the “American dream” she wanted to achieve …show more content…

A major example of this would be when Asagai gifted Benetha a beautiful Nigerian robe and told her about his traditions in his home country. It's clear that Benetha is astonished by the cultural privileges Asagai possesses and wonders why she and her family do not do the same. She then wears the robe around the house the next morning and yells at Ruth for listening to Western music and switches the radio to a traditional Nigerian folk …show more content…

Benetha has a wide range of views and what George said went against her view on the subject. So she spoke out and told George to stop yelling, and even after he didn't do that she told George to leave the house. Benetha knew that what George said was arrogant and that women are worth more than just their looks. If Ruth was in the same situation the readers can infer that instead of kicking George out of the house like how Benetha did, she herself would go to the bedroom or leave the scene. As a result, Benetha took initiative and kicked George out and didn't have any space for his unethical opinions; she even then proceeded to tell Mama that George was a “fool”. Ruth on the other hand if she was portraying Beneatha's character would have left the scene instead of kicking George

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She wants to be friends with the popular girls. She tries to get ruth to care about the way the dress and look. Ruthie didn’t seem to understand why.

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A Raisin in the Sun is an inspirational book/play that tells the overcoming story of an African-American family Going through the terrible struggles of Chicago in the 1950’s. Greg Kincaid once said “No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That's the only way to keep the roads clear.”. This explains Beneatha younger, a young woman who tries to find herself while dealing with others scrutinizing and being treated like a child in her family. In conclusion, Beneatha younger is an overpowering character that is shaping her life through independence, an education, and growing closer to her

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831 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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921 Words | 4 Pages

Reading and Reimagining Social Life In Allan Johnson’s Privilege, Power, and Difference, Patricia Hill Collins describes the Matrix of Domination as an intersectionality between all the isms, especially racism and sexism. Collins describes this cycle of domination saying “that each form of privilege is part of a much larger system of privilege” (Johnson, 52). Work for change needs to focus on the idea of privilege in all forms and the way in which it enables people to think in relation to inequality and power. The only way to understand the matrix, is by understanding its dimensions.

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“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.

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699 Words | 3 Pages

In A Raisin in the Sun, a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, the audience was able to obtain a sense of the struggle for the American dream. We are introduced to the Youngerś a black family living in the Southside of Chicago around the 1950’s. Each member of this family has their own meaning to what is the American dream. A Raisin in the Sun teaches us that even though life might be full of conflicts, it is important to not give up on our dreams.

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910 Words | 4 Pages

She puts a lot of effort and time in trying to get an education for herself and learn how to be her own person. Beneatha does not want to be with George because she feels that she will not be able to fulfill her dream of being a doctor. For example, “But if the Younger’s are sitting around waiting to see if their little Bennie is going to tie up the family with the Murchisons, they are wasting their time” (Hansberry31).Beneatha wants to be a hardworking woman and this connects to the American Dream because hard work is a big component of achieving what you want. Also, she does not want George Murchison stopping her from being a hard-working woman. She does everything by herself and puts her hard work into everything she does.

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Reader Response: 3 “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, is a play about a black families experience in 1950s South Side Chicago. The story revolves around what happens to the family when Lena Younger, the matriarch of the family, receives a ten thousand dollar life insurance check upon the death of her husband. Everyone from the family has different plans for what they want to do with the money. Lena Younger serves as the head of the family. She is Walter and Beneatha’s caring mother so they and Ruth call her Mama.

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963 Words | 4 Pages

Ruth exclaims, “Lena, no! We gotta go. Bennie—tell her…. Tell her we can still move… he notes ain’t but a hundred and twenty-five a month. We got four grown people in this house—we can work…” (609).

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816 Words | 4 Pages

A Raisin in the Sun addresses major social issues such as racism and feminism which were common in the twentieth century. The author, Lorraine Hansberry, was the first playwright to produce a play that portrayed problematic social issues. Racism and gender equality are heavily addressed throughout the play. Even though we still have these issues today, in the 1950’s and 60’s the issues had a greater part in society. Racism and gender have always been an issue in society, A Raisin in the Sun is an important piece of American history during that time period.

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437 Words | 2 Pages

Ruth was abused as a child. Therefore she knew what it was like to be her niece. Sexual abuses seems to run in her family. The fact that her family anted to keep it a secrets was surprising to me. However I understand that she comes from a different family then I do.

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679 Words | 3 Pages

Whereas Ruth adheres to patriarchal standards, Beneatha rebels against them. Hansberry contrasts Ruth and Beneatha to study how their adherence affects their personal and social well-beings. Through her play, she suggests that opposing the patriarchy leads to a more positive mindset and more stable relationships. In conforming to patriarchal norms, Ruth fulfills the roles of homemaker and wife. In the first scene of the play, Ruth makes breakfast and tells her son Travis, “Sit down and have your breakfast,” signifying that she has embraced her role as mother (Hansberry 490).

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1073 Words | 5 Pages

Ruth constantly demands that they play by her rules. She decides when and how Kathy should ride the horse since Ruth, according to herself, obviously has a superior knowledge when it comes down to horses. Ruth 's crave for control and search for self-affirmation pretty much dominates her whole life. Another example is when Ruth starts to imitate the veteran couple Chrissie and Rodney at the cottages, satisfying her needs to fit in even though it has a negative effect on hers and Tommy 's relationship. Kathy even indicates that the old

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848 Words | 4 Pages

Gender roles play an important role in A Raisin in the Sun. During the time A Raisin in the Sun was written the idea of set in stone positions in a household and society were common. Women were supposed to do house jobs, keep their mouths shut, and support their husbands’ decisions and men were seen as the headman or boss. A Raisin in the Sun shows readers a window into the world where those gender roles have a twist on them. Women in the time of A Raisin in the Sun were supposed to be subservient to men.

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845 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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