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A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry

706 Words3 Pages

Power and authority play significant roles in the storytelling of the play A Raisin in the Sun. The family's housing arrangements, finances, and way of life depend on whoever makes those decisions for everyone else. Throughout the narrative, Hansberry demonstrates how power and authority change hands due to financial status, gender, and familial bonds. At the beginning of the play and for a large chunk of the play's duration, Mama Lena holds authority in the household. Lena displays this authority in the first scene when Beneatha expresses a viewpoint regarding religion she disagrees with. As a religious woman, Lena is distraught with Beneatha's disrespect towards God and insists that she stop speaking, but Beneatha instead doubles down. After …show more content…

Due to the family's financial circumstances, Ruth considers aborting it to the displeasure of Lena. In this turbulent time for the family, Lena, the authority figure at the time, declares to Walter, "I'm waiting to hear how you be your father's son. Be the man he was..." (Hansberry 75). She gives him a window to take charge and be a proper man in the household. With the heavy themes of gender in this play, this is a pivotal moment for Walter and his becoming an authority figure. However, this shift in authority does not come to fruition until the end of the play. Lena gives Walter a hefty amount of the insurance money to put away for Beneatha's education and for him to do as he pleases. Instead of finally getting to do what he wants, Walter gets scammed more than anything. Only after Walter loses his one shot at achieving his dream liquor store, a chance to make a man of himself and achieve economic freedom for his family, does Walter take authority. When faced with having to sell their new house to make back the money Walter lost, he instead chooses to stay firm and keep the home, promptly telling off the racist white neighborhood people: "And we have decided to move into our house because my father-my father-he earned it for us brick by brick" (Hansberry 148). Lena even notes "He finally came into his manhood today, didn't he?" The 'Hansberry 151' is a 'Hansberry 151'. Walter has

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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

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Walter is the ”man of the house” and the main man in the book, and with this he shows us the most toxic masculinity and what the roles of a man are viewed as. He has a certain view on women, even his wife, and does not truly respect them. He still believes he has a right to the money just because he is the only man in the house and is the only one who can make a good decision with the money. While talking to his son about a business deal he was going to make and how it was going to change their lives, he said, “... secretaries getting things wrong the way they do…”

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At first, Lena, the mom, had control over the money from her husband's death. In (Act I, Scene 1), Lena says, "I'm telling you to be the head of this family from now on like you supposed to be." But as the story unfolds, her son Walter wants to make his own decisions about money and his business idea. In (Act II, Scene 2), Walter insists, "A man needs a woman to back him up, yessir." Meanwhile, Beneatha, Lena's daughter, questions traditional rules and wants to find herself.

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Lena and Ruth laugh at her, and are confused on why she does not want to marry George right away. George thinks it is stupid to not get married right now and wants Beneatha to be like everyone else. Sharon Brubaker notes that Beneatha's version of the American dream is "solitary, less traditional, and not as concerned with family." Beneatha does not want to be "white" or "normal" in her life. Sally Burke says that "Beneatha refuses to accept the subservient position often seen as 'natural' for women" (95).

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It’s all a matter of ideas, and God is just one idea I don’t accept. It’s not important. I am not going out and be immoral or commit crimes because I don’t believe in God” (Hansberry 51). Not to mention, Beneatha is saying that she does not have faith in God and relies on herself, express that she is independent , and does not need God to solve all her problems or do the work that she has to do.

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Provoking her mother, Beneatha mentions, “‘Mama you don't understand. It’s all a matter of ideas, and God is just one idea I don't accept. It’s not important. I'm not going out and being immortal or committing crimes because I don't believe in God… It’s just that I get tired of Him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort.

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At the start of the play, Lena is depicted as the matriarch of the Younger family, grappling with the recent death of her husband and the challenges of raising her children in a cramped apartment on Chicago’s South Side. Despite these hardships, Lena remains steadfast in her faith and determination to provide a better future for her family. One of Lena’s defining traits is her unwavering faith in God, which serves as a source of guidance and comfort for her throughout

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This shows the family such as Mama and Ruth that they can’t trust Walter with anything now because he lost all of the portion of the money. He is looked down upon for not becoming the “Man” of the house and taking full responsibility when he is supposed to. Another traditional gender role that I see Hansberry challenging is Beneatha in the middle of the book. Beneatha explains how she has started taking guitar lessons Mama and Ruth laugh out loud making fun of her and asking why she wants to play the guitar. All of sudden she gets upset when Mama and Ruth don’t take it seriously “How come you done taken it in your mind to learn to play the guitar?”

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Walter even expresses to her how her career choice is unorthodox, “Go be a nurse like other women” (Hansberry 38). Then, he tells her to “get married and be quiet” (Hansberry 38). Walter says this projects the idea that a woman’s purpose in life is to serve a man, whether as a nurse or a house defy the gender roles of their time but submit to the subconscious sexism that bolsters gender roles. Consequently, Beneatha refuses to conform to her brother’s beliefs about her life, yet she is easily influenced by the romantic relationships in her life.

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She is different from Mama and Ruth. Beneatha wants to become a doctor which is a very different aspiration for a woman in her time. She also cuts her hair off which is symbolic because natural hair was not appreciated during her time so she now has natural hair. Additionally, a major disagreement between Mama and Beneatha is that Beneatha lacks the faith in God that Mama holds so dear. Beneatha expresses her disbelief in the divine when she says “Mama, you don’t understand.

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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.

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Walter Lee Younger, the father and head of household, dreams of being a successful businessman; Lena Younger (Mama), Walter and Beneatha’s mother, dreams of bringing her family to a better home; Beneatha Younger, daughter of Mama, dreams of becoming a doctor; Ruth Younger, Walter’s wife, dreams of building a happy life and bringing the family to a better home. Each member of the Younger family has their own dream they wish to achieve and all of their aspirations highlight the desire to have a better life and a sense of hope for a life without discrimination. There is still a sense of hope that comes from Mama and the $10,000 insurance check she is receiving. When Walter receives a portion of this money he says to his son Travis, “Just tell me where you want to go to school and you’ll go.

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Lena Younger was a religious mother to her family regardless of the anger that her family has towards one another. Lena faith was soon tested when she gave her son the rest of the insurance money to put towards Beneatha college funds and the rest in his name. Instead of doing exactly what his mother told him Walter put the rest of the insurance money towards his liquor store plan only to receive the news from his friend, that the entire plan was a money scheme and Willy Harris ran off with their money. Heart broken by the hard work her husband put towards his life and her son spent the entire money out of selfishness she still loved her son. Lena was a part of faith which is also symbolized through the plant that she carried for the received little sunlight.

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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.

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His sister, Beneatha, wants to become a doctor and Walter isn't very supportive of her decision. Walter's wife, Ruth, is the recipient of the majority of Walter's anger and sexist remarks. In Act 1 Scene 1, the audience learns that Beneatha, a colored woman, wants to become a doctor and attends medical school. Beneatha and Walter begin to banter with each other about Mama’s money.

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